Texas A&M junior Steve Krueger applies a lesson learned on the gridiron to the Aggies' pursuit of a third consecutive national championship in polo.
"I had a coach in middle school football who said you can't go undefeated if you don't win this one," said Krueger, who is captain of the A&M men's team. "I'd like to be part of four in a row, and to do that we've got to get the third one."
A&M's club polo teams will compete in the United States Polo Association Intercollegiate National Championships this week in Charlottesville, Va. The University of Virginia will host the tournament at the Virginia Polo Club, and the home team is considered a major threat to prevent the Aggie men from a three-peat.
"As usual, we're anticipating winning the whole tournament," A&M coach Mike McCleary said. "In reality, our chances are pretty slim. I think our men's team will make it to the finals. A lot of the coaches picked us No. 1. There's a few that say UVA is going to win it because it's in their home arena. We don't plan on just rolling over for that."
The Aggie men captured the national championship last year in Lexington, Ky. A&M will bring a rebuilt lineup back to nationals, with Krueger joined by junior Jake Little, sophomore Jose Aguilar and freshman Alex Molina. The Aggies had to replace Parker Flannery, one of the top players on last year's team.
"Winning this year would be probably more gratifying than ever, because we don't have the talent we've always had," Krueger said. "The past two years we've been so talented that there wasn't really a question for anybody if we were going to win it. We lost a bunch of players, but we've been working really hard this year."
While the A&M men were charging to national titles in 2007 and 2008, the Aggie women's team came up just short of reaching nationals. A&M's women lost in the Central Region final both years.
Coming so close and missing the national tournament twice will make this trip even more special for women's team captain Katie Connell, a junior from Sheridan, Wyo.
"It is the most thrilling feeling," Connell said. "I don't know how to explain it. I've been working for this for three years. To finally make it with this team is unbelievable.
"I hope to get a good night's sleep [before Wednesday's opening match], but I'm going to be very nervous. It will be nice to be able to see everybody else play first."
Both A&M teams drew first-round byes after winning the regional tourney in Burleson last month. The fourth-ranked Aggie women will play No. 2 Kentucky in the quarterfinal round at 2 p.m. Wednesday. A&M's top-ranked men will open against seventh-ranked Eastern Oregon State at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
The other members of the women's team are sophomore Amanda Massey and freshmen Stephanie Massey and Frances Hinkle.
"We've got a very young women's team, but they played great in the finals of the regional tournament," McCleary said. "If they all play their best game, we'll go a long way in this tournament."
McCleary serves as Justice of the Peace for Brazos County Precinct 1. The former A&M team captain has spent nearly 40 years promoting polo.
The Aggie polo club was started in 1967. A&M teams have won nine national championships since 1994, with the men claiming seven titles and the women winning in 1994 and 1995.
Cornell, one of the national powers in collegiate polo, has competed in the sport for 100 years.
"A&M is still kind of new kids on the block," McCleary said.
As the last two championships prove, these kids know their way around the block. That success will follow the Aggies to Charlottesville.
"You've got a target on your back when you are the returning national champions," McCleary said.
Collegiate polo is played in an arena format. The standard field is 300 feet long and 150 feet wide, surrounded by walls at least 4 feet tall. The ball used in arena polo is larger and softer than the one used outdoors.
The Aggies expect Virginia to have a significant advantage playing in their home arena. Along with the edge in fan support, the home team is accustomed to the surface and the corners, which play differently in every arena.
"It's huge," Krueger said. "I think they're going to have to have more fans then we've ever played in front of before. None of us have played at this arena, and that's where they practice every day.
"One thing we do have working for us is we would have the quarterfinals and semifinals, if we win those, before we actually get to Virginia. We'll have two games to get used to how the arena plays."