ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell men's and women's polo teams will host the USPA D2 Intercollegiate National Championships beginning on Wednesday, April 9 at Oxley Equestrian Center. The Big Red's championship journey for both teams will kick off during the semifinals on Friday, April 11.

"Cornell Polo is very excited to host the USPA DII National Championships in 2025 and 2026," said Anthony Condo Jr., The Peter B. Orthwein `68 Head Coach of Polo. "This is an amazing event for us to both participate in and to host to increase the visibility and the appeal of the unique sport of polo in our local community. It goes without saying that our teams are excited at the opportunity to win a National Championship in front of their families and friends, as well as our fans and supporters who have cheered us on all year. I'm very excited at the opportunity for my teams to compete at the highest level this week, and to continue the 100+ year winning tradition for which Cornell Polo is known."

Ten high-level collegiate polo matches featuring some of the nation's top teams will commence beginning with play-in contests on Wednesday when Kentucky meets UC Davis on the women's side at 4:30 p.m. and a men's contest between Texas Tech and Cal Poly at 7 p.m. The winners of those games will meet their respective Cornell opponents on Friday, with the women's game at 11:30 a.m. and the men's at 2 p.m. The additional semifinals will feature New Hampshire and Colorado State in the women's bracket on Thursday at 9:30 a.m., with the men's contest between Kentucky and Babson at noon.

Thursday and Friday's winners will compete in Sunday's championship games with the women and 9:30 a.m. and the men at 12 p.m. The loser of Wednesday and Friday's games will compete in a consolation contest on Saturday (1:30 women and 4 p.m. men).

At 8-7 this season, the men's team enters postseason with hopes of repeating as D2 national champions following wins last season over Stanford (30-5) and Georgetown (14-10) in Los Osos, Calif. to give head coach Anthony Condo his first national title. Led by junior Benito Jaramillo Samper and freshman Max Sponer, Cornell will be in search of its 13th USPA national title in program history.

The women's team is 13-5 after claiming a Northeast Regional title with a 12-11 victory over New Hampshire in late March. Junior Lara Chong, senior Ava Ramachandran, freshman Naomi Marlough and fifth-year senior Isabelle Braden have led the Big Red on the field for a majority of the season. Cornell has won 15 USPA national titles, the last coming in 2016, and has reached the finals 33 times since 1977.