June 6, 2005

This past Saturday, Natalie Golda was given the Peter J. Cutino award, considered to be the top honor in water polo. The Cutino Award is water polo's version of the Heisman Trophy and recognizes the best player collegiate water polo. This tops off Golda's impressive season, which included winning the NCAA championship and having an undefeated 33-0 record with the Bruins. Earlier this year, Golda was also named as the American Water Polo Coaches Association (AWPCA) Player of the Year and the MPSF conference Player of the Year. She was the MVP of the NCAA tournament and made the AWPCA, MPSF, MPSF tournament, and NCAA tournament first-teams.

Golda finished the season with 47 goals, 26 assists, and 23 steals. She is third all-time in career Bruin scoring with 158 goals. Her presence as the lone senior on the team provided an example of leadership for the younger players. In her career at UCLA, Golda won three NCAA championships (2001, 2003, 2005). She also won a bronze medal with the US Olympic team in the 2004 Athens Olympics.

UCLA's Thalia Munro and USC's Brittany Hayes were also nominated for the award. Munro will return to UCLA next year as a senior.