By Daniella Henry
"No need to recruit" seems to be the name of the game for the University of Connecticut Polo Club.
As a club sport, UConn cannot actively recruit players as do NCAA sports, but according to freshman and club president Michael Mizrahi, UConn really doesn't have to work hard to attract players to the team.
"Recruitment is on autopilot," Mizrahi said. "Because of our reputation, people want to come here."
The minuscule size of the polo community in general and the even smaller size of the collegiate polo community make college recruitment unnecessary. For example, as a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Mizrahi played polo all through high school as part of the U.S. Polo Association's interscholastic program. During that time, he familiarized himself with most of the players who play along the East Coast.
The USPA intercollegiate polo is really just a continuation of interscholastic polo, Mizrahi said.
"We know who's on the market," Mizrahi said.
He can recite the names of prospective teammates, along with their strengths and weaknesses on the field with nonchalant ease.
According to Assistant Coach Marc Tufts, Yale, Cornell, UConn and the University of Virginia are the "four major polo schools on the East Coast." Out of those four, Cornell is the most aggressive in terms of recruiting because of the school's NCAA membership, but Mizrahi pointed out, polo players "still have to have the grades to get into Cornell."
Students who decide to attend UConn have some NCAA benefits. They have four years of sport eligibility and can decide to be "redshirted" for a season to prolong their college polo careers.
The size and laid-back nature of UConn polo helped Mizrahi make up his mind. Cornell's program is very intense, he said. He likely would not have played his first two years there, if he had attended college there.
UConn can attract good players, he said. UConn's polo club has a rich history and produced many of the most famous polo players today, such as Tom Goodspeed, who once held the highest goal handicap at 10; and Hal Vita, who founded the UConn polo club in 1969.
The rich history will continue.
"I can tell you the freshmen coming in next year and they haven't even applied yet," Mizrahi said.
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