UCI’s Hutten named POY

UC Irvine senior two-meter man Tim Hutten, who leads the nation with 3.75 goals per game, has been named Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Player of the Year by the conference’s men’s water polo coaches.

Anteaters Coach Marc Hunt has been named Co-Coach of the Year honors after guiding UCI, the No. 5 seed, to a runner-up finish in the MPSF Tournament completed Sunday.

Joining Hutten on the All-MPSF first team is senior driver Colin Mello.

Hutten, the MVP of the MPSF Tournament, when he scored 12 goals in three games, led UCI with 75 goals in 20 games this season, helping UCI finish 14-11. He scored at least four goals in half of his games, including a school-record nine in an 18-6, nonconference win over UC San Diego Nov. 7.

Hutten, who redshirted last season, was a second-team All-American in 2005.

Hunt, a former UCI standout who earlier this year was named to the second team of the 15th Anniversary All-MPSF selections, guided the Anteaters to the MPSF Tournament title game for the first time in the program’s history. UCI is ranked No. 3 in the latest national poll, though it did not qualify for the four-team NCAA Championship that begins Saturday at Stanford.

This is Hunt’s third season at the helm, after taking over for legendary coach Ted Newland, who remains in the program as coach emeritus.

Hunt shares the top coaching honor with Long Beach State’s Gavin Arroyo.

Mello, who led the MPSF in goals last season on his way to second-team All-MPSF laurels, had 47 goals in 20 games this season, an average of 2.35 per contest, which is fifth-best in the conference.

A former goalie at Reedley High near Fresno, Mello was converted into a field player at UCI, where he developed into a valuable leader and quarterback in the pool.

UC Santa Barbara senior driver Ross Sinclair, a Newport Harbor High product, was named to the second team for the second straight season. A third-team All-American in 2006, Sinclair led the Gauchos (19-11) in goals (55) and steals and he was second on the team in assists this season. His 156 career goals rank fifth in school annals.

UCI senior Cole Bitter, redshirt freshman Brandon Johnson, junior Cole Bielskis and senior goalie Matt Garcia all received honorable mention.

Stanford senior two-meter man Michael Bury, a Newport Harbor product, also received honorable mention. He scored 19 goals for the Cardinal.

Bitter and Johnson each scored 31 goals. Bielskis had 17 goals and Garcia recorded 204 saves while starting all 25 games.

— From staff reports