Polo huge part of UVa student's life

Felipe Viana isn't the normal 20-year-old collegiate athlete.

He isn't running track, kicking a soccer ball, catching passes in the end zone or playing tough defense on the hardwood.

Viana plays one of the oldest, most unique and most sophisticated sports in the world: Polo.

" I grew up riding horses on a farm," Viana said. "Finding a sport where I could combine [horses and land], it was like the perfect thing.

"I've been investing a lot of time, missing birthdays and parties when I was younger to practice every day.

"I just love playing the sport. It requires a lot of skill and hand-eye coordination. It's a fast, dynamic sport."

Born in New York and raised in Montevideo, Uruguay, Viana is in his third year at the University of Virginia, moving to Charlottesville from South America for college.

"I got into polo because of my family on my dad's side [from Uruguay], they owned farms and they are really attached to horses," Viana said.

"My dad didn't play, but he waited for me to be seven years old, and he made me start with a personal trainer."

With a country that has produced numerous historic soccer stars and current ones such as Inter Milan's Diego Forlan and Liverpool's Luis Suarez, why didn't he play the world's most popular sport?

"I love football [soccer], I really love it," he said. "But, you can't go anywhere playing football. There is a lot of competition. There are not many people competing [in polo]. I took it professionally."

His cousin Agustin Viana is a pro soccer player, once playing for Nacional, one of the Uruguay's most prestigious clubs. He has heard time and time against just how difficult it is to make it as a professional in the sport, so he focused on polo. 

As a member of the Cavaliers polo team, the squad was national runner-up his freshman year, winning the national title last year, defeating Cornell. 

"He is quite good," his college coach Lou Lopez said. "Most importantly, it's not how good he is right now, it's the potential that he has to become one of the top players in the world. I think it's very evident to me as a coach. He has that ability. He just needs the opportunities."

Now, the biggest opportunity in his athletic career is just weeks away.

Viana was invited to join the U.S. national team as they competed against the world's best in the Federation of International Polo World Championships on October 10th in San Luis, Argentina. 

He is one of seven members picked for the team nationally. His response to the invitation? 'No.'

"That was one of my toughest decisions of my life," Viana said. "The coach called me three weeks before starting school."

"I really want to finish this [school]. If I go to play polo in October, I won't be as fully concentrated as everyone else.

"I said no because I'm a third year. That is the year you are working the hardest. I am taking tough classes, homework every week. I just thought about it. I want to do things right. I don't to go to this world cup and leave school behind and then come back and struggle with classes." 

Lopez has spoken to Viana about the decision. 

"We talked about it," Lopez said. "He is torn between his education and being able to represent the United States in that event. Right now, I think he feels, and I would agree with him, at this stage in life, his education is more important. He can certainly play for Team USA later on. It's unfortunate they do it during the school year."

"It's very difficult for him to have to turn down this opportunity. I feel for his future, his education is more important right now."

All his life polo has been his main focus. While it carries the same weight as education in regards to his passion, he and his family feel that he made the right choice.

"I think it's a stage in my life that I cannot skip," Viana said. "It [college] will be an investment that will prepare me for the future and will distinguish me from other polo pros that skipped schoool and went straight to professional life."

"They [my parents] know how much it [playing in world championships] meant to me," Viana said. "But they understood my decision and said I did the right thing."

Viana is studying economics and may also study history. As he continues to play with the Virginia team and focus on his academics, he remembers the determination and desire to finish a job, something he learned from his father. 

"If I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it 100 percent," Viana said."

Viana has played polo all over the globe, winning the most prestigious junior tournament, Copa Potrillos in Argentina. He hopes to earn more titles. But for now, his degree is his dream. 

"I think what really sucks is knowing the past you've been at the top," Viana said. "All of those kids I beat in that final [in 2004] are living off polo, and I'm the guy that just stayed here studying.

"I don't regret it. I just wish it would have been in the summer. Given the situation, I'm glad I said no. It's hard. I am putting school first. I am respecting my priorities."

While a senior world title will have to wait, his coach is confident that the success has just begun. 

"He helped us get to a national championship last year," Lopez said. "He has two more years left. I suspect he will lead us to two more."