Bronx, N.Y. – (November 27, 2024) – Today proved to be a historic day for the Fordham water polo team, as well as for Fordham Athletics. The Rams moved into a tie for the #1 team in the country, according to the latest CWPA/NCAA poll, becoming the first Fordham program to reach #1 in the country.
UCLA (94 points) and USC (94 points) – which consistently rate among the top team in the nation – are joined by a 31-0 Fordham (94 points) squad which makes history by becoming the inaugural program from outside California to lead either the men's or women's Top 20/25 Polls in the history of the sport.
The Rams moved to the top of the poll after winning their fourth consecutive MAWPC Championship at Navy on Sunday.
At the MAWPC Championship,
Jacopo Parrella was named the Most Valuable Player of the Championship, compiling eight goals, two assists, and six steals in three games, while head coach
Brian Bacharach was named the Coach of the Championship. Parrella was then joined on the All-Championship First Team by
Thomas Lercari (27 saves, 3 saves),
Barnabas Eppel (6 goals, 2 assists, 5 exclusions drawn) and
Luca Silvestri (5 goals, 5 assists), while
James Oriskovich (4 goals, 2 steals, 4 exclusions drawn) was named Honorable Mention All-Championship.
Fordham now focuses on the National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Championship, which will be held December 6-8, at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center. The Rams are seeded third at the Championship and will face Long Beach State at 9:00 PM EST on Friday, December 6
th.
First-round games and the semifinals will be streamed live on
ncaa.com, and the national championship final will air live on ESPNU. Tickets for the Championship can be purchased
here.
