Palo Alto, Calif. – (December 5, 2024) – For the fourth consecutive season, the Fordham water polo team is in the National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Championship, as the Rams (31-0) were seeded third in the bracket, the highest-ever seed for an East Coast school at the Championship, and will play Long Beach State (20-10) on Friday, December 6th at 6:00 PM at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center.
Fordham earned an automatic bid into the Championship, after defeating Navy, 18-11, in the MAWPC Championship final on Sunday. The Rams were one of six automatic bid teams along with USC, Princeton, Long Beach State, Cal Baptist, and Salem, while UCLA and Stanford received at-large berths.
UCLA is the top seed and will face Salem in the opening round with USC as the second seed taking on Cal Baptist. The final first-round match will feature Stanford against Princeton.
RAMS AT THE NC CHAMPIONSHIP: This is Fordham's fourth trip to the NC Championship. Fordham has an 0-3 mark in the team's previous three appearances. Last season, Fordham fell to eventual national champion, Cal, by a 16-6 score.
RAMS VS. THE FIELD: Fordham is 3-0 against teams that are in the NC Championship. The Rams defeated Cal Baptist (23-12), Salem (23-11), and Princeton (12-9).
SERIES HISTORY: Fordham and Long Beach State have only met once previously during the 2021 season at the Gary Troyer Tournament in Claremont, California. The Beach, ranked #7 at the time, defeated the then #16 Rams, 12-6. In that match, current Rams
George Papanikolaou and
Lucas Nieto Jasny combined for five of the Rams' six goals.
LAST TIME OUT (11/24): Behind a four-goal performances by
Luca Silvestri and
Andras Toth, as well as a double-digit save effort from
Thomas Lercari, the #3/4 Fordham water polo team won the 2024 MAWPC Championship for the fourth consecutive season with an 18-11 win over 20th-ranked Navy in Annapolis, Maryland
For Fordham,
Luca Silvestri and
Andras Toth each had four goals in the game with Toth adding three steals and two blocks defensively.
Jacopo Parrella had two goals, two assists, and a steal with George Papnikolaou having a goal and three assists.
Tyler Fahey and
Luca Provenziani each had two markers with the final tallies by
Barnabas Eppel,
James Oriskovich, and
Lucas Nieto Jasny. In net,
Thomas Lercari was a wall, making 13 stops in goal in the win.
Following the championship, 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 Lercari (27 saves, 3 saves), Eppel (6 goals, 2 assists, 5 exclusions drawn) and Silvestri (5 goals, 5 assists), while Oriskovich (4 goals, 2 steals, 4 exclusions drawn) was named Honorable Mention
WE'RE #1: November 27th 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 November 24th.
GETTING OFFENSIVE: Through 31 contests, Fordham has scored 635 goals, averaging 20.5 per contest. 19 of the Rams' 21 active players are in double figures, led by
Luca Provenziani with 88.
Andras Toth is second at 77, followed by
Lucas Nieto Jasny (55),
George Papanikolaou (43), and
Jacopo Parrella. The Rams have also cranked things up with the man-advantage, converting on 54% of their opportunities (152 for 282).
GOIN' STREAKIN': After winning all 14 MAWPC matches this season, Fordham has now won 44 consecutive league contests dating back to late in the 2021 season. If you include the MAWPC Championship, the Rams have beaten an MAWPC opponent 55 straight times.
DYNAMIC DUO: The Rams have gotten contributions from up and down the roster, but leading the pack is Fordham's freshmen duo of
Luca Provenziani and
Andras Toth. Provenziani, the MAWPC Rookie of the Year, leads the team in scoring with 88 goals and 148 points to go with 60 assists, while Toth has 77 goals, 32 assists, and a team-high 46 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 of the season, seniors
Jacopo Parrella,
George Papanikolaou, and
Lucas Nieto Jasny all 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 273 for his career, while also reaching 200 career steals. Nieto Jasny has also joined Miller-Tolt and Papanikolaou in the 200-assists clubs.
Another milestone that was hit late in the season 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 886.
MORE MILESTONES ON THE HORIZON: As the Rams enter the 2024 NC Championship, more milestones could be hit this weekend.
Jacopo Parrella (199) is closing in on 200 career assists, while
George Papanikolaou and
Lucas Nieto Jasny are also both at 130 career games played, as they chase Bobby Wurtz for the all-time games played mark (130 – 2012-15). Additionally, goalkeeper
Thomas Lercari is 14 saves shy of 900 for his career. Only Noah LeBeau has reached that milestone (996 – 2011-14).
PERFECT: The Rams finished the regular season at 28-0, the only team in the NCAA to do so this season.
SENIOR CLASS: Fordham's senior class has redefined success for the water polo program, winning four MAWPC Championships, playing in four NC Championships, and posting a record of 107-23.
