In honor of this year’s stellar class of graduating athletes, the Sports Section of The Fordham Ram felt it would be fitting to look back at the legendary sporting moments that defined the time they spent competing amongst the greystone confines of Rose Hill.
The Birth of Rose Thrill: Basketball vs. St. Louis (Jan. 31, 2023)
By Jonah Ring
The night of Jan. 23, 2023, the legend of Rose Thrill was born. A sea of students decked out in maroon converged upon Rose Hill Gymnasium to break the prior stillness of the night with their raucous screams of support. The game that took place that night — an unforgettable clash with the Billikens of Saint Louis University — was everything for this graduating class of Fordham Basketball, as it was the moment that their years of hard work came to fruition. Not only did the Rams knock off the highly-ranked Billikens to reach the previously elusive mark of 18 wins in a season for the first time since 2007, but they also picked up some major momentum that would carry them all the way to a second ever appearance in the Atlantic 10 semifinals. Most importantly, they set a new standard for Fordham Men’s Basketball in the process: one of greatness that demanded the attention of both the greater Fordham community and the national media.
Football Knocks off the University of Buffalo (Sep. 9, 2023)
By Jonah Ring
Rarely does an FCS-level team knock off an FBS-level program — it’s just one of those things that’s simply not supposed to happen. However, this conventional wisdom does not seem to bother Fordham Football in the slightest, as the Rams managed to pull off the feat of defeating a FBS squad this past season when they traveled upstate to the University of Buffalo, beating the Buffalos in an absolute thriller by a score of 40-37. To be sure, the game was anything but a cakewalk (the Rams fell behind early by a whole 18 points and needed a go-ahead score in the dying embers of the game to prevail), but coach Joe Conlin’s squad showed a level of grit and skill that was built up through the years of tireless dedication that this senior class put in. That night, the senior class of Fordham Football truly left an indelible mark on the program, redefining and elevating what it means to put on pads and that legendary maroon helmet.
Softball Wins 2022 A-10 Championship
By Noah Hoffman
The 2022 Fordham Softball team proved it is not how you start that matters but how you finish. Through the first 11 games, they were 3-8. After a 3-1 Boerner Invitational, Fordham hit the ground running, going 21-10 the rest of the season, including a 15-7 conference record, good for a second-place finish in the standings. Their 7-1 stretch to finish out the regular season, all against Atlantic 10 opponents, set them up for the A-10 Championships. Two one-run victories to begin, 3-2 and 1-0, booked Fordham’s spot in the championship game for a rematch of the previous years against George Washington University. After a 3-6 loss in game one, the Rams turned the tables with a 6-3 win in the second, securing their ninth A-10 title. Current senior and then sophomore Bailey Enoch led the way for the Rams, slashing .556/.733/.889 with five hits, one home run, five walks, three RBIs, two runs and a stolen base, earning the Championship’s Most Outstanding Player.
Water Polo Wins Third Straight MAWPC Championship
By Noah Hoffman
Fordham’s 2023 Water Polo team came into the season as back-to-back Mid-Atlantic Champions, the first two in school history. During the championship years, the Rams went 52-15, including 27-1 in conference play, ending each season ranked 17 and 15 in the country. Early on in 2023, it looked like history would repeat itself once again. Fordham started 4-3 before winning 10 in a row, all against A-10 opponents. The Rams ended the regular season on another win streak, this time six, heading into the playoffs with plenty of momentum. Fordham took care of Wagner College 23-12 in the semifinals, setting up a 2021 championship rematch against the United States Naval Academy. Heading into the final quarter of the game, it was all tied up at eight. After exchanging goals to begin the fourth, the Rams went up 10-9 and didn’t look back, eventually winning 12-10. Junior George Papanikolaou was selected as the Championship’s MVP. The Rams ended the season as the 12th-ranked team in the nation, their best finish during the three-peat.
Women’s Tennis Tastes A-10 Glory (Apr. 30, 2023)
By Griffin Stevenson
It was a battle of the Rams in the women’s tennis Atlantic 10 tournament as top-seeded goliath Virginia Commonwealth University faced off against a Fordham squad more akin to David. VCU entered the competition, winning four straight A-10 tournaments, but Fordham had all the momentum. The Rams from the Bronx came into the match against VCU on a six-game winning streak. With the trophy in their sights, the Rams got to work. After getting off to a hot start, the Rams found themselves in a third doubles match where graduate student Carlota Casasampere Escoda and senior Rachelle Yang fought hard in overtime to secure a 7-6(3) win. When it came time for singles play, Fordham picked up where they left off, with Casasampere Escoda putting Fordham up 2-0; however, VCU still had some fight left in them. With the Rams’ lead now cut in half, senior Avery Aude put Fordham within just one point of victory before now-senior Eleni Fasoula capped off the game in a 6-3 victory in the third spot. As soon as Fasoula sealed the win, her teammates swarmed her, celebrating their first A-10 title in team history under the sweltering Florida sun.
The Buzzer Beater at Barclays (Oct. 12, 2023)
By Griffin Stevenson
It was a Sunday afternoon at the Barclays Center. The night prior, the Jonas Brothers had been performing to a crowd of adoring fans. Yet, today, it was the legion of Fordham supporters that flocked to the Brooklyn stadium to support a 4-5 Rams team on a national stage as they faced their toughest challenge of the season: the reigning NIT champions of the University of North Texas. Fordham got off to a rough start, trailing by 12 at the half, but if there is one thing this Rams squad knew how to do, it was how to fight back. The Rams took the first 10 points of the second half before eventually taking a 38-37 lead on a freshman Jahmere Tripp bucket. The game was close the rest of the way, with senior Antrell Charlton’s 10 points leading the way. With 3:44 left in the game, a Japhet Medor 3-point play gave the Rams the lead. Medor gave the Rams a lead once again with 1:58 left by way of a pair of made free throws just before the Mean Green capitalized on a Fordham mistake to take a 59-58 lead. With 10 seconds left on the clock, Fordham inbounded the ball to Medor, who drove down the lane before dumping the ball off to senior Abdou Tsimbila. The six-foot-nine senior from Cameroon hammered home a buzzer-beating dunk, underscored by the roar of the Fordham faithful.
