One Team’s Win Streak Set to End as Skeeterville Plays New Bridge La Dolfina for 2006 Ylvisaker Cup Title Sunday at International Polo Club

 
WELLINGTON, FL (February 17, 2006) – Skeeterville and New Bridge La Dolfina both have a lot to lose in the 22-goal Ylvisaker Cup final. The teams meet Sunday at 3 p.m. on Stanford Field at International Polo Club Palm Beach.

Skeeterville, which dropped its first game of the season, has won six consecutive games. New Bridge La Dolfina has a five-game win streak, having last lost in the semifinals of the previous tournament.

New Bridge La Dolfina depends on 10-goal superstar Adolfo Cambiaso, generally regarded as the best player in the world, to control the ball and the tempo. He leads the tournament with 41 goals.
Cambiaso, in 1993 at the age of 17, became the youngest 10-goaler in the history of the sport. The five-time U.S. Open champion turns 31 on April 14.

Cambiaso will be joined by talented 9-goaler Matias Magrini of Argentina, who co-owns New Bridge Polo Club in Aiken, South Carolina with patron Russ McCall, an Atlanta businessman. Three-goaler Sunny Hale, the first woman to play on a winning team in the U.S. Open, rounds out the team.

Magrini is second on the team with 29 goals and has converted 14-of-15 penalty shots. Hale has scored three goals and McCall has one goal.

Arellano leads Skeeterville and is second in the tournament with 34 goals, converting 15-of-20 penalty shots. There is a huge dropoff in offense after Arellano, although it is balanced, as Stevie Orthwein and patron Skeeter Johnston are next with 10 goals apiece. Owen Rinehart, who controls the offense and plays a more defensive No. 3, has nine goals.

Skeeterville advanced to the final with a 13-10 victory over White Birch. New Bridge La Dolfina reached the final with a 13-6 triumph over defending champion Pony Express.

A major ingredient in Skeeterville’s win was Johnston’s four goals. If he can stay out front and contribute, that will force New Bridge La Dolfina to defend the entire team and create scoring opportunities for teammates. Skeeterville must figure out a strategy to stop Cambiaso, or at least slow him down, which should mean more changes for Magrini and Hale.

The Ylvisaker Cup in named in honor of William T. “Bill” Ylvisaker, a polo pioneer who founded Palm Beach Polo and Country Club in the late 1970s. A former Chairman of the USPA, Ylvisaker was elected into the Polo Hall of Fame in 1996. Ylvisaker, whose highest handicap was 7 goals, has won numerous major polo tournaments, including the prestigious U.S. Open in 1972.

The polo matches are open to the public. General admission for the Sunday games at International Polo Club Palm Beach is $10 for adults. Children under 12 enter for free. Tickets may be purchased at the gate on the day of the game.

International Polo Club Palm Beach is located at 3667 120th Avenue South, between Pierson Road and Lake Worth Road in Wellington. For information, directions or ticket purchases, please call the club at (561) 204-5687 or visit the website at www.internationalpoloclub.com.
 
Sunday, February 19
Skeeterville (5-0) vs. New Bridge La Dolfina (5-0), 3 p.m.
 
Ylvisaker Cup Scoring Leaders
 
Player/Team                                                     Games  Goals
 
Adolfo Cambiaso, New Bridge La Dolfina        5          41
Julio Arellano, Skeeterville                                5          34
Carlos Gracida, Airstream                                4          29
Matias Magrini, New Bridge La Dolfina            5          29
Mariano Aguerre, White Birch              5          28
Agustin Merlos, Reata                          4          23
Miguel Novillo Astrada, Bendabout                  4          21
Rookie Ballieu, Pony Express                           5          21
Nicolas Roldan, Pony Express              5          20
 
Past Champions
 
2005 – Pony Express defeated Airstream 11-6
2004 – Crab Orchard defeated Black Watch 13-8
2003 – C Spear defeated Outback 11-9

International Polo Club
Palm Beach