Aug 23, 2022
As the culmination of the NetJets Pacific Coast Open nears at Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club (Carpinteria, California), the final weekend of bracket play kept players and fans on their toes in between victories, upsets and amazing displays of polo.
Making an impressive comeback, Antelope (Grant Palmer, Joaquin Avendaño, Matias Torres Zavaleta, Felipe Vercellino) turned their 0-2 record around winning both their matches.
On Friday, August 19, Antelope defeated L.I.N.Y. (Santino Magrini*, Paquito de Narvaez, Kristos “Keko” Magrini*, Poroto Cambiaso) 12-11, followed by a victory on Sunday, August 21, versus BenSoleimani.com (Ben Soleimani, Lucas “Luckitas” Criado Jr., Iñaki Laprida, Jeff Hall) 10-9.
L.I.N.Y. came back to defeat Farmers & Merchants Bank (FMB) (Danny Walker, Lucas Criado, Facundo Obregon, Peke Gonzalez) Sunday with an impressive 13-7 performance, following a 13-10 victory for FMB on Friday against Klentner Ranch (Jake Klentner*, Jesse Bray*, Santiago Toccalino, Justin Klentner).
Displaying the competitive and close polo played throughout the high-goal season, all five teams finished bracket play with a 2-2 record to force a five-way shootout. With tension at an all-time high, the nail-biting sudden death tie breaker ultimately left Antelope out of the semifinals.
Semifinal action begins Friday, August 26 as L.I.N.Y. faces BenSoleimani.com in a re-match of the Farmers & Merchants Bank Silver Cup final at 2:00pm PT/5:00 pm ET, followed by Klentner Ranch versus FMB in the featured game of the week at 4:00pm PT/7:00pm ET. All games of the Pacific Coast Open are available exclusively on Global Polo TV.
*Kristos ‘Keko’ Magrini is an Active Team USPA Member. Santino Magrini, Jake Klentner and Jesse Bray are Team USPA alumni. 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 ©David Lominska.
Effective Date: Saturday, May 16, 2020
The suspension of USPA Tournaments and Events will be lifted for USPA Member Clubs in locales where hosting polo matches and tournaments is permitted under applicable state and local laws, executive orders and similar decrees. The USPA Member Clubs in these locales are encouraged to follow all such requirements of their state and local authorities with respect to polo operations. In addition, we also encourage all USPA Member Clubs to take the precautions recommended by the CDC. We are preparing a detailed list of best practices for USPA Member Clubs as they return to hosting USPA Tournaments and Events and plan to circulate these guidelines within the next week. We will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely and will notify you if we determine a different course of action is necessary.
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