Bronx, N.Y. – (October 31, 2023) – The nationally ranked Fordham water polo team wraps up its home schedule this week, beginning with Senior Day on Wednesday night, as the Rams host Iona in the annual Judge Cup match. Fordham will also host the NYAC on Friday night in an exhibition contest.
Fordham (19-7, 12-0 MAWPC) is coming off a perfect 3-0 weekend at home with wins over George Washington, Mt. St. Mary's, and Bucknell. The Rams secured their second straight undefeated season in the MAWPC and will be the top seed at the MAWPC Championship in mid-November. Prior to Wednesday's match, the Rams will honor their senior class of
Christos Loupakis and
Michael Rahner.
Iona (10-13, 4-5 NEWPC) heads into the Judge Cup match off losses to #13 Harvard and #19 Brown this weekend and have lost four of its last six games.
GAME COVERAGE
Wednesday – 7:00 PM – #15 Fordham vs. Iona |
Live Video |
Follow on Twitter at @FordhamPolo
Friday – 7:00 PM – #15 Fordham vs. NYAC (Exhibition) |
Follow on Twitter at @FordhamPolo
HISTORY: Fordham and Iona have already played against each other once this season, back on September 3
rd at the Bruno Classic, where the Rams posted an 18-8 victory, their eighth straight win over the Gaels. The two local rivals have been going at it at the varsity levels for five decades and over the last 10 years, one of the Fordham-Iona matches each season has been for the Judge Cup, named in honor of Francis X. Judge, who had ties with both the Fordham and Iona water polo teams.
In Judge Cup matches, Fordham is 6-3 and have held onto the Judge Cup since 2018. Iona's last Judge Cup win came in 2017 at Iona.
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 55 goals and 72 assists for 127 points. He ranks second on the Rams in goals, while being the team leader in assists and points. He also has 40 steals which is second on the squad to go with nine field blocks. Since 1980, Papanikolaou just recently passed Rick Sweeney (1984-87) for second on the Rams' career assists (198) and points (383), behind only
Jake Miller-Tolt (220 assists & 571 points).
LAST TIME OUT (10/29): Whether it's an early or late game time, the Fordham water polo team continues to be the dominant force in the MAWPC, as the Rams completed an undefeated MAWPC regular season on Sunday with a 16-12 win over Bucknell at the Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center.
Fordham came out firing in the first quarter against the Bison, taking a 6-1 lead after the first quarter.
Barnabas Eppel and
George Papanikolaou each scored twice in the period with
Luca Silvestri and
Balazs Berenyi having the remaining markers. It was just the start for Berenyi, as he scored three times in the second quarter to help Fordham increase its lead to 11-5 by halftime.
The Rams tacked on five more goals in the second half for the 16-12 final with Berenyi having three of those markers for a career-high seven goals in the game.
Aside from Berenyi's big day, Papanikolaou added four goals and four assists with
Jacopo Parrella having a goal, five assists, and five steals. Silvestri had two goals and an assist with Eppel also having two goals. In net,
Thomas Lercari registered 14 saves to go with two steals.
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 week's games, Fordham will conclude the regular season with road matches against Connecticut College (Nov. 10 – 7:30 PM) and Brown (Nov. 11 – 12:30 PM) next weekend.
