Mike Azzaro

Mike Azzaro
Nationality	American
Occupation	Polo player

Mike Azzaro is an American professional polo player from San Antonio, Texas. Azzaro, whose current handicap is 9 goals,^[1] held the sport's highest handicap (10 goals) for over 10 years. Azzaro was awarded Polo Magazine's Polo Excellence Award for young player of the year in 1987 and 1990 and the award for player of the year in 1994. Known for his aggressive forward style of play, he has always been a crowd favorite. With Memo Gracida, he formed one of the most powerful duos in Polo. Both of them live in Wellington, Florida.

Biography

He was first awarded the highest handicap in 1994 after having reached the finals of every high goal tournament in the Palm Beach season as well as winning the U.S. Open in California. In 1995 he was lowered back to 9 after the 1994 season and U.S. Open in which teams he was on did not perform well. In 1996 after having a great season he was raised to 10 goals a rating he then held until the mid 2000's.

In 2009, he was to captain the U.S. Team against Mexico in the Camacho Cup. However he had an injury that ended his Florida season. He bounced back in the summer by captaining the Luchese team to one of the three finals of the Santa Barbara season.

Among his many accomplishments and recognitions is the standing ovation he received while playing the Palermo Open in Argentina with the La Mariana team (Sebastian Merlos, Pite Merlos, Milo Fernandez-Araujo) in 1995. While the team lost it further cemented Azzaro as a prominent figure in Polo.

Teams he has played for include the Black Bears, Maple Leafs, Michelob, Gehache (U.S. Open Winner), Outback (U.S. Open Winner), Isla Carroll (U.S. Open Winner), Pegasus, Templeton, Old Pueblo, Luchese, Evergaldes, Grants Farm Manor (U.S Open Winner), Hanalie Bay, Ellerstina, White Birch, Retama II (U.S. Open Winners), Les Liones, BTA.^[2]

References

1. ^ America's Top Polo Player... hurlinghammedia.com. Retrieved March 2011
2. ^ Mike Azzaro polopony.com. Retrieved March 2011

Persondata
Name	Azzaro, Mike
Alternative names
Short description	polo player
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death