Bronx, N.Y. – (October 11, 2024) – After a couple of weeks away from action, the nationally ranked Fordham water polo team is back in the pool on Saturday, as the Rams host the 20
th-ranked Wagner Seahawks for an MAWPC match at 11:00 AM, while welcoming Iona for the annual Judge Cup match at 3:00 PM at the Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center.
Fordham (13-0, 6-0 MAWPC) heads into the weekend at #5 in the ACWPC Coaches poll and #6 in the CWPA/NCAA poll. It is the Rams' highest ever national ranking.
Wagner sits at 8-11 overall in 2024 with a 3-2 mark in the MAWPC. The Seahawks most recently took part in the Gary Troyer Tournament in California, dropping all four matches to Concordia Irvine, #19 Cal Baptist, #10 Long Beach State, and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
Iona is 8-9 on the year with a 3-3 mark in the NEWPC. The Gaels have captured wins in their last two contests over MIT and LIU.
SERIES HISTORY: Fordham and Wagner have met 17 times since 2016 with the Rams holding a 13-4 mark against the Seahawks. Fordham has won each of the last 10 match-ups with Wagner's last win coming in 2018.
The Iona match is the annual Judge Cup game, honoring the memory of Dr. Francis X. Judge, who has deep ties to both water polo programs. In Judge Cup matches, Fordham is 7-3 and have held onto the Judge Cup since 2018. Iona's last Judge Cup win came in 2017 at Iona.
PROVENZIANI CAPTURES MAWPC PLAYER & ROOKIE OF THE WEEK AWARD (10/2): The Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) released its weekly awards on Wednesday with Fordham freshman
Luca Provenziani earning the league's Player and Rookie of the Week honors. They are the first career honors for Provenziani.
Provenziani keyed the Rams to a 4-0 weekend that included wins over #7 Princeton and #17 Navy. He totaled 13 goals, six assists, and four steals in four matches. He scored a season-high five goals to go with an assist and three steals in a win over #7 Princeton, and then matched that performance with five goals to go with four assists in a win over #17 Navy. He capped the weekend with a goal, an assist, and a steal versus George Washington and two goals against Mercyhurst.
Provenziani took over as the Rams' scoring leader with 54 points on the year. He has 31 goals and 23 assists, good for second on the team in both categories.
GETTING OFFENSIVE: Through 13 contests, Fordham has scored 267 goals, averaging 20.5 per contest. Eleven individual players are in double figures, led by
Luca Provenziani with 32.
Andras Toth is second with 31, followed by
Lucas Nieto Jasny (28) and
George Papanikolaou (24). The Rams have also cranked things up with the man-advantage, converting on 56% of their opportunities (66 for 118).
GOIN' STREAKIN': After winning their first six MAWPC matches, Fordham has now won 36 consecutive league contests dating back to late in the 2021 season. If you include the MAWPC Championship, the Rams have beaten an MAWPC opponent 44 straight times.
CAREER MILESTONES: Over the first three weekends, seniors
Jacopo Parrella,
George Papanikolaou, and
Lucas Nieto Jasny reached 200 career goals scored, becoming just the third, fourth, and fifth Fordham water polo players in the last 40 years to reach that mark, joining Rick Sweeney (215 – 1984-87) and
Jake Miller-Tolt (351 – 2016-19). Additionally, Papanikolaou surpassed Miller-Tolt's modern day career assists record of 220, as Papanikolaou now has 234 for his career.
GREAT START: The Rams have blasted on to the scene in 2024 with a 13-0 record. It is the team's best-ever start to a season.
WHO'S NEXT: After this weekend, the Rams will next be in action on Friday, October 18
th with an exhibition match against the NYAC at 7:30 PM at the Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center.
