Continuing action in the C.V. Whitney Cup at the National Polo Center – Wellington (NPC), Thursday’s doubleheader featured an all-American lineup in La Elina (Matt Coppola, Nicolas ‘Nico’ Escobar, Jeff Hall, Jared Zenni) facing Aspen (Stewart Armstrong, Nicolas ‘Nico’ Saenz, Francisco ‘Pancho’ Bensadon, Rufino Bensadon), as Two Trees (Will Johnston, Mariano Aguerre, Miguel Novillo Astrada, Juan Sánchez Elia) went head-to-head against La Fe (Louis Devaleix, Lucas Diaz Alberdi, Roberto ‘Robi’ Bilbao, Francisco Elizalde).
Assembling on Isla Carroll East, Aspen kicked-off their 2023 Gauntlet of Polo debut with three goals in the first chukker on drives from Rufino Bensadon and Armstrong. Falling to Valiente in their first contest of bracket play, all four of La Elina’s teammates reached the scoreboard in the first half, but a spectacular four goal third chukker from the Bensadon’s gave Aspen a 9-6 lead at the horn. Kicking-starting their second half comeback, three conversions from La Elina’s Zenni led to a five-goal unanswered run with contributions from Hall and Coppola to seal the 15-12 victory.
Switching to play on Field 4, La Fe opened their first match of in the C.V. Whitney Cup converting six goals on eight shots between Bilbao, Devaleix and Elizalde. Accounting for all of Two Trees’ offense in the first half including three in open play and three penalty conversions, Astrada lifted Two Trees to a narrow 7-6 halftime advantage. Dominating the second half, 9-goaler Elizalde found the posts seven times, with three coming from the field, as La Fe held their opponents to one penalty attempt in the half to complete the comeback 14-10.
Upcoming Schedule:
Saturday, February 18
Pilot (1-0) vs Dazos (0-1) at 11:00am ET
Tamera (1-0) vs Park Place (1-0) at 3:00pm ET
Photo Credit: David Lominska