Peter Cutino
Peter J. Cutino, Sr. is the all-time winningest coach, combined with NCAA and United States club championships, in the history of the sport of water polo in the United States. In his illustrious career, his teams won twenty-one national championships, including eight NCAA Championships (the most in NCAA water polo history). A graduate of California State Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo, where he was an outstanding athlete in three sports (water polo, swimming, and basketball), Peter began his renowned coaching career as the head swimming and water polo coach at Oxnard (CA) High School in 1957. In six seasons, his swimming teams won two California Interscholastic Federation Championships, five league championships, and sixty dual meets in a row. Concurrently, his water polo teams compiled an 87-8 record during that period. In 1963, Peter was head varsity swimming and water polo coach at the University of California–Berkeley. Subsequently, he spent eleven years as the mentor of the swimming program. He served as the water polo coach for 26 seasons. During his tenure, his water polo teams accorded a remarkable 519-172 record. In the process, Peter was named "Water Polo Coach of the Year" on fifteen occasions by a distinguished array of collegiate, national, and international organizations. His coaching achievements are further reflected in the fact that he has been named to seven different athletic-related Halls of Fame, including The National Water Polo Hall of Fame in 1995. Perhaps his greatest honor occurred when the award given annually to the best men’s and women’s intercollegiate water polo player was named the Pete Cutino Award (the equivalent of the Heisman Trophy and the Wooden Award in football and basketball, respectively). Peter and his wife, Louise, currently reside in Monterey, California. They have three grown children – Paul Joseph, Peter John, and Anna Marie.
Peter Cutino, Jr. is currently an architect with G.T.P. Consultants in Seville, Spain. He is a 1984 graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, where he had a distinguished career as a water polo player. A two-time All-American on the Bears’ water polo team, he helped lead Cal to the NCAA National Championship in 1983. In the process, he earned several honors, including being named Pac-10 Conference Player of the Year, NCAA Collegiate Co-Player of the Year, and co-MVP of the NCAA Tournament. As an athlete, he frequently participated in international competition in water polo during the period 1980-1987. Peter began his coaching career in 1979, working as an age group coach for the Concord Water Polo Club. Beginning in 1984, he served as an assistant coach for his alma mater's water polo team for three seasons. Since 1988, he has been the head coach of The Seville national club team – a team which has won ten regional championships under his tutelage. In 1993, he founded the Seville Water Polo Foundation, an organization for which he currently serves as President. Peter and his wife, Marisol, currently reside in Seville, Spain with their two children, Peter and Paolo.
