Highs and lows walk hand in hand with sports fans. In the end, it’s all about commitment. As the sports section of the Fordham Ram, we have followed our school’s sports programs with watchful eyes. Athletes broke records, won awards and exceeded expectations. Teams won nail-biters, competed at a high level and kept fans coming back for more. Here are a few standouts that we would like to put in the spotlight for this year’s final issue.

Water Polo was the most major story of the year for Fordham Athletics. An incredible run that lasted from the fall of 2021 saw the Rams do nothing but win. The team won four consecutive Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference titles in addition to four straight automatic bids into the NCAA Men’s Water Polo Championship. The team’s success was even noted in an article published by The Wall Street Journal titled “Is This Undefeated Team the Best Story in College Sports?” Maybe they were, especially considering the squad was ranked No. 3 overall in the Collegiate Water Polo Association national polls — the highest ranking ever given to a non-California program. The team’s only loss of the season came at the hands of the University of Southern California (USC) during the semifinal of the NCAA tournament, putting an end to the best season ever for the Fordham University water polo program at 32-1. The season also marked the farthest a Fordham team has ever gotten in an NCAA Championship. The team’s accomplishments cannot be overstated and will live on.

Over the course of her swimming career at Fordham University, now-senior Ainhoa Martin has made her mark on the Fordham and Atlantic 10 record books. In her 2023-24 junior season, she was named the Most Outstanding Performer at the A-10 Championships and became Fordham’s second-ever participant at the NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships. At the A-10s, she became the first Fordham swimmer to ever win three events in a single championship, taking home first place in the 200 individual medley, 400 individual medley and 200 breaststroke, setting the A-10 record in the latter and school records in all three. In her senior season, Martin won another two individual events at the A-10s, defending her titles in the 400 individual medley and 200 breaststroke. She is a two-time Claire and Jack Hobbs Memorial Award winner (2024 and 2025) for Fordham’s top female student athlete, having brought consistent success to her competitions during her illustrious four-year career. She concludes her college swimming career as the winner of six A-10 titles, tied for the most of any Fordham swimmer in school history. She leaves a significant mark in the record books.

During her five-year career with the Fordham Women’s Volleyball, now-graduate student Whitley Moody was a leader, play-maker and record-setter. As a freshman, she was named the program’s first-ever American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-East Region selection while simultaneously being awarded Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year. Her tenure with the Rams got its cherry on top when she achieved her 1,444th kill, breaking alumna Valerie Bosticco Kolb’s Fordham record for career kills. She achieved this feat during the first set against the University of Rhode Island on Oct. 9, 2024, with her family in attendance. Before the season’s end, Moody would tack on an additional 193 kills to give herself a grand total of 1,637, shattering the previous record and establishing herself as the gold standard for future volleyball players at Fordham. All in all, during her final year she tallied 363 kills to go along with the best season-long average of her career at 3.74 kills per set across 97 sets played. Her stellar career has sadly come to a close this season, but Moody will be fondly remembered for her record book performances and leadership on and off the Rose Hill courts.

While only playing on the team for one season, senior guard Jackie Johnson III established himself as one of the most notable players for Fordham men’s hoops. Johnson averaged the highest points per game in this year’s Atlantic 10 conference with 19.5 points and scored the most cumulative season points of any Ram in the past four decades with 642. He led the team to some of their most memorable moments in the 2024-25 season, including their thrilling buzzer-beater win against Seton Hall University last November (their first road victory over a high-major team since 2005). Johnson netted 18 points, two of which were from his last-second 17-foot floater that earned the Rams a 57-56 win with, as the announcer yelled, “his son watching.” In addition to his strong regular season performances, Johnson guided the Fordham Rams through their two A-10 tournament matchups, gaining 29 points and five rebounds against the University of Rhode Island and 35 points against George Washington University. Following the conclusion of their season in mid-March, Johnson was named Second Team National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-North Atlantic District.

Lorraine Bergmann was a quintessential leader on the Fordham women’s tennis team in her four years on the team. This included the team’s Atlantic 10 Championship in 2023, when they claimed the championship title for the first time in program history. During that season, Bergmann set the stage for the championship, defeating the University of Rhode Island’s Ava Grnja in the tournament’s first match. Bergmann was a solid competitor in both singles and doubles over the course of her four-year Fordham University career, as she won several A-10 tournament matches. In the 2023 championship season, Bergmann went 9-1 in doubles matches and played several singles positions, performing her best at the third position with a 4-0 record. She was the lone senior on the 2024-25 team, which clinched the #1 seed at the Atlantic 10 Championship with a 15-4 regular season record and a perfect 6-0 record at the home Hawthorn/Rooney courts in the Bronx. Overall, Bergmann will be remembered for her leadership and consistency throughout her career on the courts at Fordham, including incredible team successes in her tenure on the team.

In his three years playing for the Fordham University men’s soccer team, junior captain Daniel D’Ippolito has asserted himself as one of the program’s all-time midfielders. After starting in three games and playing in 15 during his first season, D’Ippolito started all 17 matches in 2023. Throughout his sophomore season, he had three assists and netted four goals for 11 points, securing him a spot on the All-Atlantic 10 Second Team. This past season, D’Ippolito helped lead his team to their first bid in the NCAA tournament since 2021, with his combined 14 goals and seven assists for 35 points. D’Ippolito additionally recorded two hat tricks (one of which earned the Rams all three goals in their 3-0 win against Duquesne University in A-10 quarterfinals), making him the first Fordham player to register multiple three-goal games in almost three decades. In November, D’Ippolito was named this year’s A-10 Midfielder of the Year, becoming the second Fordham player to ever earn the title. He also earned First-Team All-Atlantic 10 honors and was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Championship Team in honor of his play. D’Ippolito’s career will go down as one of Fordham Soccer’s best.