CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Cornell men's polo team opened play at the Virginia Polo Fall Tournament with a 14-5 victory over Texas A&M on Thursday, Oct. 29.

Junior Max Sponer scored 10 goals to lead the Big Red. Junior Malachi Light added two goals and junior Dylan Tung scored one. Cornell also scored on a pony goal in the fourth chukker.

Cornell jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first chukker, with Sponer scoring all five goals.

Sponer added four more goals in the second chukker as the Big Red outscored the Aggies 4-3 to take a 9-3 lead into halftime.

Light scored Cornell's lone goal in the third chukker to make it 10-4. Cornell closed with four goals in the fourth chukker, from Tung, Light, Sponer and a pony goal, and Texas A&M scored one to make the final 14-5.

"Solid win for our guys to open the 2026 UVA Fall Invitational," said Anthony M. Condo, Jr., Peter B. Orthwein '68 Head Coach of Polo. "Our junior class triumvirate of Max Sponer, Malachi Light, and Dylan Tung came ready to play and opened up a 5-0 lead before allowing A&M on the board. Our open field play really stood out to me in this game. Max has really elevated his game to start this season, and it's great to see how the guys' team chemistry continues to develop. I'm excited for this team, and we're looking forward to facing our rival UVA on Saturday in the Championship Final for the second year in a row."

Cornell (3-0) faces Virginia in the championship final on Saturday, Oct. 31.