USC men's water polo superstar Kostas Genidounias topped off his legendary career as a Trojan by winning the Peter J. Cutino award on Saturday, which is the highest honor in collegiate water polo. The captain won three NCAA championships for USC and sits atop the record books as the program's all-time leading scorer. This is the second time Genidounias was a finalist for the award and he is only the fourth male Trojan to win, joining Juraj Zatovic, J.W. Krumpholz and Joel Dennerley.Â
The legacy the Greek captain left at USC will be hard for anyone to match. He made an immediate impact as a freshman, scoring five goals in his first rivalry clash against UCLA followed by an epic game-winner a year later to defeat the Bruins in the NCAA Championship. As a junior, he was the second leading goal scorer on the team, finishing just one behind Nikola Vavic, and the pair led the Trojans to their sixth straight NCAA championship, continuing USC's water polo dynasty.Â
However, Genidounias's senior campaign might be his most memorable. The veteran was put in charge of a young Trojan roster that was not favored to keep the national championship streak alive. The senior led USC to its 10th straight NCAA title match, falling just one goal shy of another NCAA crown. He finished with 82 goals on the season, which is the second-most in a season in Trojan history and a career number of 261 goals, the most all-time at USC (graphic below).
Genidounias dedicated this award to his former teammate Jon Walters who passed away in January of 2014. Currently, the Peter J. Cutino award recipient is training with the Greek National Team as he continues to carve his name in the water polo record books.Â
