Fordham Water Polo enters the 2023 season with massive expectations. Once again picked to finish atop the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC), the back-to-back league champs also earned a cool feather in their cap from the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA).
Fordham is ranked 15th in the CWPA preseason national polls, the highest the Rams have ever been ranked nationally at any point in the season since the CWPA started recording national polls online in 2008.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean the start of the season is going to be smooth sailing, as seen by Fordham’s 2-2 split in their opening four game series at the Bruno Classic.
On top of having to incorporate seven new additions into their system, the Rams will start their season without junior goaltender Thomas Lercari, sidelined with an injury that will cause him to miss some time in September. Lercari received First Team All-MAWPC honors in a sophomore campaign that saw him take over the reigns as Fordham’s starter in net.
Junior Riccardo Di Giuseppe got the start in net for Fordham’s season opener against #11 Pepperdine University, recording five saves as the Rams fell 16-10. Junior attacker George Papanikolaou helped the Rams keep it close through three, opening his season strong with a two goal, three assist and three steal effort, but the Rams were unable to overcome a late game six-goal surge from Pepperdine.
Fordham rebounded later that Saturday, blowing out Augustana College 24-8. The Rams flexed their muscles on both sides, scoring at least five goals in every quarter while holding Augustana to just two goals a period.
Senior Christos Loupakis, juniors Mark Katsev and Papanikolaou and sophomore Balazs Berenyi each tallied hat tricks in the offensive onslaught while freshman goaltender Panayiotis Giannas got his first taste of collegiate action in the second half.
The Bruno Classic concluded on Sunday with another double header. The Rams kept the offensive momentum going, posting another double digit victory as they defeated Iona College 18-8. Led by a game-high five goals from junior Lucas Nieto Jasny on a perfect 5/5 shooting and four tallies from junior Jacopo Parrella, the Fordham offense flexed its muscles yet again.
Unfortunately, the Rams could not come away with a Sunday sweep, falling 18-13 to a Brown University team that received votes in the national poll. Fordham started things strong enough, leading 6-1 at the end of the first quarter, but Brown responded, holding the Rams scoreless in the second while tallying five of their own to tie things at halftime. Brown took the lead late in the third and never relinquished it, sending Fordham home with an opening series split.
This week marked the debut for seven new Rams, some of which made their impact felt immediately. Freshman Barnapas Eppel notched his first career hat trick against Brown while freshman Christopher Gray and junior transfer Paul Armingol tallied their first Fordham goals.
Fordham certainly flashed their offensive dominance, but the two losses to teams in the national poll conversation might draw some skepticism. The Rams certainly see themselves as a team that can compete with the nation’s best.
That said, it might take a few weeks for the Rams to hit their groove. Even disregarding the injury to Lercari, the addition of five freshmen and two transfers will provide an extra layer for head coach Brian Bacharach and the coaching staff to deal with.
Fordham’s rigorous schedule continues as they face Princeton University next weekend in the Princeton Invitational. If a match with #18 Harvard
University wasn’t enough, the Rams will go toe-to-toe with #8 Princeton University, the highest ranked program on the east coast and the team responsible for ending Fordham’s season in each of the last two years. Don’t be surprised if next weekend is a preview of an NCAA opening round matchup.
