Piaget, Flat Out and Polo Gear/ROX TV
win in USPA Fall Plates opening games

By Alex Webbe

After suffering rain delays and high-wind postponements, the Grand Champions Polo
Club’s 2012 USPA Fall Plates tournament got underway with three matches that had
Piaget, Flat Out and Polo Gear/Rox TV ring up victories in the opening round of play.

With six teams in the 14-goal competition, and top stars including Jeff Hall, Nic Roldan,
Mariano Gonzalez, Tommy Biddle, Jason Crowder, Kris Kampsen, Brandon Phillips and
the legendary Carlos Gracida, the action was fast-paced and full of excitement.

Piaget (Melissa Ganzi, Wes Finlayson, Juan Bollini and Mariano Gonzalez) opened the
day with a 12-7 win over Ruby Q (Brian Street, Diego Cossio, Tommy Biddle and Joey
Casey) at the Palm City Polo Club in Boca Raton.

Wes Finlayson and Tommy Biddle exchanged first chukker goals before a determined
Piaget defense shut out Ruby Q in the second frame. Goals by Finlayson and Melissa
Ganzi went unanswered and Piaget took a 3-1 lead.

Biddle converted a penalty shot for a goal in the third, but single goals from Finlayson,
Juan Bollini and Mariano Gonzalez gave Piaget a comfortable 6-2 halftime advantage.

Biddle scored one goal from the field and another on a penalty shot in the fourth. Piaget
responded with a Finlayson’s fourth goal of the day and the period ended with Ruby Q
behind by three goals, 7-4.

Piaget extended its lead to four goals in the fifth on the strength of a pair of goals from
Gonzalez and another goal from Melissa Ganzi. Ruby Q managed single goals from
Diego Cossio and Biddle (penalty conversion) but continued to trail, 10-6.

Biddle’s sixth goal of the game, and fourth via penalty, was the last offensive outburst
by Ruby Q. Piaget scored the last two goals of the game with Melissa Ganzi notching
her third and Gonzalez scoring his fourth in the 12-7 victory.

FLAT OUT 9, NEWPORT/EQUINE LAW 6

The action returned to the Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington for a pair of
afternoon games with Flat Out (Sarah Knapp, Brandon Phillips, Jeff Hall and Paul
Knapp) recording a 9-6 win over Newport/Equine Law (Avery Chapman, Jason
Crowder, Kris Kampsen and Gene Goldstein).

A disciplined defense kept Newport/Equine Law from scoring in the first and third
chukkers with Jason Crowder registering the only goal of the first half for his team in a
shot from the field. Brandon Phillips scored once; Paul Knapp added two goals for Flat
Out, with Jeff Hall chipping in three more for a commanding 6-1 halftime lead.

Newport/Equine Law came alive in the fourth with single goals from Crowder and Gene
Goldstein. Phillips scored the only goal of the chukker, as Flat Out held a four goal
lead, 7-3.

Crowder and Kris Kampsen added goals to the Newport/Equine Law total in the fifth
period. Paul Knapp converted a penalty shot and Newport/Equine Law cut the lead to
three goals, 8-5.

Gene Goldstein scored his first goal of the game in the final chukker, with Hall
responding with his fourth goal of the game in Flat Out’s 6-6 win.

POLO GEAR/ROX TV 4, AUDI 3

You would have thought that with American 8-goaler Nic Roldan and polo legend Carlos
Gracida on the field that the final game of the day would be a real barn-burner, but such
was not the case. With no scoring by either team in the opening chukker and a single
goal from Audi’s Joaquin Panelo defense was the rule of the day as in a 1-0 Audi (Marc
Ganzi, Joaquin Panelo, Nic Roldan and Jacelyn Grouix) match after the first two periods
of play.

Carlos Gracida got Polo Gear/ROX TV (Grant Ganzi, Stevie Orthwein, Carlos Gracida
and Carlitos Gracida) on the scoreboard in the third while he and his teammates kept
Audi off of the scoreboard to edge Audi, 2-1, at the end of the first half.

Audi got right back into the hunt in the second half with single goals from Marc Ganzi
and Nic Roldan. Carlitos Gracida answered with a goal from the field and a 3-3 tie.

No scoring by either team in the fifth period made for a boring score, but the action
was fast-paced. Carlos Gracida ended the suspense with precious little time left in the
match for the ultimate 4-3 victory.

The most exciting subplot of the match might have been the fact that Grant Ganzi’s Polo
Gear/ROX TV team beat his father’s Audi entry.

Action in the 2012 USPA Fall Plates at the Grand Champions Polo Club is scheduled to
be completed on either Monday or Tuesday of this week.