NEWS

On Sunday, November 17, QR Jets (Lily Lequerica, KC Krueger, Erica Gandomcar-Sachs, Malia Bryan) faced-off against Lugano (Audry Persano*, Tiamo Hudspeth*, Dayelle Fargey, Kendall Plank) for a second consecutive year to determine the U.S. Open Women’s Handicap champion. Hosted by Houston Polo Club (Houston, Texas), all four reigning victors returned to defend their title for Lugano, as 2023 finalists Lequerica and Krueger united once more for QR Jets alongside tournament veterans Gandomcar-Sachs and Bryan. Utilizing opportunities from the penalty line combined with cohesive teamwork, Lugano managed to withstand the pressure in the final moments of the match and return to the top of the U.S. Open Women’s Handicap podium.

Opening the scoring, Krueger struck first from the line for QR Jets. Following a successful Penalty 2 off the mallet of Fargey, a driving Krueger sent the ball through the posts to give the challengers a narrow 2-1 advantage at the break.

Falling to QR Jets in the first game of preliminary play, Hudspeth shared Lugano’s strategy against their familiar foes, “We were all a little loose [and] we knew going into today we had to be super disciplined and be thinking, go to the woman first, then where’s the ball. We just tried to play a tighter game today.”

Assembling Lugano’s radiant comeback, Hudspeth hit back-to-back conversions in the third period to put the team in blue ahead for the first time. Not to be deterred, QR Jets’ Gandomcar-Sachs found space on the field to tie the score 3-all. Deadlocked to start final chukker, Hudspeth worked through traffic to score her first from the field. Kicking their defense into high-gear, Lugano’s unified front managed to hold-off their opponents’ final valiant effort and seal the gripping 4-3 victory.

Leading Lugano with three goals in the final, Tiamo Hudspeth was named Most Valuable Player. Expressing gratitude along her road to recovery from injury following her West Coast triumph in the USPA Women’s Arena Open, Hudspeth detailed, “I’ve had a really hard month. […] I worked really hard to come back and play with both of my teams in the [Southwestern Circuit] Women’s Challenge and the U.S. [Open] Women’s Handicap. I’m really proud and really thankful for all the support I have- friends, family and coworkers that have helped me get back into the saddle to how I played today.”

Best Playing Pony was awarded to Bonnie, Malia Bryan’s mare played in the fourth chukker.

The U.S. Open Women’s Handicap is now available On-Demand.

*Audry Persano and Tiamo Hudspeth are Team USPA alumnae. Team USPA is a USPA program designed to enhance and grow the sport of polo in the United States by identifying young, talented American players and providing mentored training and playing opportunities leading to a pool of higher rated amateur and pro players and the resultant giveback to the sport of polo.

All photos courtesy of ©Kaylee Wroe.