Written by guest contributor Virginia Polo player Rachel Murray.
Virginia Polo Club Polo Team: Rachel Murray, Maryam Sarafzadeh, Annabelle Bond, Antonia Masias, Scout Bale, and Francesca Savi
This past Sunday, our UVA Club Team traveled to Virginia Tech for their annual Mercedes Cup. It was a lot of our first times playing an away game on new horses, so we were really excited for the day. There were also a lot of spectators, mostly Tech fans, but it made the atmosphere really fun, and a few UVA fans even came up to us to tell us they travelled to support us.
We started the first half of the game really strong with our seniors Annabelle Bond and Scout Bale, and fifth year grad student Antonia Masias. I was really impressed with how well they communicated and stuck to their man, two things we’ve been working a lot on in practice. They were super strong from the start, and we pulled ahead with a 4-0 lead after the first chukker.
In the second chukker, Virginia Tech put in Diego Cuadra, a very talented player. He made a big impact for their team and helped bring the score to 4-4 by halftime.
For the second half, I played alongside second year Maryam Sarafzadeh and third year Francesca Savi. The three of us worked so well together, it was the best team dynamic I’ve felt all year. We all understood each other's strengths and how to play off of them, and our communication was so solid. Our connection paid off, and we brought the score up from 4-4 to 13-4 by the end of the third chukker.
We knew Diego would be back in the fourth chukker, so we focused on strategy and placing ourselves where we each felt the strongest. We managed to hold the lead and finished the game with a 15-7 win.
It was really obvious to me how much everyone has improved since the beginning of the year— not just as individual players, but as a team. The more we’ve gotten to know each other, the more we’ve built trust during games, and I think that really showed on Sunday. We also didn’t have a coach with us since it was varsity nationals week and Assistant Coach Abbie Grant had to stay home at Virginia Polo to run practice, and while that initially made me a little nervous, Maryam completely stepped up. She took on a leadership role and made sure everything ran smoothly while also coming up with team strategy and making sure we were all on the same page. I think she gave everyone a lot of confidence and helped us play our best.
It was such a great game and a really fun trip. Huge thanks to Virginia Tech for hosting and for everyone who came out to watch. We’re so grateful for the support!