US Polo Association® Announces Men’s & Women’s National Intercollegiate Championship Finalists

March 28, 2014 - PRLog -- The United States Polo Association Interscholastic/Intercollegiate (I/I) Program today announced the eight teams that will compete in the final rounds of the 2014 USPA National Intercollegiate Championship, held April 7 - 12, 2014, at the ERG Arena in Brookshire, Texas.

The four regional champion men’s and women’s college polo teams became finalists as a result of their victories in the tournament’s preliminary rounds, which started with 19 men’s teams and 25 women’s teams from the best United States college polo teams. The finalists include men’s and women’s teams from four regions: Cornell University (Northeastern), University of Virginia (Southeastern), Southern Methodist University (Central); the men’s team from Westmont College and the women’s team from California Polytechnic State University (Western). The participating team rosters are:

Teams:

Northeastern Regional Winner (Cornell University)

Women

Devin Cox

Emma Eldredge

Kailey Eldredge

Elizabeth LeBow

Madeline Olberg

Elena Wicker

Anna Winslow

Men

Emerson Bilodeau

Nicholas Feldman

Hakan Karabey

Tate Lavitt

John Loftus

Ignacio Maias

Nicholas Stieg

Southeastern Regional Winner (University of Virginia)

Women

Sara Brown

Mary Collins

Julia Smith

Victoria Friedrichs

Colby O’Neil

Men

Aristide Faggionato

Austin Burdick

Eduardo Lopez

Felipe Gomez

Santiago Marulanda

Todd Thurston

Tyler Burdick

Central Regional Winner (Southern Methodist University)

Women

Emma Blackwood

Chloe Carabasi

Hayley Heatley

Zara Walsh

Katherine Bentfield

Men

Manuel Ituarte

Maxi Longlois

August Scherer

Tristan Smyth

Western Regional Winner (California Polytechnic State University and Westmont College)

California Polytechnic State University

Women

Kylie Everitt

Jessica Hartley

Hannah Heitzig

Aleksey Huff

Elizabeth Peck

Joyce Pexton

Nora Williams

Westmont College

Men

Jacob Bergman

David Samaniego

Patrick Uretz

Tony Uretz

“The National Intercollegiate Championships embody a tradition of high-level competition, horsemanship and sportsmanship,” said U.S. Polo Association CEO Peter Rizzo. “We’re excited to provide an opportunity for these young players' to showcase their athleticism and competitive edge in this historic tournament.”

You can follow the progress of the teams on the USPA Intercollegiate/Interscholastic Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/iipolo?fref=ts). The National Intercollegiate Championship has been a national U.S. Polo Association championship since 1922, with the addition of women’s teams in 1976. Last year, the Westmont College men’s team and the UVA women’s team were the tournament champions. The winner of the most National Titles in previous years has been the Yale men’s team (19 times) and Cornell women’s team (13 times).

The United States Polo Association, the governing body of the sport, organizes the USPA National Intercollegiate Championship, which is a centerpiece of the United States Intercollegiate/Interscholastic (I/I) polo program. The I/I polo program mission is to help expand the sport in the U.S. at the college and high school level. See more information on the I/I polo program here (http://uspolo.org/member/programs/schools-colleges/) on the U.S. Polo Association’s website, and follow updates by Liking their Facebook Page (http://www.facebook.com/iipolo).

About the United States Polo Association ®

The U.S. Polo Association was organized and exists for the purposes of promoting the game of polo, coordinating the activities of its Member Clubs and Registered Players, arranging and supervising polo tournaments, competitions, and games, and providing rules, handicaps, and conditions for those tournaments, competitions, and games including the safety and welfare of participants and mounts. For more information, please visit www.uspolo.org.