BERKELEY – After helping the Cal men's water polo team win a national title in the fall of 2016 and taking a full load of classes in the spring, Luca Cupido entered the summer before his senior season with a good idea of what it would take to prepare him for one more year in a blue and gold cap.

He needed a break.

For one of the nation's most accomplished players, that concept certainly seemed foreign given the opportunities that his skills in the pool had already created. Whether it was competing for his native Italy as a junior player or as a United States Olympian at the 2016 Rio Games, summers for Cupido were always reserved for international competition.

This time, the plan was a little different. Instead, he used the first part of his break to stay in Berkeley and attend a summer school class. Cupido committed to play for Team USA at the FINA World Championships, but after making the trip to Budapest, Hungary in July, he would have about a month to return to Italy and spend time with family and friends.

The change in approach started to pay dividends right away. With several teammates also participating in international play, Cupido continued to train in Berkeley as one of the leaders of a team that would return plenty of familiar faces from its 2016 title run.

That extra time in Berkeley led the native of Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy to ask head coach Kirk Everist about an additional role – team captain.

"You could kind of see a difference in him taking over verbally with the team, partly because a lot of the people that would help him do it weren't here so he had to be more vocal and change that leadership style that he had because there was a vacuum," Everist said. "He's always been a leader; he's always the first one to quietly coach players and tell them what he's seeing or give his expertise to different players but he was definitely much more vocal and adamant about it. It seemed natural to me when I looked at it, and when he reached out asking about it, it was a fairly easy decision to make because I had seen it in him and he'd de facto been one of our captains for a couple years."

Cupido's added responsibility came once the fall semester started, but before the Bears reconvened for the new season, part two of his summer plan kicked in. A return to Italy meant nearly a full month away from both training and school, something he hadn't experienced in quite a while.

A little rest made all the difference.

"People see the results and see you did a great job, give you congratulations on the Olympics and everything like that but, since the summer of 2010, I didn't really have a summer," Cupido said. "It gets to the point where you need a mental break. This summer, having my girlfriend come over, going to see my brother and have nothing to worry about, I had a month of relaxation. That was very useful for me coming into the season ready to go."

The results speak for themselves. Already a three-time All-American, Cupido joined Pedro Stellet, who had already done an exceptional job captaining the Bears to a national title one year earlier, as a captain for a team focused on returning to the heights it enjoyed one year earlier.

When it comes to production in the pool, the numbers tell their own tale. Helping the Bears to a 20-3 record and the No. 2 seed at the National Men's Water Polo Championships, Cupido led the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) in scoring with 57 goals and a compiled a conference-best goals per game average of 2.71.

His extreme versatility is also easy to quantify as he ranks at or near the top of the team in several statistical categories with 46 steals, 44 assists, 18 field blocks and 32 ejections earned. With numbers like that and a reputation for being able to play almost any position in the pool, he was an easy choice to become Cal's first MPSF Player of the Year since 1995.

"The intelligence Luca has in the water is phenomenal," said teammate Vassilis Tzavaras. "He's really good at anticipating what's going to happen next before it even happens and that's a skill that is really important to have in the water, always trying to be two steps ahead of your player."

As he has grown as a player, Cupido has also evolved to become one of Cal Athletics' top performers in the classroom. He owns a 3.45 cumulative grade point average and is closing in on a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on Urban Planning and Sustainability. He has already earned ACWPC and MPSF All-Academic honors twice in his career.

Just as he has in the pool, Cupido has used a focus and drive common only among the elite to succeed with his studies.

"The classroom was the first thing I wanted to be good at. No one wants to be classified as an athlete that doesn't perform in the class," Cupido said. "That was always my goal, to be recognized in both fields. I like to compete and I like to win. Sometimes you learn at Berkeley there are a lot of smarter people than you but that doesn't mean you're still not trying to get a higher grade than someone."

2017 hasn't come without adversity for Cupido. Illness knocked him out of the lineup right before the biggest home game of the year, a Nov. 4 date against USC that the Bears eventually won 6-3, and kept him out of the annual Big Splash against Stanford.

He returned for the first game of the MPSF Tournament but, lacking stamina due to nearly three weeks out of the pool, Cupido struggled to make his usual impact in a loss to UCLA. He played sparingly in Cal's win over Penn State Behrend the next day, then turned his attention to a third-place match against Stanford that carried massive ramifications for his career as a Golden Bear.

A win meant Cal would be a near-lock for the final at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Lose, and the season was likely over.

What followed was a tale that belongs among the best in Cal water polo history. With the Bears trailing by a goal and only one possession left, Cupido scored with 11 seconds left to force overtime. Odysseas Masmanidis would put the Bears ahead of the Cardinal in the first overtime period but Cupido provided the eventual game-winner, shaking free of fellow Olympian Ben Hallock for a highlight-reel goal that has received over 40,000 views on social media. Cal defeated Stanford 10-9 to keep its hopes of a title repeat alive.

"He was able to put his stamp on the game in every little facet, whether it was a goal from center, a goal on the counter attack, an individual move like he made at the end to put us up by two and end up the game-winner," Everist said. "We've seen him do that in practice all the time. It wasn't anything we were surprised by. At that point, you kind of knew he wasn't going to let the ball go and put it in the hands of an official or somebody else to take a penalty shot. He was going to keep working until he got rid of the guy."

Cupido's growth as an athlete, student and all-around person has led him to the highest levels of his sport, a fact recognized by Team USA head coach Dejan Udovicic.

"Luca is a true leader on the team," Udovcic said. "He can play different positions on the team during the game and is one of the most talented players I've ever coached. He has that X factor which is a privilege only held by the highest level players. Having that X factor gives him a bright future and a long career ahead. I can see him playing at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles."  

His contributions in adding to the legacy of Cal Water Polo also won't soon be forgotten, and he gets one more chance to add to that history when he joins his teammates in competition at USC.

"He's still shy and probably always will be but he's learned to use his shyness and when he needs to step out of it without sacrificing his own personality, which is good," Everist said. "He's not trying to be somebody he's not and that's always a concern with a kid that gets that much attention. I've never really seen him change who he is at the core and that's a testimony to him, his family and what he's all about."