Bridgeport, Pa. – (December 19, 2022) – The Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) announced the 2022 ACWPC Division I Men's Varsity All-America Team on Monday. Among those honored were Fordham graduate student
Nir Gros (Hod Hasharon, Israel), who was named Third Team All-America, and sophomore
George Papanikolaou (Athens, Greece), who received Honorable Mention All-America honors for the second straight season.
This marks the fifth straight year (2017-19, 2021-22) that Fordham has had at least one Ram listed on the ACWPC All-America list.
Gross earned All-America honors for the third time in his career, after being a two-time Second Team All-America selection at UC Davis in 2019 and 2021. He was selected as the MVP of the MAWPC in 2022, as well as First Team All-MAWPC and the Most Outstanding Player of the MAWPC Championship, where Fordham earned its second consecutive title. A nominee for the Cutino Award as USA Water Polo Player of the Year, Gross played in 30 games for the Rams, netting 49 goals, 22 assists, 19 steals and six blocks. He also drew a team-best 86 exclusions and 19 penalty shots.
Papanikolaou was also a First Team All-MAWPC selection and named to the MAWPC All-Championship First Team this season. After starting all 34 games for Fordham, he finished as the team leader in assists (90), points (146), and blocks (13), while being second in goals (56) and steals (49). He also earned MAWPC Player of the Week honors once during the year.
