Bronx, N.Y. – (October 21, 2024) – The fifth-ranked Fordham Water Polo team begins their annual West Coast swing on Tuesday with a ranked match-up against #16/15 UC Santa Barbara. The game will be played at Dos Pueblos High School.
Fordham (15-0) enters Tuesday's match after earning an exhibition win over the NYAC last Friday. The Rams continue to roll over opponents offensively, averaging over 20 goals per game, while defensively holding opponents under ten goals per contest.
UCSB (14-7) are coming off a tight 10-9 loss to #12 UC Davis on Saturday afternoon, after defeating Cal St. Fullerton and Santa Clara in their previous two contests.
SERIES HISTORY: This is the first ever meeting between Fordham and USCB.
LERCARI, PAPANIKOLAOU NAMED TO CUTINO AWARD WATCH LIST (10/17): For the third 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 are Fordham seniors
Thomas Lercari (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) and
George Papanikolaou (Athens, Greece). The 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.
With Lercari and Papanikolaou's inclusion, it marks the third consecutive year that Fordham has had a player on the initial watch list, joining Nir Gross in 2022 and Papanikolaou last year.
A 2023 ACWPC All-American and the reigning MAWPC Most Valuable Player, Papanikolaou is tied for second on the Rams in scoring with 54 points on 26 goals and 28 assists, while tying for the team lead in steals with 17. Earlier this season, he reached the 200-goal plateau for his career, becoming one of five players to reach that mark in the last 40 years of Fordham water polo, and surpassed the modern day career assists record. He is also second in modern day career points (457) and steals (186).
Lercari has been a wall in front of the Fordham net, recording 115 saves in just under 41 quarters of work. He has a career-best 8.55 goals against average and 57% save percentage on the season, while adding 15 assists, 14 steals, and six penalty blocks. He has already earned MAWPC Defensive Player of the Week honors twice this season, bringing his career weekly award total to nine. This past week, Lercari passed Alex Jahns (2014-17) on the modern day career saves list at 754, trailing only Timmy Will (800) and Noah LeBeau (996).
GETTING OFFENSIVE: Through 15 contests, Fordham has scored 307 goals, averaging 20.5 per contest. 13 individual players are in double figures, led by
Andras Toth with 37.
Luca Provenziani is second with 36, followed by
Lucas Nieto Jasny (30) and
George Papanikolaou (26). The Rams have also cranked things up with the man-advantage, converting on 56% of their opportunities (77 for 137).
GOIN' STREAKIN': After winning their first seven MAWPC matches, Fordham has now won 37 consecutive league contests dating back to late in the 2021 season. If you include the MAWPC Championship, the Rams have beaten an MAWPC opponent 45 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 237 for his career.
GREAT START: The Rams have blasted on to the scene in 2024 with a 15-0 record. It is the team's best-ever start to a season.
WHO'S NEXT: The Rams' west coast road trip continues Thursday at #13/14 San Jose State, before starting play at the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament, hosted by Santa Clara and San Jose State.
