Bronx, N.Y. – (November 17, 2023) – It's championship season for the nationally ranked Fordham water polo team, as the Rams are hunting for their third consecutive MAWPC Championship this week, which will be held at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.
Fordham is looking to become the first East Coast men's water polo team to claim three straight championships since Navy achieved the feat in 2006, 2007 and 2008 as part of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) prior to the split of the league into the Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) and MAWPC. Among active MAWPC member programs, Navy (1986-1988; 2006-2008) and Bucknell (1977-1980) are the lone programs to capture three consecutive league titles- all while part of the CWPA.
The Rams (22-7, 12-0 MAWPC) have won 36 straight matches against MAWPC opponents entering the weekend, which includes six at the last two MAWPC Championships. Fordham is the top seed and received a bye into Saturday's semifinal round and will face the winner of the Wagner-George Washington quarterfinal match. The championship game is set for Sunday at noon.
GAME COVERAGE
All games can be seen on
CWPATV.com for $10 per game or $25 for the weekend.
Follow on Twitter at @FordhamPolo
MAWPC AWARDS (11/17): Prior to the start of the 2023 MAWPC Championship, the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference has released its major award winners and All-League performers. The award list is led by Fordham junior
George Papanikolaou, who was named the league's Most Valuable Player, and Fordham head coach
Brian Bacharach, who earned Coach of the Year honors. Additionally, Papanikolaou and
Luca Silvestri were named First Team All-League with
Jacopo Parrella garnering Second Team accolades.
A 2023 USA Water Polo Cutino Award candidate, Papanikolaou is Fordham's third consecutive league MVP, following
Nir Gross in 2022 (MAWPC) and Hans Zdolsek in 2021 (MAWPC East). He also joins
Jake Miller-Tolt (2017-19) as the only Rams to receive First Team All-League honors in three consecuctive seasons.
Papanikolaou has had an outstanding regular season with team-highs of 62 goals and 76 assists in 29 games, while having a team-best 48 steals to go with 10 blocks on defense. During the year, he received Player of the Week honors once and moved into second place on Fordham's modern day leaders for career assists (202), points (394), and steals (166).
A year after being an Honorable Mention selection, Silvestri garnered First Team accolades on Friday after tying for the team lead in goals with Papanikolaou at 62, while adding 28 assists, 47 steals, and a team-high 17 blocks. He also led the Rams with 22 man-advantage goals, while earning three MAWPC weekly awards during the season (Player – once; Defensive Player – twice).
Parrella grabs All-League honors for the second time in his career, after taking First Team accolades back in 2021. He recorded his third consecutive 50-goal season, netting 50 in 27 games to go with 46 assists, 39 steals, and 13 blocks.
In his fifth season as Fordham's head coach, Bacharach receives his fourth Coach of the Year honor. He has the Rams entering the 2023 MAWPC Championship as the top seed and the two-time defending champion, following a 22-7 regular season with a 12-0 mark in the MAWPC. Fordham has also been nationally ranked all season long, reaching as high as 15
th in the CWPA Poll and 14
th in the ACWPC poll.
LAST TIME OUT (11/10): The nationally ranked Fordham water polo team put an exclamation point on a fantastic regular season on Saturday, defeating #20 Brown, 16-7, in Providence, R.I. With the win, Fordham ended the regular season with a 22-7 record and earned the team's first win over Brown since 2009.
With Brown leading 5-4 in the second quarter,
Barnabas Eppel scored twice in the final 2:45 of the period with
Jacopo Parrella also scoring in that span to give Fordham a 7-5 lead at the half.
The Rams poured on the offense in the third quarter, outscoring the Bears, 6-0, in the frame for a 13-5 edge, going into the final period.
Lucas Nieto Jasny and
Luca Silvestri each netted a pair of goals in the third quarter with
Balazs Berenyi and
Gabriel Melillo having the other markers. Fordham extended the lead all the way to 15-5 before Brown scored on a penalty shot at the 6:11 mark of the fourth quarter. Eppel added a final marker for his eighth hat trick of the season and the 16-7 final score.
Parrella led the attack for Fordham with four goals and three assists, while Nieto Jasny had four goals and two assists. Silvestri added two goals and two assists with Eppel having a hat trick. In net,
Thomas Lercari was superb with 13 saves, two assists, and two steals in three-plus quarters of work.
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.
