The women’s polo team (4-0) hosts the Skidmore Thoroughbreds tomorrow as it looks for its fifth consecutive victory. The Red is expected to continue its domination of other regional teams against Skidmore, in what head coach David Eldredge described as a “blowout.”
Last weekend, Cornell ousted Skidmore 22-2 in a lopsided affair. Senior Taylor McLean led the Red with nine goals, junior Harriet Antczak had seven, and junior Audrey Robertson finished with six. The three starters won’t see much playing time this weekend as Eldredge looks to give some other players experience.
“This weekend should be blowouts,” said Eldredge. “I’m looking to play lots of new players; going deep into the bench will give some playing time to the younger members and see who in the future will take the lead.”
The larger Cornell playing surface will allow the Red to play its normal game. Skidmore’s smaller rink forced a slight change in strategy for the Red, highlighting individual performance. Eldredge expects Skidmore’s game to be hampered by the change, as the Thoroughbreds will have to adapt and change strategies.
“It will be easier on the larger playing surface,” said Eldredge, “and Skidmore will be hurt.”
Highly regarded as regional even national favorites, the women riders expect nothing less than a win. With four consecutive titles under its belt already, the team looks for a fifth, and possibly more.
“It’d be great to get five or more titles in a row, and the younger players are a big part of that, to keep the program going,” said Eldredge.
The women will be saddling up at 8:15 tomorrow at the Oxley center.
Meanwhile, the men’s team (3-0), also in strong contention for titles this year, faces Skidmore on the road today. Although the riders have had a two week layoff, Eldredge does not expect a big change.
“It’s not a big deal,” said Eldredge. “The men should win handily; we’ve got enough talent to adjust.”
Riding for the men will be junior Senter Johnson, sophomore Jeff Markle, and senior Darren James. Although highly successful in the win against UConn two weeks ago, Eldredge is holding senior Jacob Leclair to give James some playing time.
Eldredge is not expecting much strong competition from the Thoroughbreds, but is not counting on anything.
“With only player with real prior experience, they’re not a real strong team, but there’s always that unknown. You can write everything on paper, but it can all far apart on the field,” said Eldredge.
Archived article by Josh Dormont