ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell men's and women's polo teams clinched their spot at the 2013 USPA National Championships by running away with the Northeast Regional titles on Sunday afternoon at Oxley Equestrian Center. The men improved to 10-2 with a 28-12 win over Connecticut, while the women are now 14-1 after dropping Skidmore 27-8.

The men opened the day against UConn, as Nik Feldman and Branden Van Loon were joined at the start of the game by Connor Pardell after regular starter Nick Stieg out with illness. Nerves were abundant as the Huskies took a 2-1 lead, but the Big Red got themselves back into the game and by the end of the chukker led 7-4. The Huskies fought back in the second and actually took the lead at 9-8, but Cornell scored the final two goals of the half to go into the break with a 10-9 lead. Stieg gave it a go in the third and Cornell found its mojo, outscoring UConn 10-1 in the chukker to take a 20-10 lead into the fourth. The same Big Red team stayed up for the fourth and Cornell increased its lead to the final margin of 16 goals. Feldman tallied 12 goals, VanLoon had seven and Pardell and Stieg each scored four. Cornell was also awarded a penalty goal.

The women hit the ring immediately after and made quick work of Skidmore. Ali Hoffman, Kailey Eldredge and Devin Cox started for the Big Red and opened up to take a commanding 9-1 lead after one. Anna Winslow replaced Devin Cox in the second and Cornell built on its lead, taking a 13-1 advantage into the half. Eldredge, Winslow, and Cox stayed up in the third as the Big Red extended the lead to 18-3 after three chukkers. Hoffman replaced Eldredge for the fourth and the team cruised the rest of the way. Cox tallied a team-high 10 goals, while Hoffman had nine, Eldredge scored seven and Winslow was credited with one.

The good news continued at the tournament awards after the matches when Branden VanLoon, Nik Feldman, Nick Stieg, Ali Hoffman, Kailey Eldredge and Devin Cox each took home Northeast Region All-Star honors. Beth Lebow garnered the Region Sportsmanship award as well. Cornell honors continued as Pico and Bebe were voted Best Pony for the men and women divisions, along with Cornell also taking the Best String award for each. Overall, it was quite the haul for the Big Red at Oxley.