ITHACA, N.Y. – Having played Virginia once this season in what ended in a dominant victory for the Cavaliers, the Cornell women's polo team applied what it learned from its game earlier this year to its contest today, hanging with Virginia for three chukkers before the Cavaliers pulled away in the fourth for a 21-14 victory over Cornell in the championship of the Bill Field Invitational on Sunday at the Oxley Equestrian Center in Ithaca, N.Y.

Today's game against Virginia marked vast improvement from when the two teams faced off earlier this season at the Virginia Polo Fall Tournament, as the Cavaliers clinched a distinct 21-2 victory over the Big Red on Oct. 22 in Charlottesville, Va. Although the outcome of the contest today was the same, how the contest played out was vastly different, as the Big Red hung tough with the Cavaliers for three chukkers.

Jasmine Umrigar was the star for the Big Red on Sunday, scoring eight of Cornell's 14 points, including two goals in the first chukker to help Cornell claim a 4-3 advantage at the end of the first. Rachel Booth and Lea Jih-Vieira also added goals in the first chukker, contributing to the Big Red lead.

Virginia outscored the Big Red, 7-5, in the second chukker to take a slim 10-9 advantage into the half, but it was Umrigar who kept Cornell on Virginia's heels. Umrigar added three more goals in the second, including one two-pointer for her first of the season.

After one goal apiece from Umrigar, Booth, and Sophia Neis in the third chukker, and limiting Virginia to four goals in the period, Cornell found itself trailing by just two, 14-12, heading into the final chukker. The Cavaliers put its foot on the gas, however, outscoring the Big Red 7-2 in the fourth chukker to win the game by a score of 21-14.

In addition to Umrigar, Booth notched a trio of goals in the game, while Neis scored two and Jih-Vieira added one of her own. Umrigar's eight points for the Big Red on the contest not only marked a team-high, but was a season-best. Virginia's Maddie Grant led all scorers with 18 points, including two two-point goals.

With the result of today's game, the Big Red placed second at the Bill Field Invitational and sits at 5-6 overall on the season. The Cornell women's polo team will be back in action on Friday, Dec. 3 when it welcomes Michigan State to the Oxley Equestrian Center for a 7 p.m. contest in Ithaca, N.Y.