Newport Harbor alum Cupido helps Cal reach NCAAs, earns award

It’s been an eventful week for Cal senior men’s water polo player Luca Cupido.

The Newport Harbor High alumnus scored twice late against host Stanford on Sunday in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation third-place game, helping the Golden Bears earn a 10-9 overtime victory over rival Stanford and an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament.

Cupido, a 2016 Olympian, got more recognition Tuesday when he was named the MPSF Player of the Year.

Cupido scored with 11 seconds left against Stanford to force overtime, and his goal in overtime ended up deciding the game and saving his team’s season. Cal, the defending national champion, is the No. 2 seed for NCAAs behind UCLA.

The Golden Bears will play in the second national semifinal on Dec. 2 at 5:15 p.m. at USC, against either the host Trojans, Harvard or George Washington.

Going into the NCAA Tournament, Cupido is the MPSF’s leading scorer with 57 goals, adding 44 assists, 46 steals, 18 field blocks and 32 ejections earned.

Cupido is the first Cal player to earn MPSF Player of the Year since Nick Kittredge in 1995. He played as a senior at Newport Harbor after transferring from Italy, helping the Sailors reach the CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinals in 2013 and earning Daily Pilot Dream Team Player of the Year honors.

UCI, led by CdM players, falls in title game

The UC Irvine men’s water polo team almost joined Cal in the NCAA Tournament. But, with an automatic bid on the line, the Anteaters fell to University of the Pacific 9-5 in the Golden Coast Conference title game Sunday night at UCI to end their season.

Corona del Mar High product Kyle Trush and fellow UC Irvine senior Lovre Milos were named to the GCC All-Tournament team. Trush was one of three CdM alumni to score for UCI in the conference title game, the others being sophomore Jon Polos and Trush’s younger brother, Jack, a junior.

Edison graduate Ryan Warde, a senior, had scored the game-winner for UCI in a 9-8 GCC tournament semifinal victory over Long Beach State.

The Anteaters finished their season ranked No. 7 in the country.

Sage Hill’s Condas, Hung to play in CIF Individuals Round of 32

Sage Hill School girls’ tennis players Nicole Condas and Michelle Hung will compete in the CIF Southern Section Individuals round of 32 at Whittier Narrows Tennis Center on Tuesday.

Condas, a senior, and Hung, a junior, were one of eight doubles teams that didn’t earn byes in the round of 32, the section announced Wednesday. The Lightning duo will play a to-be-determined opponent at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Whittier Narrows.

Should Condas and Hung win, they will join five players from CdM in the round of 16 on Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Seal Beach Tennis Center. CdM senior Danielle Willson earned a bye to the round of 16 in singles, as did the Sea Kings doubles teams of Kristina Evloeva and Annika Bassey, and Shaya Northrup and Paulina Loredo.

The CIF Southern Section Individuals quarterfinals will also be Wednesday at Seal Beach, with the semifinals and title match on Nov. 30.

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