Kaylin Bender awarded Sportsmanship Award by the U.S. Polo Association

Kaylin Bender, a junior biology major in the pre-vet track, was presented the US Polo Association Sportsmanship award. The organization gives the award as a means of recognizing a player who "promotes the honorable traditions of polo by his or her conduct and exemplifies the very best in sportsmanship and fair play.”

“I believe the sportsmanship award goes to someone who is always willing to help others, remains in high spirits no matter what the outcome of their game was, and is someone whose actions on and off the field are always based on good intentions,” said Bender, who is also the captain of the women’s team.

USC Aiken’s polo team seeks to “introduce polo for the enjoyment and further pursuit of learning of the game of polo” according to the team’s web page. The team is open to students of all experiences and takes part in the United States Polo Association’s intercollegiate tournaments, playing in the Southeastern region.

Bender went on to say, “I chose to play for the USCA polo team because of the good group of people that we have. We’re basically just a big family with a lot of fun.” Students do not need to know how to ride a horse in order to learn to play. If students are interested in more information, the website can be found here or they can contact faculty advisor Marrisa Collins at MarissaC@usca.edu.