With strong seasons from the Cornell men and women’s polo teams, both squads remain poised to continue their championship bids.
With both squads coming out victorious over the past weekend, the men (12-3) have now won 10 times in their last 11 outings, while the women (14-2) sit in the midst of an incredible 12 match win streak.
As the regular season winds down, both squads will begin preparations for postseason play. The men’s team will look to take care of business against Yale and Western University to close out the season. As the road to nationals begins, the squad will look to one-up last season’s 16-4 campaign and trip to the national semifinals, and win the Red’s 12th national title.
“I am very pleased with the way the teams have rounded out so far,” said head coach David Eldredge ’81. “[However], the men have a really tough road. Our men are number one in the country … but we know that being number one now means nothing more than a good seeding at the Regional Tournament. We have to win that tournament and move on to nationals.”
The women will also look to close out the season strong against Yale, Garrison Forest Polo Club and a final unannounced opponent. Once in postseason play, the squad will look to continue its recent dominance — having national title game bids in six of the last seven seasons — and win its 16th national title.
“I feel really good about the women’s chances of making nationals,” Eldredge said. “As they say, once in the dance anything can happen.”
“Our women won the championship in 2016 and we had some strong starters graduate [but] this year we have a group of girls who have been playing together for two years now that work really well together,” added senior Kerry McCann. “I have confidence in the team’s abilities, we have a lot of talent and well-rounded players who communicate and play cohesively.”
The teams are back in action in New Haven on February 23, with the men taking on Yale at 10 a.m., followed that night by the women at 7:30 p.m.