The University of Virginia’s men’s and women’s polo teams headed into the National Intercollegiate Tournament on Saturday at the Virginia Polo Center south of Charlottesville hoping to defend their national titles but lost two Texas teams.
Texas A&M University came out on top in the women’s tournament.
Virginia Polo managed to tie up the game in the sixth chukker, followed by two rounds of shootouts, ending in a tight final score of 13-12.
Meanwhile, the University of North Texas men captured its first National Intercollegiate Championship.
“In the lead from the start the UNT men kept the pressure on UVA the entire match,” according to the United States Polo Association.
North Texas trounced the Virginia men’s team with a final score of 14-9.
The Virginia Polo Center is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year.
In honor of that, Virginia Polo welcomed gifts to the Rinehart Polo Pony Endowment Fund, which was founded in 2008 and named for longtime club supporters Bobo and Rodger Rinehart. The fund provides for proper care of the polo ponies now and in the future.
Events are scheduled for Oct. 13 and 14 at Virginia Polo Center to mark the milestone, including an evening event Oct. 13 that will include college polo and an asado. Alumni will meet early on Oct. 14 and gather for a picnic-style lunch, and a “Denim & Diamonds” dinner with live music, silent auction and alumni speakers is set for the evening of Oct. 14.
The Virginia Polo Club was founded in 1953 to support experienced polo players and beginners. Virginia Polo fields men’s and women’s varsity teams and a high school team. The program to date has collected 12 men’s national championships and 10 women’s national championships and produced 52 All-Americans.
Learn more online at vapolo.org.
Daily Progress features editor Jane Dunlap Sathe and city editor Reynolds Hutchins contributed to this story.
Source: www.dailyprogress.com
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