Water Polo Concludes Season with Ninth Place Finish at CWPA Championship

CWPA Championship Results and All-Tournament Selections

The Fordham Water Polo team (20-15, 5-7 CWPA) wrapped up its 2015 campaign this weekend by going 2-1 at the CWPA Championship, earning a ninth-place finish, and grabbing its 20th win of the season on Sunday. The Rams fell in the first match of the weekend against ninth-seeded MIT, 11-8, to set up encounters with Mercyhurst and George Washington.  

It was the second loss in three weeks to the Engineers, with the other coming in the first match of the CWPA Northern Division Championship two weekends ago. MIT never trailed in the contest. Senior Patrick Lenihan led the team with three goals, while Andrew Gonzalez (2), Grant Keeling, Bobby Wurtz, and R.J. Simmons also got on the scoresheet. Sophomore keeper Alex Jahns made just five saves, his lowest total in a single start this year. 

The Rams drew Division II champions Mercyhurst for a Saturday morning clash, a team they have defeated twice earlier this season. That streak continued with a thrilling 11-10 buzzer-beater victory thanks to a last-second Cole Donnelly lob.

The Lakers grabbed an early 2-1 lead after a Simmons opener but the Rams equalized through Simmons on an extra-man play and took the lead again while a man up through graduate Ethan Hallowell. Senior co-captain Davis DeFontes added a fourth to give Fordham a 4-2 lead after one. 

The Rams led, 8-4, at the half, and grew it out to its largest of the game, five, with seven minutes remaining in the third, but Mercyhurst rallied a bit to cut the deficit to three, 10-7, heading into the fourth. The Lakers defense buckled down in front of back-up goalie Gene Bilbao, who replaced standout starter Andrew Too-A-Foo at halftime, and who made eight second-half saves. Mercyhurst outscored Fordham, 3-0, over the entirety of the final frame before Donnelly's late strike saved the Rams for an overtime showdown. 

Simmons netted four times to lead the Rams and Jahns blocked nine shots. Fordham scored five times in 12 man-up situations.

Pitted against George Washington on Sunday morning, the Rams were led by senior Andrew Gonzalez's four scores in his final collegiate contest en route to a 13-8 victory, the team's third against the Colonials this year. Gonzalez sandwiched two goals around a Donnelly strike to give the Rams a 3-0 lead early. Late in the half Keesling, Wurtz, and senior Mike Hay all netted in a row to give Fordham a 10-4 lead at the break. A quiet second-half followed with the Colonials holding a 4-3 advantage to close out the game. 

Jahns made 10 saves in three-and-a-half quarters to give the sophomore 293 saves on the season. 

The Rams' ninth-place finish is their second in two years and ties their third-best finish at the CWPA Championship since 1987. 

With the conclusion of Sunday's match, the 2015 season comes to a close on the 20-15 Rams. Overall, it was a successful season for Fordham under head coach Bill Harris, his 12th at the helm, with the team's first winning season since 2009 and first 20-win campaign in recent memory.

"We saved our best for last and played one of our better games of the season to close out the weekend," Harris said, "We're losing 10 players to graduation, which is very bittersweet. They've had great careers and we're sorry to see them go. We played a lot of games this year and our guys put in a lot of hard work. I'm glad we could end the season with a couple of wins, especially for the seniors."