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ISLA CARROLL TAKES 2008 CV WHITNEY CUP

March 2, 2008

WELLINGTON, FL - Isla Carroll galloped away with the 2008 USPA CV Whitney Cup as the North American Polo League team defeated Las Monjitas 15-12 today in the finals of the single-elimination tournament at International Polo Club Palm Beach.

2008 CV Whitney Cup winners - Isla Carroll
L to R: Magoo Laprida, Marcos DiPaola, Facundo Pieres, John Goodman
Photo courtesy of LILA PHOTO

"We never thought the game was going to be like this," said Isla Carroll's Facundo Pieres who was named the game's most valuable player as he scored eight goals including four from the field. "We thought the game was going to be a hundred times more tough than it was. It doesn't mean that it wasn't tough, but we thought we'd have a little bit less chance to win than that."

Isla Carroll carried a commanding lead throughout the final game, but Monjitas never gave up as the team scored four goals in the sixth, closing the gap on the six-goal lead Isla Carroll carried by the end of the fifth chukker.

"In polo I never think that we have it. You see people come back from five goals or six goals. But I think the team played fantastic," said Isla Carroll team captain John Goodman. "I think it gives us a lot of confidence going into the Gold Cup and then the U.S. Open. Now we know we can win"

Goodman and his team will take a few days off and are set to play their first game of the USPA Piaget Gold Cup on Saturday, March 8. Gold Cup action begins on Tuesday, March 4 at 3 p.m. when Zacara will take on White Birch.

In today's earlier polo action, Crab Orchard was named the winner of the Iglehart Cup as the quartet defeated Orchard Hill 12-11. Although, his team won, Jeff Blake who was named the game's most valuable player wasn't too confident about today's win.

"We definitely have to get a lot better if we're going to win the Gold Cup," said Blake who scored five from the field in the subsidiary CV Whitney match.

Played since 1979 the USPA CV Whitney is named in honor of Cornelius Vanderbilt "Sonny" Whitney, who along with his cousin John Hay Whitney were important polo patrons in the 1930's. The son of Hall of Fame patron Harry Payne Whiney, C.V. won the U.S. Open three times (twice against his cousin), and was a renowned owner and breeder of thoroughbred racehorses.

International Polo is located at 3667 120th Avenue South in Wellington and hosts professional polo tournaments until April 20. The premier game of the week is played at 3:00 pm every Sunday on the Stanford Field and Stadium. Information can be obtained by calling 561-204-5687 or on the web at www.internationalpoloclub.com or www.northamericanpololeague.com.

ISLA CARROLL 0-3-3-5-3-1 = 15 (4 penalty goal) Facundo Pieres 8
LAS MONJITAS I-0-2-3-2-4 = 12 (5 penalty goal) Javier Astrada 7
CRAB ORCHARD 3-1-1-2-3-2 = 12 (1 penalty goal) Nachi Heguy 6
ORCHARD HILL 3-2-2-0-3-1 = 11 (3 penalty goal) Jeff Hall 4

Click Here for the C.V. Whitney Schedule and Roster