June 2, 2007
SAN FRANCISCO -
California senior standout John Mann, who helped power the Golden Bears to the 2006 national title, was named the winner of the 2006-07 Peter J. Cutino Award as the nation's top male collegiate water polo player, it was announced Saturday night at the annual awards dinner held at The Olympic Club's City Clubhouse on 524 Post Street in San Francisco. Mann, from Newport Beach, was selected over the two other finalists, Juan Delgadillo from USC and Ty Lackey from UC San Diego. Mann is the first Cal athlete to be nominated for the Cutino Award since Attila Banhidy was an award finalist in 2003-04, and he is the first Bear to capture the honor named after the former Cal water polo coaching legend, Peter Cutino.
"It is a great honor to win the Peter Cutino Award," Mann said. "I have always felt that it belongs to a player from the University of California and I'm honored to be the first Golden Bear to win this prestigious award."
One of the top players in school history, Mann led the Bears (31-4) to both the NCAA and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation titles this past fall - Cal's NCAA-record 12th national crown. He was earlier picked first-team All-America for the third year in a row, first-team NCAA All-Tournament, MPSF Tournament MVP, All-MPSF first team and Cal's Pac-10 Medalist. During the 2006 season, Mann was the Bears' leading scorer with 80 goals in 33 matches and was instrumental in Cal's 6-5 win over USC in the MPSF Tournament final, and 7-6 victory over the Trojans in the NCAA title match. He finished his college career with 218 goals. A member of the USA National Team, Mann is a candidate to represent the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The namesake of the Cutino Award, Peter Cutino, was the Bears' beloved water polo coach from 1963-88 and is one of the greatest figures in United States' water polo history. The long-time Cal and Olympic Club coach, who passed away in 2004, led 21 teams to national titles, including guiding the Bears to eight NCAA championships. Cutino had coached the United States at the Olympic Games, the Pan-American Games, the World Championships, the World University Games, the Maccabiah Games and many other international tournaments. He was honored 17-times with the Water Polo Coach of the Year award and was elected to the United States Water Polo Hall of Fame.
Included in Cutino's championship teams were three Olympic Club teams. The Olympic Club squads of 1991 to 1993 were national champions under Cutino's tutelage and helped solidify The Olympic Club's distinguished water polo tradition. Founded in 1860, The Olympic Club of San Francisco is the oldest athletic club in the United States.
The annual Peter J. Cutino Award, considered the Heisman Trophy of water polo, is presented to the nation's top male and female collegiate water polo players, as voted on by a distinguished panel of collegiate coaches. Each winner will receive a trophy recognizing their individual achievements and a perpetual trophy will remain on display at the Olympic Club. Kelly Rulon from UCLA was this year's winner of the Cutino Award for women.
