La Irenita Grand Champions and La Ensenada RS Murus Sanctus scored debut wins in the first matchdate of the 129th. Argentine Open, following the games that took place on Tuesday November 1, at the AAP Headquarters, in Pilar. La Irenita Grand Champions had to struggle to beat newcomers, La H, La Ensenada RS Murus Sanctus had to struggle against a talented La Irenita GSquared. The 129th. Argentine Open, the most renowned polo tournament worldwide, sees ten teams up to 39 goals. Teams are split in two leagues.
The opening between La Irenita Grand Champions, the recent runner up of the Hurlingham Open, and La H, the brand new lineup who emerged from the Qualification Tournament, was very tight and very closes, with the scores tied until the fifth chukka, when La Irenita were able to outscore La H 3-0 in the fifth chukka to earn a 12-9 lead. The hard fought contest was decided in the last chukka, with La Irenita claiming the 14-10 win. Beyond the final result, it is worth noting La H’s remarkable performance, led by their flagship man, Joaquín Pittaluga, who scored eight goals.
Up next, La Ensenada RS Murus Sanctus met up with La Irenita GSquared, in a remarkable match, that had plenty of goals, a total of 37 between the two lineups, perhaps one of the highest scores the Argentine Open has ever seen. La Irenita GSquared got off to a stronger start, by sweeping La Ensenada RS Murus Sanctus with an impressive 3-0 lead in the first chukka. However, La Ensenada RS Murus Sanctus bounced back in the second to tie at 4-all, and claimed the lead in the third (8-5). Although La Ensenada RS Murus Sanctus remained ahead, they had to cope with La Irenita GSquared’s pressure; but in the in the sixth chukka, the blue jerseys seized the reins in order to widen their advantage, which led them to the 20-17 win. In addtion to the large number of goals scored, it is worth noting that all eight players found the flags for their respective teams – while Sapo Caset produced nine for the winners, La Irenita GSquared’s Santiago Bocchino scored ten goals and his accuracy on penalty conversions was perfect (9/9).
129th. ARGENTINE OPEN – TUESDAY NOVEMBER 1
LA IRENITA GRAND CHAMPIONS 14-10 LA H
La Irenita Grand Champions: Juan Britos 9 (6 goals, 2 penalties), Francisco Elizalde 9 (3), Pablo Mac Donough 10 (1), Juan Martín Zubía 8 (4, penalties). Total: 36.
La Hache Perpool: Juan Ruiz Guiñazú 8 (2 goals), Carlos María Ulloa 6, Santiago Cernadas 7, Joaquín Pittaluga 7 (8, 7 penalties). Total: 28.
Score La Irenita Grand Champions: 2-2, 4-4, 5-5, 6-6, 9-8, 9-9, 12-9, 14-10.
Umpires: Martín Pascual & Matías Baibiene. Third man: Hernán Tasso.
LA ENSENADA RS MURUS SANCTUS 20-17 LA IRENITA GSQUARED
La Ensenada RS Murus Sanctus: Facundo Sola 8 (5 goals), Alfredo Bigatti 9 (4), Guillermo Caset 9 (9, 3 penalties), Jerónimo del Carril 8 (2). Total: 34.
La Irenita Gsquared: Santiago Loza 8 (2 goals), Segundo Bocchino 7 (10, 9 penalties), Martín Podestá ) 7 (2 penalties 1), Felipe Dabas 7 (3). Total: 29.
Score La Ensenada RS Murus Sanctus: 0-3, 4-4, 8-5, 11-8, 11-9, 14-11, 17-14, 20-17.
Umpires: Gastón Lucero & Guillermo Villanueva. Third man: Martín Aguerre.
Cover photo by Matias Callejo/Prensa AAP.
The 129th. Argentine Open will continue in Pilar, on Wednesday November 2:
1pm: LA DOLFINA SAUDI vs. LA ESQUINA
La Dolfina Saudi: Adolfo Cambiaso 10, David Stirling 10, Adolfo Cambiaso Jr. 9, Juan Martín. Nero 10. Total: 39.
La Esquina: Pascual Sáinz de Vicuña 6, Cristian Laprida 8, Lucas James 7, Ignacio Laprida 8. Total: 29.
Umpires: Gastón Lucero & Martín Pascual. Third man: Hernán Tasso.
4,30pm: CRÍA LA DOLFINA vs. LA IRENITA CLINOVA
Cría La Dolfina: Guillermo Terrera 9, Tomás Panelo 8, Diego Cavanagh 8, Alejo Taranco 8. Total: 33.
La Irenita Clinova: Facundo Fernández Llorente 8, Benjamín Urquiza 6*, Bautista Bayugar 8, Isidro Strada 8. Total: 30.
*Urquiza will make his debut at the Argentine Open, subbing in for Tomás Fernández Llorente, who has been suspended.
Umpires: Gonzalo López Vargas & Guillermo Villanueva. Third man: José Ignacio Araya.
The final of the 129th. Argentine Open is set to be played on Friday December 2.
129° Argentine Polo Open – Fixture & Teams