Mike Zapara’s Circle Z team won the United States Polo Association (USPA) sanctioned tournament for the Hawaiian Circuit’s Player’s Cup by defeating Greg Smith’s Smith Chiropractic team 8-2 last Sunday in a match at the Kaua’i Polo Club’s Anini Field.
Mike Zapara’s Circle Z team won the United States Polo Association (USPA)
sanctioned tournament for the Hawaiian Circuit’s Player’s Cup by defeating Greg
Smith’s Smith Chiropractic team 8-2 last Sunday in a match at the Kaua’i Polo
Club’s Anini Field.
The first chukker bowl in was cleared by Zapara, and
following some aggressive play in which Ronnie Tongg and Herman Louis DeCoite
battled for the ball, DeCoite sent the ball to Derrick Naauao who took off and
scored for Smith. Later, when Greg Smith tried to score, Kim Kelly swept in and
took control. He got off a long drive picked up by Kamalu Sheldon, who then
went on to score with a perfect neck shot. After the throw-in, Tongg and
DeCoite engaged in a horse race with Tongg coming up with the ball. He set up a
great opportunity for Kelly to score, and she did with a superb offside neck
shot.
Play ebbed and flowed in the second chukker, with both sides
exhibiting strong defensive maneuvers. At one point after DeCoite had rocketed
the ball down the field and it was blocked by a sweet near-side back shot by
Sheldon, Tongg took over, moved out in front of both teams, and went the length
of the field to score for Circle Z.
Circle Z exploded in the third
chukker. The bowl-in took place almost beside the goal line, and Sheldon
cleared the ball and scored. DeCoite was denied a goal when a shot hit one of
the goal posts and bounced over the end line. Tongg seemed always at the right
place at the right time, and, with DeCoite sticking to him like glue, smoothly
took the ball down the field to score.
Zapara scored after he gained
control, as both teams were bunched at the goalmouth. Kelly took the ball the
whole length of the field in front of the pack with an imminent goal in sight,
but the ball hit the goal post and bounced back onto the field of play. But
Zapara was following, and before the opposition could get to the ball, he
knocked it between the pylons.
The intensity of play picked up in the
final chukker. Naauao scored for Smith after a nice pass from DeCoite.
Following a knock-in by Tongg, Kelly picked up on the play and smoked down the
field to score. When the final bell rang it was Circle Z 8 and Smith 2.
The members of the winning team were presented with silver mugs inscribed
Player’s Club 2000 by Margaret Neumann.
