Polo Team Rides Into National Semifinals

>The Westmont Men’s Polo Team has advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Polo Association Intercollegiate Polo Championships at Cornell University in New York after beating Colorado State University 23-18 on April 18. The Warriors, coached by John Westley of Santa Barbara Polo School, battle the University of Connecticut Friday, April 20, at 1 p.m. PST.

“This team showed everyone how well it could play in a completely foreign, smaller indoor polo arena with unusual indoor lighting and unfamiliar, but beautiful horses,” Westley says.

This year’s team is headed by senior Wiley Uretz of Malibu and sophomores Patrick Uretz of Malibu, David Samaniego of Rancho Santa Fe and Ky Keobele of Saint Paul, Minn.

On April 1, the Warriors won the U.S.P.A. Western Regional Intercollegiate Tournament for the second consecutive year. Westmont won the Western Regionals three years in a row from 2007-2009 and nearly won a national championship in 2007, losing 12-8 to Texas A&M in the finals.

Polo became a club sport on campus 12 years ago, but students were unable to field a team until seven years ago. The team practices with Westley at the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club and plays games on weekends, riding horses on loan from the Santa Barbara Youth Polo Association.