Courtney Mathewson was born September 14, 1986. in Orange, California

Orange, California

Southern California is well-known for year-round pleasant weather: - On average, the warmest month is August. - The highest recorded temperature was in 1985. - On average, the coolest month is December. - The lowest recorded temperature was in 1950...

. She played water polo

Water polo

Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...

 for the University of California, Los Angeles

University of California, Los Angeles

The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...

 (UCLA) Bruins

UCLA Bruins

The UCLA Bruins are the sports teams for University of California, Los Angeles . The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pacific-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation . For football, they are in the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I...

 during their four-consecutive NCAA National Champion Women's Water Polo

NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship

The NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship has existed since the 2001 season. Three conferences have teams competing in women's water polo, the Collegiate Water Polo Association, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference...

 championships, and was named to the All-Tournament first team. At UCLA, she majored in sociology.

College career

During the 2008 season, Mathewson scored 54 goals in 33 matches. The Anaheim Hills, Calif., resident scored four goals in the final two NCAA Tournament matches - including three in an 11-4 semifinal win over UC Davis - to earn all-tournament team accolades.

Honors

Mathewson has earned prestigious honors after leading the Bruins to the undefeated season. She won the 2008 Peter J. Cutino Award

Peter J. Cutino Award

The Peter J. Cutino Award, named after former college water polo player and UC Berkeley coach Peter J. Cutino, is considered the most prestigious individual award in American collegiate water polo...

, which is presented annually to the outstanding female and male collegiate water polo players in the United States. The award is named in honor of the late Peter J. Cutino

Peter J. Cutino

Peter J. Cutino was a California swimming and water polo coach and educator for over 40 years, and the author of several books and numerous articles on coaching aquatic sports. In his 26 years as Head Coach at the University of California, Berkeley, he was the all-time winning coach in U.S. water...

, a former University of California and The Olympic Club coach, who died in September 2004. Cutino, who is enshrined in the U.S. Water Polo Hall of Fame, earned National Water Polo Coach of the Year honors 17 times and led California to eight NCAA titles.

Mathewson and team-mate Jillian Kraus

Jillian Kraus

Jillian Kraus is a water polo player who helped the UCLA women's water polo team to four consecutive NCAA Championships, including the latest title in May 2008. She, a native of Tustin, CA, has earned All-MPSF Academic Team recognition...

 captured Mountain Pacific Sports Federation

Mountain Pacific Sports Federation

The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation is a college athletic conference whose member teams are located in the western United States. The conference participates at the NCAA Division I level.-History:...

 (MPSF) Co-Player of the Year honors after having led UCLA to the MPSF Tournament title for the second consecutive year. In the MPSF Tournament, Mathewson was named the tournament MVP after having combined for seven goals in the final two matches.

She joins other Bruins, Sean Kern

Sean Kern

Sean Kern is an American water polo player. His position is center forward . During his water polo career, Kern was a four-time All-American, two-time National Player of the Year, two-time NCAA champion and three-time UCLA scoring leader. After his 1999 season, Kern was honored as the first-ever...

, Coralie Simmons

Coralie Simmons

Coralie Denise Simmons is an American water polo player, who won the silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics. In 2001, she won the Peter J. Cutino Award, presented annually to the top American collegiate water polo player...

, Natalie Golda

Natalie Golda

Natalie Golda is an American water polo player. Considered one of the greatest women's water polo players of all time, her senior leadership helped guide the 2005 UCLA Bruins to their seventh national championship. In May 2005 Golda received the Peter J...

, and Kelly Rulon

Kelly Rulon

Kelly Rulon is an American water polo player for the UCLA Bruins and the US National Team, who won the bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics...

as Peter J. Cutino Award winners. Mathewson has also been named Division I Player of the Year by the Association of College Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC).

Courtney currently trains with the USA Water Polo National Team and in October 2011 helped lead Team USA to the gold medal at the Pan American games.