By Maria Trivelpiece

No one wants to begin a season with a losing record. It is discouraging, disheartening and quite upsetting after the amount of hours spent working in the weight room and, in the case of water polo, the pool. Yet, this is what happened to the Fordham University water polo team. The first few weeks of the 2018 season were tough.

The team lost matches by small margins, had numerous defeats in overtime and it just seemed as though things were not going to get any better. However, after perseverance, grit and an immense amount of hard work, these rowdy Rams are fighting their way back to the top and are hoping that they can finish the rest of their games strong.

This past weekend, the Rams finally were able to reach an important milestone, reaching the mark of a .500 winning percentage for the first time this season. With only one match left to play, they are now 6-6 in conference play and 14-14 overall, which sets them up for a great position in the upcoming MAWPC conference tournament.

The Rams started off their weekend in Maryland with a 12-7 win against Johns Hopkins. Sophomore Phillip Wang had four goals while junior Jake Miller-Tolt, freshman Dimitris Koukias and senior Samuel Varshinsky had two apiece. In goal, freshman Baily O’Mara was stellar with 17 saves.

The victory propelled the Rams to rally against Navy in the second match, as they won by a score of 11-8. Miller-Tolt and Varshinsky continued their dominance, as they each netted two goals. O’Mara was great again with 11 saves in goal.

Fordham faltered in the third game of the road trip, falling to George Washington 15-13. Miller-Tolt and Varshinksy netted three more goals apiece as Wang and Koukias followed closely behind with two each of their own. O’Mara once again played well with 12 saves.

With every outing, the Rams have been improving. After a rough start, they evened out their record. In its last 10 matches, Fordham boasted a record of 8-2.

This success is occurring just at the right time. On Nov. 10, the Rams will end their regular season with a match against Iona. They will then head into their conference tournament from Nov. 15 to Nov. 18 at the Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center in the Bronx, N.Y.

It seemed as though this would be an off year for the Fordham University men’s water polo team, but the season is not over yet. They are peaking at the right time, and it will be exciting to watch what these athletes will do in the final matches of the year.