Men’s Water Polo: Cupido, Daboub stand out

Newport Harbor High product Luca Cupido, a sophomore at UC Berkeley, tops two locals named All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in men’s water polo.

Cupido earned first-team recognition after helping No. 3-ranked Cal finish second at the MPSF Tournament and earn a berth into the four-team NCAA Championships, Dec. 5-6 at UCLA.

Newport Beach native Anthony Daboub represents UCLA on the second team.

Cupido, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound attacker, scored a late goal to force overtime in the Golden Bears’ 12-11 loss to top-ranked UCLA in the MPSF Tournament final. Cupido, the MPSF Newcomer of the Year last season, when he earned third-team All-American and second-team All-MPSF recognition, has 40 goals in 29 games for Cal (23-6), which is the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Championships.

Daboub, a senior defender, is a repeat second-team honoree after scoring 28 goals, tied for fourth on the team. Daboub, who has helped UCLA to a 28-0 record and the No. 1 seeding in the NCAA Championships, was a third-team All-American in 2014.

UC Irvine standouts Lovre Milos and Matt Skinner, a junior and sophomore respectively, received honorable mention.

Milos, an attacker who also received honorable mention in 2014, led the Anteaters with 60 goals. He has 152 goals in two seasons after transferring from UCLA, where he played as a freshman.

Skinner, a utility player, had 41 goals for UCI (16-12).

— From staff reports