June 19, 2003

San Francisco, Calif. - Jackie Frank (Long Beach, CA) and Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA) were named as the latest recipients of the Peter J. Cutino Award, which annually recognizes the country's best male and female collegiate water polo players this past Saturday. Frank was named as the women's winner for 2003, while Azevedo's award was for 2002. Both are members of the U.S. National Teams and will be competing around the world this summer as they represent the U.S. at this summer's FINA World Championships and Pan American Games.

Frank helped the Stanford women to their third consecutive appearance in the NCAA title game this May. The senior goalkeeper was honored as the NCAA Player of the Year and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Goalie of the Year for the second straight season this year. Frank also competed with the National Team, spending December in Perth, Australia as the U.S. earned silver and Frank compiled 52 saves in the five-game tournament. Frank graduated this past weekend Bachelor's degree in Human Biology.

Azevedo helped the Cardinal men to their second straight NCAA Championship as he earned the honor of receiving the Cutino Award for the second time in his career. Azevedo became Stanford's all-time single-season scorer with a 95-goal output in 2002 and was named the NCAA Player of the Year and the MPSF Player of the Year. Azevedo enters his junior year this fall as the school's tenth all-time leading scorer with 163 goals.

The award is named after Peter J. Cutino, one of the country's most storied and revered coaches. In a career that spans over five decades, Cutino has been a magnet for success. During 26 years as head coach at Cal, Cutino guided his teams to eight NCAA titles and a record of 519-172-10, a winning percentage of .740. He was a four-time Pac-10 and NCAA coach of the year (1974-75, 1983, 1988), coaching 68 All-Americans and five Olympians in that time.

The award sponsor, the Olympic Club, was founded in San Francisco in 1860 by 23 members. Today, the Olympic Club boasts over 8,000 members and is one of the most accomplished athletic associations in the nation.