Cornell men and women’s polo teams both suffered opening-round losses in their first tournament of the season but still found it a productive weekend.
Both teams traveled to UVA to participate in its Fall Invitational, where they each faced the same fate: a loss in the opening match followed by a bounce-back win in the consolation round.
The women’s team first opened the tournament with the tough task of taking on the defending national champions Texas A&M. The Red hung on early but fell to the Aggies 10-2.
In its consolation game, the women’s squad played Kentucky, where it defeated the Wildcats 12-8.
“It was a scrappy, slow game, and not really the style we enjoy playing,” said interim head coach Tony Condo. “[The tournament] ended on a positive note, so that was good.”
The men’s tournament started against a tough Kentucky team. Tied late in the game, the Wildcats pulled away at the end, winning 13-11.
But the men were able to bounce back, as well. The Red defeated a regional rival, the University of Western Ontario, in its consolation game by a score of 12-6. Junior Lorenzo Masias Uranga proved to be key in the Red’s victory.
Condo was glad to see a strong performance against a key regional foe.
“We anticipate it will come down to one of our two teams winning the [Northeast] region, so we were looking forward to seeing how we matched up with them,” Condo said. “We were really, really happy to see that we could stay with them and ultimately beat them.”
Despite the losses, Condo feels that both teams were able to gain from the tournament.
“Both teams learned about their identities in this tournament, and I anticipate we’re going to get much, much better,” Condo said.
The men were scheduled to be back in action against Harvard this weekend, but the Crimson cancelled the match. They will instead play a local team.
The women’s team plays at home this Friday against Skidmore College at 7:30 p.m.