2023 Men's Water Polo Roster
Biography
Accolades
2x Cutino Award winner (3x finalist)
2x ACWPC National Player of the Year
4x ACWPC All-American
4x All-MPSF First Team
3x MPSF Player of the Year
2x National Champion
2x NCAA Championship MVP
4x MPSF Player of the Week
2x MPSF Newcomer of the Week
4th on Cal all-time scoring list
At Cal
2022 (Sr.)
- Won his second Cutino Award, something no other Bear has accomplished
- Named the NCAA Championship MVP for the second straight time, clinching a second straight national championship with a career high seven goals to go with seven earned exclusions in the title game
- Became the seventh player in collegiate men's water polo to repeat as the ACWPC Player of the Year
- Made the ACWPC All-America First Team and was named MPSF Player of the Year for the third consecutive season
- Joined head coach Kirk Everist as just the second player-coach duo to repeat as ACWPC Player and Coach of the Year
- Led the Bears to a 23-2 record – its highest win percentage (.920) in 30 years – clinching their third straight MPSF regular season championship and national title
- Moved up to No. 5 on Cal's all-time scoring list, passing his head coach
- Scored a team high 62 goals on 2.48 goals per game, both ranking third in the MPSF
- Recorded a team-leading 13 field blocks, also good for third in the conference
- Led the MPSF with 80 earned exclusions, 30 more than any other MPSF player
- Scored in 24 of 25 games with 19 multi-goal outings
- Began the year with a five-goal game against Johns Hopkins, the first of three straight hat tricks
- Totaled 11 hat tricks, eight assists and 22 steals
- Other notable scoring performances saw him score four goals in wins of 16-15 over Pacific and 18-12 against Stanford
- Drew season-best eight exclusions in 11-10 win over USC on Sept. 25
2021 (Jr.)
- Cutino Award winner, given to the top player in NCAA water polo
- ACWPC National Player of the Year
- MPSF Player of the Year
- ACWPC First Team All-American
- All-MPSF First Team selection
- MVP of the NCAA Championship
- Led the MPSF with 68 goals and 35 steals
- Scored a career-high seven goals in a win over No. 19 Cal Baptist
- Registered six goals and 10 drawn exclusions in a victory over No. 6 UCSB
- Had four goals, five assists and 14 drawn exclusions during the NCAA Championship
- ACWPC All-Academic "Excellent" selection
- Named to the Pac-12 Fall Academic Honor Roll
- MPSF All-Academic selection
2020 (So.)
- MPSF Player of the Year
- ACWPC First Team All-American
- Finalist for the Cutino Award, given to the nation's top player
- Picked to the MPSF All-Tournament Team
- Ranked third in the MPSF in goals (29), tied for second in field blocks (5), fourth in steals (19) and tied for sixth in points (30),
- Registered four hat tricks, including a five-goal outburst in a win over USC
- ACWPC All-Academic Superior selection
- Named to the Pac-12 Spring Academic Honor Roll
- MPSF All-Academic selection
2019 (Fr.)
- Immediately emerged as one of the nation's top players in his freshman season
- Earned an All-American Honorable Mention from the ACWPC
- Named MPSF Newcomer of the Year & earned All-MPSF First Team honors
- Was the only freshman named to the All-MPSF First & Second Teams
- Totaled 61 points (51 goals, 10 assists)
- Led Cal with 72 drawn exclusions & 23 steals
- Added nine field blocks
- Ranked fourth & seventh in goals & points among MPSF players
- Was held scoreless in just three of 25 matches
- Set season-highs in points (6) & goals (5) vs. Austin College in the MPSF Championship quarterfinals (Nov. 22)
- Scored twice & added three assists in Cal's upset of top-seeded USC in the MPSF Championship semifinals (Nov. 23)
- Had five performances with five drawn exclusions or more, including seven vs. USC in the regular season finale (Nov. 16)
- Scored twice in his collegiate debut vs. Whittier College (Sept. 7)
- Had a streak of nine matches with multiple goals scored from Sept. 8 to Sept. 28
- Two-time MPSF Newcomer of the Week (Sept. 30, Nov. 18)
National
- Has represented his native nation of Greece on the international stage
- Was named Junior World MVP as he led Greek National Team to gold medal at 2018 Youth World Championships in Szombately, Hungary
- Served as team captain of the Greek Youth National Team
High School/Club
- Graduated from the 49th High School of Athens (Athens, Greece) in 2018
- Played club water polo for ANC Glyfada under head coach Dimitris Mazis
- Helped ANC Glyfada win three consecutive Greek U19 Championships (2017-19)
- Participated in the Greek All Star competition in 2019
Personal
- Full name is Nikolaos Spyridon Papanikolaou
- Born Aug. 31, 2000 in Amarousio, Athens, Greece
- Son of Stavros Papanikolaou & Christina Lorentzou
- Majoring in Economics
- Has three older siblings, Elena, Ioanna & Alexandros
Statistics
Season Statistics
No statistics available for this season.
There are no statistics available for this player.
Historical Player Information
-
2019Freshman
Center
6'3"
242 lbs
-
2020Sophomore
Center
6'3"
242 lbs
-
2021Junior
Center
6'3"
242 lbs
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2022Junior
Center
6'3"
242 lbs
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C
2023Senior
Center
6'3"
242 lbs
