May 7, 2010
STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford water polo boasted three athletes among the six finalists for the 2009-10 Peter J. Cutino Men's and Women's Awards, as The Olympic Club of San Francisco announced the finalists Friday. Stanford men's water polo landed two of the three finalists, as Jimmie Sandman and Drac Wigo made the final cut, while on the women's side Jessica Steffens is among the final three.
Along with Sandman and Wigo, USC's J.W. Krumpholz rounds out the male finalists, while Steffens is joined by USC's Tumua Anae and Kami Craig in contention for the women's award.
Sandman and Wigo helped lead the Cardinal men to a 21-4 overall record and a 7-1 mark in MPSF play in the fall of 2009. Both players were named to the All-MPSF First Team as well as to the ACWPC All-America First Team. In 2009 Sandman averaged 9.28 saves per game while allowing just 5.76 goals per game. Wigo led the Cardinal with 58 goals on the year.
Steffens, meanwhile, has helped lead the Cardinal women to a 24-2 overall record, MPSF regular season title with a perfect 7-0 conference mark and the top seed at next weekend's National Collegiate Championship, as Stanford will take on No. 8 seed Pomona-Pitzer at 4 p.m. Friday, May 14 at San Diego State's Aztec Aquaplex.
Heading into the championship weekend, Steffens anchors the Cardinal defense, which leads the MPSF with just 5.00 goals allowed per game, in the field and has contributed 17 goals to the offensive effort. Earlier this week Steffens was also named to the All-MPSF First Team for the second straight year.
The winners of the Peter J. Cutino Awards will be announced Saturday, June 5 at The Olympic Club's City Clubhouse in San Francisco.
The award is given annually in honor of the late Peter J. Cutino, the former University of California Berkeley and The Olympic Club coach, who passed away in September 2004.