NEWS

On Sunday, April 2, the Division II Women’s National Intercollegiate Championship ended in an explosive final at Central Coast Polo Club (CCPC) in Los Osos, California. Back in contention for the title, defending champions University of Connecticut (Kylie Dalton, Toni Moore, Madison Robicheau, Ruby Scott, Elizabeth Leudesdorff, Evelyn Doran) met a tenacious California Polytechnic State University (Camila Mcfall, Nicole Bailey, Caroline Mathews, Sofie Rosenquist, Anna Mendez) in a match full of surprises featuring a late comeback. Trailing by four goals at halftime, California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) mustered every bit of strength and resilience to ignite a seven-goal second half, ultimately edging out the reigning victors 9-8.

A wildcard selection, Cal Poly first met UW-Madison. The back-and-forth game ended in a shootout and narrow 8-7 win for the Mustangs. Moving on to the semifinals, Cal Poly took down Oklahoma State University (OSU), the number one seeded team, 10-7 to advance to the title match.

University of Connecticut (UCONN) entered the semifinal fresh off a win in the Northeastern Regional and were matched up against a formidable University of California Davis. Trailing throughout the game (at one point by five goals), UCONN was able to chip away at UC Davis’ lead and score with just seconds left to win the game 10-9 and advance to the final.

Discussing her team’s preparation for the tournament, Cal Poly’s Mendez commented, “We spent a lot of time focusing on the mental game of it all; what we are in control of, what we aren’t in control of, and how each affects the game. We knew our horses and we knew our plays and we fully trust one another, and in the end, the teamwork is what led us to the win.

Bailey added, “We have a great community at Central Coast Polo Club. Doing club chukkers definitely helped us prepare, along with the regular stick and ball and scrimmage practices.”

Detailing how weather impacted their ability to prepare in the weeks leading up to the championship, Cal Poly Captain Mathews shared, “Due to the rain the last two weeks, Cal Poly didn’t have much of an opportunity to do practice as a team other than use the hitting cage because of the wet environment. So, we practiced more of a mental game and strategies on the ground and implemented it to win the championship.”

With the national title on the line, UCONN came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, outscoring their opponents 5-1, including a two-pointer from Leudesdorff. UCONN's Robicheau and Cal Poly’s Mathews both found the goal in the second chukker to maintain the gap and end the half with UCONN leading 6-2.

Acknowledging UCONN’s strengths, Cal Poly’s Mendez noted, “UCONN is an extremely talented team. Not only do they have years of polo experience, but they have years of experience with one another. Our biggest challenge with UCONN was how well they stuck to their man. They knew the game and they knew how we played after watching our games from earlier in the week.”

After regrouping during the break, Cal Poly entered the second half with renewed energy. Shutting UCONN out entirely in the third chukker, three goals from Mathews and another from Bailey tied up the game. The score standing at 6-all heading into the final chukker, three goals from Mathews overpowered two from Leudesdorff, allowing the Mustangs to gallop away with a triumphant 9-8 victory and their first Division II Women’s National Intercollegiate Championship title.

Recounting her team’s impressive comeback, Mcfall shared, “Coming down to the last chukker, we were up by two. And when we finally won, it was a disbelief because in the first half, we were down zero to five. And we never gave up. We kept going and we kept fighting. And we were making those goals. And we were making those plays. We were on fire, we felt invincible, and we were just going for it."

She continued, “When we won, we all started crying. It was an immense feeling of pride and justification that we worked our hardest and we got back this game. In the last two chukkers we put our all out there.”

A nail-biter until the end, Mendez detailed how she felt in those final moments. “When the clock was counting down, all I could think about was how grateful I am to be a part of the team and how appreciative I am for my coach, Megan Judge. Her mentorship has allowed all of us to grow exponentially and this win was just as big for us as it was for her. We have put in so many hours of hard work to get to this point and it made the win that much sweeter, especially because we were the wildcard for the tournament.”

Bailey also noted her experience as the clock wound down, adding, “Those last few minutes, we were still dialed into game mode, but I looked up at the clock after they scored that final goal and saw the time expire. That was surreal and I can still picture exactly where I was in the arena.”

The high scorer of the day with an impressive eight goals, Mathews shared, “Not only was it relieving to solidify our big win, but the satisfaction of knowing how hard we worked to achieve this is a huge accomplishment…Cal Poly has worked so hard for this, and it felt as though we had the world against us at most times. But with perseverance and dedication, it feels as though we really proved ourselves and [to] others how much of an amazing team we truly are.”

Detailing what she felt the key to their success was, Mcfall remarked, “I think it’s trust and admiration. I trusted my team that they were going to be [there] for me. I know my job and they know their job. I admired them with everything that I had, and I knew that they were going to be there when I needed them. So, I worried about my game, and they worried about their game, and we did it!”

Though she hails from a polo family, Mendez only got into the sport in college. She explained, “This win means more to me than anything. My father, Topo Mendez, has been playing polo for his whole life. I only started playing in college, so when I called to tell him we won, he actually started crying. It was a full circle moment, and it made me realize how much polo has influenced my life, even before I started playing. I can confidently say that I will always be a part of the polo world thanks to him and I am looking forward to many more wins for our team.”

Similarly, Bailey is a newcomer to the sport this year and only began playing six months ago. “This win means so much to me and the whole team, we worked so hard to go from being the wildcard to the champions, and there have been so many amazing people that have helped us. I’ve played a lot of sports, but even after the short time I’ve played polo, I can say it’s my favorite and I can’t wait to see what this team can get done for years to come.”

All-Stars were awarded to Caroline Mathews (Cal Poly), Sydney Weise (Wisconsin), Samantha Leach (OSU) and Liliana Gonzalez (UC Davis). Best Palying Pony honors were presented to Stinger, owned by George Dill. Describing her, OSU’s Samantha Leach shared, “I rode Stinger twice through the Division II Women’s National Intercollegiate Championship, and she was amazing. She was super handy, very quick, small so I could get to the ball. It was like riding a Ferrari, she was an amazing horse. Really easy in the mouth, I loved playing her.”

UW Madison’s Emma Sbragia added, “Stinger is a super handy, small horse, [her] ride off is amazing. Gunning to any play, [she’s] just amazing and 10 out of 10.”

Best Playing String was awarded to Cal Poly. OSU’s Sydney Morris was the recipient of the Sportsmanship Award, while UW Madison’s Sydney Weise was presented the Horsemanship Award.

A proud moment for Coach Megan Judge, she commented, “We spent a lot of time working on things like discipline and staying cool, calm and collected, and having the mental game down before we went into the arena… I’m very proud of all these young athletes. They set down their goals and they did all the hard work to focus and reach their goals. We’re very proud to be Cal Poly Mustangs.”

Also feeling immense pride in her team, especially for all they were able to overcome, Mcfall shared, “We were the wild card team. Nobody expected this from us. We were truly the underdogs. We had to play an extra game just to qualify. We had to go from the quarterfinals to the semifinals to finally get to the finals. And we won every single game. And we felt this immense love and pride in ourselves for not only just being at Nationals but qualifying two times to get to the finals and beating the reigning champion. It was really a well-deserved game and a well-deserved win that we all cherish. We are a family, and this is a team sport. Everybody on the ground, from our coaches, our men's team, everybody. It just meant everything to all of us because we really work as a family. And this win is not just for our team, but also for our club and also for the entire school. This is the first national championship for Cal Poly ever. So, for us, it just meant the world.”

All photos courtesy of ©Kaile Roos.