Oxley Equestrian Center has many championship banners proudly hung from the top of the arena — and this weekend the men’s polo team is looking to add another.
The Red will host the Division II Intercollegiate National Championship this weekend with its first match starting at 2 p.m. on Friday against Texas Tech University. Currently, Cornell is 8-7 overall and 4-5 at home. In its last matchup, the Red bested Central New York Polo Club, 19-10, at Oxley Equestrian Center.
The Championship weekend started on Wednesday with Texas Tech taking on the California Polytechnic State University. The Red Raiders impressively beat Cal Poly, 26-6.
The next day, Kentucky faced Babson College, a team the Red narrowly escaped on March 9 with the final score being 19-15. Freshman Max Sponer and junior Benito Jaramillo helped lead the Red to that victory that helped them clinch a spot in this weekend’s championship.
Kentucky will face the winner of Friday’s game on Sunday at 12 p.m. in the final championship game. Cal Poly will face the loser of Friday’s game in a consolation match on Saturday at 4 p.m.
”To prepare for this game during practice we try to focus on strengthening our weaknesses and putting emphasis on what we want our game to look like,” Jaramillo said.
The starting lineup for the Red this weekend will include Sponer, Jaramillo, freshman Dylan Tung and senior Christian Finlay. The keys for success this weekend will be getting the Red’s to generate points from its two biggest offensive weapons — Jaramillo and Sponer.
“We want to control the ball but not make the game messy,” Jaramillo said. “We try to make it a fast paced game where we think [are] our biggest strengths.”
Last year, the Red bested Stanford University to win the national title. As reigning champs, the team is excited to take on this weekend and hoist another banner in its arena.
“Earning another title as a junior would be an honor,” Jaramillo said. “My goal is always to win and have fun while doing it. … It would be an amazing experience to be able to win back to back championships.”
Cornell will face Texas Tech at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 11.
Zeinab Faraj is the assistant sports editor on the 143rd editorial board and a member of the class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences. You can reach her at zfaraj@cornellsun.com.
