Juraj Zaťovič (born 22 October 1982 in

Bojnice Bojnice (german: Weinitz; hu, Bajmóc) is a historical town in central Slovakia located on the Nitra river, near the city of Prievidza. The town is situated just below the Bojnice Castle. It has a population of around 5,000. Bojnice is best k ...

) is a

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

player for the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

, who received the 2006 Peter J. Cutino Award as the best collegiate water polo player among Division I NCAA teams. His position is two-meter defender.

Biography

While attending Gymnazium-Nováky in Slovakia, Zaťovič played in the Slovak League. He was a member of the Slovak National Team at the

2000 Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

. From 2002 through 2006 he attended USC: as a freshman scoring 49 goals, sophomore 57, junior 46 and senior 68, leading the team for all four seasons. As a senior, Juraj Zaťovič became the Trojans' all-time leading scorer when he scored five goals against UC Santa Barbara. At the

NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship The NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship is an annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate water polo. Beginning in 1969, it has been held every year except 2020, when it was postponed to March 2021 because of the C ...

in December 2005, his defense earned USC a third national title, and tournament co-

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

honors for Zaťovič. He was selected as the American Water Polo Coaches Association Player of the Year and a first team All-American for the third time. The past two years he was nominated for the Cutino Award, and finally received his Cutino in 2006. Zaťovič is majoring in international relations.

References

Juraj Zaťovič: USC Team Biography

1982 births Living people Slovak male water polo players Water polo players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic water polo players for Slovakia USC School of International Relations alumni Sportspeople from Bojnice {{Slovakia-waterpolo-bio-stub