USA still perfect in USPA Intl. Cup
Win over Brazil is team’s 6th straight in annual game.
WELLINGTON — Team USA remained undefeated with a 9-7 victory over Brazil in the sixth annual USPA International Cup on Saturday at Grand Champions Polo Club.
In front of a packed house, the team of Grant Ganzi, Carlitos Gracida, Julio Arellano and Mike Azzaro led from start to finish to turn back the Brazilian team of Flavio Castilho, Gustavo Toledo, Guilherme Lins and Calao Mello.
It was the U.S. team’s sixth consecutive victory in the international game and closest margin of victory in a regulation game. Since 2012, the U.S. has defeated England, Chile, Mexico, South Africa and Uruguay.
Arellano, a Cardinal Newman and Florida Atlantic University graduate, was named Most Valuable Player for the third consecutive year. Arellano scored a game-high five goals.
“This was a great win,” Arellano said. “Brazil played really well. It was a great game right to the end. We stayed disciplined. This U.S. team was a lot of fun and I am always honored to represent the U.S. When I am asked to participate, it’s always an easy yes.”
Hall of Famer and former 10-goaler Mike Azzaro, making his International Cup debut, added two goals.
“Those guys were tough. They came to win for themselves and their country,” Azzaro said. “We controlled the game pretty comfortably and did basically what we needed to do to win.”
Ganzi, a sophomore at Lynn University making his second appearance in the game, and Carlitos Gracida, making his third appearance, each scored a goal.
In the opening game of the doubleheader, the legacy of Hall of Famer and former 10-goaler Carlos Gracida continued in the fourth annual Carlos Gracida Legends of Polo Memorial. One of the sport’s all-time greats was killed in a polo accident in Wellington in February 2014 at age 53.
The Future Legends, a team comprised of up-and-coming young players Will Jacobs, Santos Bollini, Mariano Gracida and Juancito Bollini, defeated the Legends, a team of experienced veteran players Charlie and Stewart Armstrong, Marc Ganzi and Juan Bollini, 6-5.
Juancito Bollini, 21, a Florida Atlantic University senior, scored the winning goal with 37 seconds left in the game. Bollini finished with two goals and his younger brother, Santos, scored a team-high three goals
“It was a special day to honor Carlos Gracida,” Grant Ganzi said. “It’s really sad what happened to Carlos and we all miss him every day in the sport. This day just brings back memories.”
It was bittersweet for Mariano Gracida, 24, the youngest son of Carlos, to play in his father’s honor.
“Today was a special day to remember my father and do what he loved the most, and that’s play polo,” Gracida said. “Sometimes I feel like he’s with me, especially like days today.”
Two Wellington-based Santa Rita Polo Farm-owned horses were named American Polo Horse Association Best Playing Pony for the game — Poker Face, a 9-yearold mare ridden by Lins, and Girl Power, a 7-year-old mare ridden by Ganzi.
Proceeds from the daylong event benefited the Lake Worth-based Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame. It was the sixth time Grand Champions, the nation’s largest polo club with 11 fields, has hosted a major international men’s game in its 10-year history.