Bronx, N.Y. – (November 7, 2024) – The #3/4 Fordham water polo team returns to the New York area for four MAWPC matches, as the Rams look to lock up the top seed at the MAWPC Championship, which will be held November 22-24 at Navy.
Fordham (24-0, 10-0 MAWPC) currently sits in a tie with George Washington for first place in the MAWPC with 20 points, but have a pair of games in hand on the Revolutionaries, handing them their only two losses in league play. The Rams head to Staten Island for a match against Wagner on Friday night, before coming home on Saturday for three matches against Bucknell, Mercyhurst, and Mt. St. Mary's.
The Rams already have a win against all four teams, taking 21-5 and 20-9 victories over Mt. St. Mary's and Bucknell, respectively, on September 21
st, a 26-9 win over Merchust on September 28
th, and a 17-6 over Wagner on October 12
th.
Prior to the Mt. St. Mary's match, the Rams will have their Senior Day ceremony, recognizing a stellar group that has the program among the best in the NCAA this season.
LERCARI, PROVENZIANI EARN MAWPC WEEKLY AWARDS (11/6): The Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) released its weekly awards on Tuesday with Fordham's
Thomas Lercari earning the league's Defensive Player of the Week honor, while
Luca Provenziani was selected as Rookie of the Week. This is Lercari's third Defensive Player of the Week award this season, while being the fourth weekly award this year for Provenziani (Player – twice, Rookie – twice).
Lercari was excellent in goal for the Rams this past weekend, as the team improved to 24-0 overall, 10-0 in the MAWPC. In three matches, he registered 26 total saves, three assists, and five steals in just over nine quarters of work. Against #20 George Washington, he had ten saves in three-plus quarters to go with an assist and two steals, while having 12 saves, two steals, and an assist at Navy. Lercari ended the weekend with four saves, a steal, and an assist in two quarters against Johns Hopkins.
Provenziani had a solid weekend as he netted 10 goals, three assists, and three steals in three weekend road matches. He opened the weekend with four goals, an assist, a steal at #20 George Washington, while having three goals, two assists, and two steals at Navy. He then added a hat trick at Johns Hopkins on Sunday.
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 and
George Papanikolaou. 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.
GETTING OFFENSIVE: Through 24 contests, Fordham has scored 478 goals, averaging 19.9 per contest. 17 individual players are in double figures, led by
Luca Provenziani with 66.
Andras Toth is second at 62, followed by
Lucas Nieto Jasny (45) and
George Papanikolaou (36). The Rams have also cranked things up with the man-advantage, converting on 56% of their opportunities (118 for 212).
GOIN' STREAKIN': After winning their first 10 MAWPC matches, Fordham has now won 40 consecutive league contests dating back to late in the 2021 season. If you include the MAWPC Championship, the Rams have beaten an MAWPC opponent 48 straight times.
DYNAMIC DUO: The Rams have gotten contributions up and down the roster, but leading the pack is Fordham's freshmen duo of
Luca Provenziani and
Andras Toth. Provenziani leads the team in scoring with 66 goals and 110 points to go with 44 assists, while Toth has 62 goals, 28 assists, and a team-high 34 steals. The last time Fordham's top two scorers were freshmen came in 2021 with
Jacopo Parrella (124 points) and
Lucas Nieto Jasny (117).
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 261 for his career.
Another milestone that was hit last weekend came from goalkeeper
Thomas Lercari, as he surpassed 800 career saves, joining Timmy Will (800 - 2005-08) and Noah LeBeau (996 – 2011-14) as the only three Fordham netminders to reach that plateau. He currently sits with 825.
GREAT START: The Rams have blasted on to the scene in 2024 with a 24-0 record. It is the team's best-ever start to a season.
WHO'S NEXT: The Rams have one final weekend of play left as they head up to the New England area on November 15-16 with exhibition contests against Connecticut College and Brown.
