Water Polo: Cupido Newcomer of the Year in MPSF

Newport Harbor High product Luca Cupido, a freshman attacker at UC Berkeley, has been named men’s water polo Newcomer of the Year in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

Newport Beach resident Anthony Daboub, a junior defender at UCLA, was a second-team All-MPSF performer, while UC Irvine sophomore attacker Lovre Milos received honorable mention.

Cupido had 42 goals for the Golden Bears (22-7), who completed their season Sunday by finishing fifth in the MPSF Tournament. His 1.75 goals-per-game average ranked No. 14 among conference players, but tops among newcomers.

Cupido, a first-team All-American at Newport Harbor in 2013, was also named top rookie at the NorCal and SoCal tournaments this season. He also helped Italy win gold medals and the 2013 Junior European Championship, and the 2013 FINA Junior World Championship.

Daboub, considered one of the best defenders in the country, was the lone defender named All-MPSF. The Mater Dei High product has 19 goals for the Bruins, who won the MPSF regular-season crown, finished third in the tournament and at 27-3, are the No. 1 seed for the NCAA Championship, Dec. 6-7, at UC San Diego.

Daboub has 10 goals in his last 14 games, including three in the MPSF Tournament, in which top-ranked UCLA was upset by Long Beach State in the semifinals, then handled USC, 10-5, in the third-place game.

Milos, a transfer from UCLA, had a team-best 92 goals for the Anteaters (15-14).

— Barry Faulkner