Fred Mannix, Jr., rated at 8-goals in Argentina and captain of the Alegria polo team.
It seems that the new lineup agrees with Alegria (Pablo Pieres, Lucas Monteverde, Hilario Ulloa, Frederick Mannix) as they galloped to a 13-8 win over La Aguada (Guillermo Terrera, Facundo Sola, Miguel Novillo Astrada, and Nacho Novillo Astrada) in the opening round of play in the 2013 Tortugas Open. (La Aguada was playing without the services of Javier Novillo Astrada, with Guillermo Terrera filling in for him).
Alegria had replaced Agustin and Pite Merlos with Hilario Ulloa and Polito Pieres, and the new combination gelled. Alegria charged out to an early 4-1 lead after the opening seven minutes of play as La Aguada struggled to coordinate an effective offense.
Second chukker play had both teams playing even up, scoring two goals apiece. Alegria continued to lead by three goals, 6-3.
Alegria flexed their muscles again in the third period, outscoring La Aguada 3-1. At the end of the first half La Aguada found themselves trailing Alegria by five goals, 8-4.
The La Aguada defense stood up to Alegria for the first time all day in fourth chukker action, holding them scoreless. The La Aguada offense, however, was unable to make much of a dent in the Alegria lead. Alegria held La Aguada to a single goal for a 9-5 advantage.
La Aguada continued to press the Alegria defense in the fifth, outscoring them for the second time all day. Two La Aguada goals were countered by a single Alegria score. The Alegria lead sat at three goals, 10-7, going into the final chukker.
Alegria took control of the final minutes of the game, adding two more goals while holding La Aguada scoreless. The final horn sounded with Alegria celebrating an impressive 13-8 victory.
Tortugas Open action continues on Wednesday, September 25 with La Natividad (Sapo Caset, Nachi Heguy, Rodrigo Andrade and Lolo Castagnola) facing La Aguada/Las Monjitas(Agustin Merlos, Magoo Laprida, Eduardo Novillo Astrada, and Alejandro Novillo Astrada) in a 4PM contest.