Last Wednesday was Senior Day at the Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center, as the Fordham Rams celebrated the final home game for Christos Loupakis and Michael Rahner. In a manner befitting of Fordham’s recent success, the two seniors went out on a high note, helping Fordham defeat the Iona University Gaels 16-9 in the annual Judge Cup.
The Rams are now 8-3 in the Judge Cup, retaining the trophy for a fifth consecutive season. The tradition began in 2012 to honor Fordham Hall of Famer Francis X. Judge, who brought the water polo program back to Fordham in 1949, serving as a player-coach in his freshman year. Judge carried deep ties to both Iona and Fordham, fathering water polo hall of famers at both universities.
For the Rams, Wednesday wasn’t just a chance to contend for a highly valued trophy; it was also a chance for one final home sendoff for the 2023 team, and a loving goodbye for Loupakis and Rahner.
With just seven of Fordham’s 29 regular season games scheduled at Rose Hill, the chance to play in front of home fans isn’t one that comes frequently.
And with this year’s Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Championship being hosted at Bucknell University, it is officially the last time these Fordham Rams will play at their home pool in the year 2023.
The Rams certainly made the most of it, jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter with freshman Barnabas Eppel and junior George Papanikolaou each scoring twice in the frame. For the latter, that first quarter was just the start of a day to remember. Notching four more goals in the next three quarters, Papanikolaou posted a career-high six-goal performance coupled with one assist and four steals as the Rams coasted to a 16-9 win.
Papanikolaou wasn’t the only one to have a career day as sophomore Balazs Berenyi dished out a career-high four assists to go with two steals.
Junior Jacopo Parrella added four assists as well while Eppel and junior Lucas Nieto Jasny helped out with hat tricks.
Both seniors made their mark in the game with Loupakis tallying a goal and Rahner racking up three steals and a block. While a lot of attention goes to Fordham’s trio of star juniors in Papanikolaou, Parrella and Nieto Jasny — and rightfully so — the impact of Loupakis and Rahner cannot go unnoticed.
Outside of the veteran leadership they provide, the pair of seniors have contributed actively to one of the deepest water polo rotations in program history. Loupakis in particular has played a crucial role in Fordham’s system, manning the two-meter after the graduation of Nir Gross, last year’s MAWPC MVP.
With the win, Fordham improves to 20-7, the fourth time they’ve done so since 2019, the lone exception being a 2020 season that was limited to just one game due to COVID-19. After posting back-to-back 26 win campaigns in 2021 and 2022, the Rams continue a stretch of excellence under head coach Brian Bacharach. Ranking 15th in the Collegiate Water Polo Association national polls, Fordham boasts the third best program in the east coast, behind only #7 Princeton University and #10 Harvard University.
The Rams take a four-game winning streak into their final week of regular season play, set for a pair of road non-conference games against Connecticut College and Brown University.
With tournament play now just two weeks away, Fordham will aim to finish the season strong before a highly anticipated return to the MAWPC championship as the conference’s top seed.
