Bronx, N.Y. – (October 27, 2023) – The nationally ranked Fordham water polo team is back at home this weekend for Family Weekend at the Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center, hosting three MAWPC matches. The Rams are set to host George Washington at 11:00 AM on Saturday, followed by a 6:00 PM match against Mt. St. Mary's. Then on Sunday, it will be Fordham against Bucknell at 10:00 AM.
Fordham (16-7, 9-0 MAWPC) is coming off a solid west coast trip, which saw two wins over ranked opponents, as well as three closely fought contests with ranked opponents that were decided by one or two goals. The Rams also moved up in the CWPA national top 20 poll to #15, while maintaining their spot at #14 in the ACWPC coaches' poll.
This week's games start with George Washington (9-10, 3-4 MAWPC), who has not played since October 15
th at the two-day Harvard Invitational. The Revolutionaries went 2-2 at the Harvard Invitational with wins over Iona and UC Merced. Mt. St. Mary's (6-16, 0-7 MAWPC) is still in search of its first league win, having lost the last two matches. The Mountaineers will face Wagner earlier on Saturday before coming to the Bronx.
Like Fordham, Bucknell (10-13, 7-3 MAWPC) was also out west last weekend at the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament. The Bison fell in all four west coast match-ups with #2 Cal (23-4), #15 Pacific (15-13), #4 Pepperdine (17-8), and Air Force (16-12).
GAME COVERAGE
Saturday – 11:00 AM – #15 Fordham vs. George Washington |
Live Video |
Follow on Twitter at @FordhamPolo
Saturday – 6:00 PM – #15 Fordham vs. Mt. St. Mary's |
Live Video |
Follow on Twitter at @FordhamPolo
Sunday – 10:00 PM – #15 Fordham vs. Bucknell |
Live Video |
Follow on Twitter at @FordhamPolo
HISTORY: Fordham has already earned victories over all three opponents this season and hope to pull out the season sweep this weekend. The Rams defeated George Washington, 18-6, on September 30
th, which was the fifth consecutive win for Fordham over the Revolutionaries, making the all-time series 18-17 in favor of George Washington.
Fordham topped Mt. St. Mary's, 21-11, on September 17
th to conclude its stay at the Bison Invitational. The Rams are a perfect 7-0 all-time against the Mountaineers.
The Rams beat Bucknell, 14-11, to open the Bison Invitational on September 16
th. It marked Fordham's sixth straight victory over the Bison, but Bucknell holds a large lead in the all-time series.
CUTINO WATCH LIST (10/26): For the second straight year, USA Water Polo and The Olympic Club are excited to collaborate with the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) on the Cutino Award Watch List. The Peter J. Cutino Award, named in honor of the late Hall of Fame coach, recognizes the best player in men's and women's college water polo. Among those listed is Fordham's
George Papanikolaou. This watch list was created in 2022 in an effort to help promote the college game, awareness of the honor, and the excellent play of athletes around the country.
A 2022 ACWPC Honorable Mention All-America selection, Papanikolaou has already crossed the 100-point mark in 2023 for the third consecutive season with 50 goals and 60 assists for 110 points. He ranks second on the Rams in goals, while being the team leader in assists and points. He also has 32 steals which is tied for second on the squad to go with eight field blocks. Since 1980, Papanikolaou just recently passed Rick Sweeney (1984-87) for second on the Rams' career assists (186) and points (366), behind only
Jake Miller-Tolt (220 assists & 571 points).
AWARDS TIME (10/25): The Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) announced its weekly awards on Wednesday, and it was a clean sweep for Fordham water polo, as
Luca Silvestri was named Player of the Week, while
Thomas Lercari earned Defensive Player of the Week honors. Additionally,
Barnabas Eppel was selected as Rookie of the Week.
Silvestri picks up his third MAWPC weekly award of the season, having previously been Defensive Player of the Week twice. On Fordham's six-game west coast road trip, he totaled 15 goals, five assists, 13 steals and five field blocks. In his first full week back as the Rams' starting goalkeeper following an early season injury, Lercari totaled 66 saves and eight steals over six games. Eppel received his second Rookie of the Week honor after netting 11 goals, three assists, six steals, and 18 ejections drawn in six games out west.
LAST TIME OUT (10/22): The nationally ranked Fordham water polo team gave as good as they got in a rematch from earlier this year against #4 Pepperdine to conclude their west coast swing at the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament. Back in the season opener in September, Fordham lost to Pepperdine, 16-10, but today the Rams fought hard all the way to the end, as they were edged by the Waves, 15-14.
After Pepperdine built up a 7-5 lead in the second quarter, Fordham got two even-strength goals by
George Papanikolaou and
Luca Silvestri to knot the game at seven. However, Pepperdine picked up a power play goal to go into halftime with an 8-7 lead. The Waves increased their lead to 11-7 in the third quarter, before the Rams got back in the game at 13-11, following a last second goal by Silvestri.
The teams exchanged goals up to
Christos Loupakis' third goal of the game with 2:38 left, which made it a 15-13 score. The Rams had a couple of chances to close in farther, but a couple of shots by
Lucas Nieto Jasny clanged off the post and away. He would get a man-up goal in the final seconds to make it 15-14, but Fordham never got the ball back.
For Fordham, Silvestri had four goals to lead the offense, while Loupakis and Nieto Jasny each had a hat trick.
Barnabas Eppel, Papanikolaou, Armingol, and
Jacopo Parrella had the remaining markers for Fordham. In net,
Thomas Lercari posted 13 stops for the Rams.
RAMSES CHALLENGE: The Ramses Challenge is back this season. Fans can pledge support for the team in the Ramses Challenge for each goal the water polo team scores this season.
Be a part of the challenge by clicking here.
WHAT'S NEXT: After this weekend's games, Fordham is next in action on Wednesday, November 1
st, when the Rams host Iona in the annual Judge Cup game at 7:00 PM.
