GREENWICH, CT--(Marketwired - August 24, 2015) - The United States Polo Association® (USPA) and Greenwich Polo Club, in partnership with Audi, Town & Country, and Lancôme, announced today that Audi, White Birch and Airstream were victorious in opening round action at the 2015 USPA East Coast Open this past weekend at the Greenwich Polo Club in Greenwich, CT.
The first match of the USPA East Coast Open featured McLaren versus White Birch and was a very fast and open game with lots of passing. McLaren was awarded 1 goal on the handicap. The skill and experience of Mariano Aguerre, Hilario Ulloa and Peter Brant was matched with energy from Santino Magrini on the White Birch team. Tommy Biddle, Nick Manifold, Joao Paulo Ganon and Chris Brant were a hard working team for McLaren. Spectators were energized by the long passes and hard fast pace of the game. The final score was 16-12 in favor of White Birch. Biddle and Ulloa both tied for the most goals at 8 each.
Game two pitted Airstream against Turkish Airlines. Three goals were awarded on handicap to Turkish Airlines. It was a hard-fought match often punctuated with stoppage for fouls. The talent of the players rose to the occasion -- with many brilliant plays -- which enabled spectators to engage in the game and appreciate the skill. The Turkish Airlines team was hard working between Tomas Garcia del Rio, Joaquin Panelo, Bruce Colley/Joe Meyer and Stevie Orthwein. Tomas Garcia del Rio was the high scorer of the match with a total of 9 to his name. Airstream was victorious due to exceptional plays by the Matias Magrini, Michel Dorignac, Peter Orthwein and Guillermo Agüero combination. The final score was 17-13 in favor of Airstream.
Sunday marked the first public match of the USPA East Coast Open and it was without a doubt one of the most crowd-pleasing games. In the end, Audi's offensive aggression outmatched the great defensive strategy displayed by KIG. The strategic talent on the field was in full display as the teams of Audi's Miguel Novillo Astrada, Nic Roldan, Juancito Bollini and Marc Ganzi battled defensive plays of Mariano Obregon, Pelon Escapite, Valerio Zubiaurre and Bash Kazi. Despite valiant efforts by KIG the final score was 11-6 in favor of Audi. Nic Roldan was named the Most Valuable Player and was the high scorer with 6 points. Best Playing Pony was awarded to Kornicova, ridden by Miguel Novillo Astrada and owned by Halo Polo, LLC.
The 20-goal tournament (played on a handicap level) will continue on Sunday, Aug. 30, and conclude with the championship final on Sunday, Sept. 6. The USPA will live-stream preliminary matches on ChukkerTV.com, and NBC Sports Network will air a 60-minute national broadcast of the East Coast Open final on Sept. 13 at 7:00PM EDT.
The East Coast Open was founded in Rhode Island in 1905 and was played until World War I. It had a renaissance starting in 1978 when Donald Little, then President of the USPA and Captain of the Myopia Polo Club, resurrected the tournament and brought it to Myopia Polo Club in South Hamilton, Massachusetts where it was played until the early 2000's.
Since 1905, the Perry Cup trophy has symbolized this high-goal championship and winners' names are forever memorialized on the trophy. The Perry Cup has been restored and will make its debut this summer at Greenwich Polo Club for the East Coast Open.
Town & Country magazine hosted the VIP hospitality tent, under which guests enjoyed an unprecedented day of polo watching while mixing and mingling with some of the world's top luxury brands.
Audi of America, Inc. hosted a beautiful event complete with gorgeous white furniture and a live jazz band, open to all Audi owners and select VIP's. During the opening ceremony, Audi presented the ball toss from the 2015 RS 5, a stunning coupe offering track-inspired performance and industry-leading style. After the game, the RS-5 guided the teams to the stage where the presentation of trophies was made by Audi area General Manager, Rick Fuller.
East Coast Open tickets are available for purchase at www.GreenwichPoloClub.com/ECO. In addition to general admission tickets, guests can opt for a private cabana or box seating. Gates open at 1PM and East Coast Open matches start at 3PM. The field address is 1 Hurlingham Drive, Greenwich, CT 06831.
About The United States Polo Association®
Founded in 1890, the United States Polo Association (USPA) is the national governing body for the sport of polo in North America and is the second oldest sport governing body in the United States preceded only by the United States Tennis Association. With nearly 300 member clubs and 40 national tournaments, the USPA governs polo handicaps, tournament rules and safety regulations, to ensure the welfare and well being of both horse and player. Funded by sales from the officially licensed consumer brand, U.S. Polo Assn., the USPA purposefully re-invests revenue by underwriting numerous development programs to expand and sustain the sport of polo. For more information please visit www.uspolo.org.
About Greenwich Polo Club
Established in 1981 by Peter Brant, the Greenwich Polo Club is the venue for high-goal polo during the summer season in the U.S. Nestled in the beautiful backcountry of Greenwich, CT and internationally recognized for its rosters of legendary teams and players, Greenwich Polo Club hosts public USPA high-goal polo matches on Sundays throughout the summer. For more information, images, player information and team stats about Greenwich Polo Club, please visit www.greenwichpoloclub.com, follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook and Instagram. GreenwichPolo is the official hashtag for the season.
About Town & Country
Town & Country (www.townandcountrymag.com) has chronicled American life since 1846, always putting an emphasis on people of style and accomplishment who give something back to the world, whether in service, philanthropy or creative endeavor. Combining the highest level of reporting with the very best photography, Town & Country is an acute observer of the broader social landscape, documenting notable weddings and parties, chronicling the pastimes and passions of leading figures and families everywhere, and casting an anthropological eye on the lives of the rich and powerful. The magazine is a trusted source of privileged information, taste and unpretentious fun -- in short, an irreplaceable guide to the very best that the world has to offer. Town & Country Weddings, established in 2003, and the newly revived Town & Country Travel, are published biannually. Town & Country is published by Hearst Magazines, a unit of Hearst Corporation, one of the nation¹s largest diversified media and information companies.
With 21 titles in the U.S., Hearst is the leading publisher of monthly magazines in terms of total paid circulation (AAM 2H 2014), reaching 78 million readers (Spring 2015 MRI gfk) and 54 million site visitors each month (comScore). Follow Town & Country on Twitter at @TandCMag.
ABOUT AUDI
Audi of America, Inc. and its U.S. dealers offer a full line of German-engineered luxury vehicles. AUDI AG is among the most successful luxury automotive brands globally. The Audi Group delivered over 1,741,000 vehicles to customers globally in 2014, and broke all-time company sales records for the 5th straight year in the U.S. Through 2019, AUDI AG plans to invest about 24 billion euros - 70 percent of the investment will flow into the development of new models and technologies. Visit www.audiusa.com or www.audiusa.com/newsroom for more information regarding Audi vehicles and business topics.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Bill Fallon
Keating/Co
212.925.6900
bfallon@keatingco.com