Catamount and Tamera remain Undefeated, Palm Beach Equine Wins In US Trust $25,000 Challenge Cup
By Alex Webbe
Alejandro Pomo’s Tamera (2-0) team scored a resounding 13-7 win over Black Watch (1-1) in the second round of the Grand Champions Polo Club’s US Trust $25,000 Challenge Cup to keep its record perfect in tournament play.
“It was a little bit more than our horses could handle today,” said Black Watch 4-goaler Martin Pepa. Referring to the fact that less than twenty-four hours earlier Black Watch had scored a 9-8 overtime victory over Audi in the club’s Palm Restaurant Invitational.
And although Black Watch turned in a lackluster performance, Tamera’s 7-goaler, Luis Escobar scored a tournament high 10 goals in the win.
Black Watch received one goal by handicap and managed to hang around for the first three chukkers, as the teams were tied 5-5 at halftime.
It was the fourth chukker that proved Black Watch’s undoing as three goals from Luis Escobar and a single goal from Tamera’s J. J. Celis made it 9-5, Tamera.
The Black Watch offense fell flat again in the fifth period as Luis Escobar added two more goals. Celis scored again before Francisco Escobar got Black Watch on the board with a goal, and Tamera led 12-6.
Diego Arellano scored a single goal in the final chukker while 8-goaler Jeff Hall closed out the scoring by converting a penalty shot. Final score- Tamera 13, Black Watch 7.
Luis Escobar led all scoring with 10 goals. Celis added two goals and Arellano added a goal in the win.
Hall led Black Watch with four goals. Pepa and Francisco Escobar scored once apiece for Black Watch.
In the second match of the day, Palm Beach Equine (1-1) rebounded from an opening round loss to score a 10-6 win over Heronwood in a game that saw Tommy Biddle score six times.
Palm Beach Equine received one goal by handicap as Heronwood’s Julio Ezcurra scored from the field to tie it at 1-1 after the first chukker.
Heronwood was shut out in the second chukker as Palm Beach Equine got goals from Leo Mandelbaum and Biddle to go up 3-1.
Another Biddle goal made it 4-1 before goals from John Gobin and Ezcurra cut into the lead. Palm Beach Equine rode off the field at halftime with a 4-3 advantage.
The fourth period belonged to Palm Beach Equine as it piled up goals from team captain Scott Swerdlin, Calixto Garcia and Biddle to take a 7-3 edge.
Biddle added three more goals in the fifth and sixth chukker as Heronwood got two more goals from Gobin and a single score from Michael Liss, and Palm Beach Equine rode off with a handy 10-6 victory.
Biddle scored six times for Palm Beach Equine. Teammates Swerdlin, Mandelbaum and Celis added single goals.
Heronwood’s Gobin scored three goals for Heronwood. Ezcurra added two goals and Liss scored once.
Catamount (2-0) kept its record perfect as it charged out to a 7-1 halftime lead before coasting to a decisive 10-5 win over Palm Beach Polo (0-2).
Scott Devon scored the first two goals of the game with a single goal from Brandon Phillips made it 3-0 after the first seven minutes of play.
Penalty conversions from Phillips and Kris Kampsen gave Catamount a 5-0 lead as the Palm Beach Polo attack was unable to break through to score.
Phillips gave Catamount two more goals in the third period as Harm Schutt finally got Palm Beach Polo in the scoring column with a single goal.
Three more goals from Phillips closed out the scoring in the second half of the game, as Palm Beach Polo was limited to four perfectly converted penalty conversions from 5-goaler Mauricio Devrient in a losing effort.
Phillips led all scoring in the match with seven goals. Devon scored twice and Kampsen added a single goal.
Devrient scored four penalty goals and Schutt scored once for Palm Beach Polo.
Tournament play continues on Friday, Nov. 9 as Palm Beach Polo (0-2) meets Palm Beach Equine (1-1); Heronwood (0-2) will play Black Watch (1-1) and Catamount (2-0) will cross mallets with Tamera (2-0).