Saturday Feb

Fordham Women’s Soccer Hires a New Last week, Fordham Athletics Director Ed Kull announced Coach Magnus Nilerud as the new head coach of the women’s soccer program, making him the fourth head coach in team history. No stranger to college soccer, Nielrud is coming off an illustrious 23-year run at the University of Bridgeport. There, he posted a 295–126–27 record, making 11 NCAA appearances, winning three NCAA Regionals and also winning the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2018. Nilerud is a rare talent, as he is one of only two active coaches in the East region with at least 250 career victories and ranks in the top 15 in the nation for alltime winningest active coaches by wins and win percentage. In terms of awards, Nilerud has been named two-time NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year (in 2015 and 2018), a threetime Regional Coach of the Year (in 2011, 2015 and 2018) and an eight-time East Coast Conference (ECC) Coach of the Year.

Hans Zdolsek Wins Swedish Player of the Year

After a season filled with accolades for the men’s water polo team, graduate student Hans Zdolsek adds another award to their growing list of achievements. Zdolsek was named the 2021 Swedish Men’s Water Polo Player of the Year. An Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches Honorable Mention All-American, Zdolsek received First Team All-Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference East for the second straight season in 2021 and was the first Ram to be named MAWPC East Most Valuable Player. Zdolsek was then the MAWPC Championship Most Outstanding Player which Fordham won for the first time in team history. He finished the year with 47 goals, 38 assists, 43 steals and a team-best 19 blocks. His 47 goals tied for fourth on the team with 12 coming on the man-advantage, which was fourth on the squad.

–Compiled by Maddie Bimonte

Women’s Tennis Splits Weekend Series

By LOU ORLANDO

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Fordham Women’s Tennis concluded its two-week homestand with a pair of games this weekend. The team suffered its first loss of the season on Saturday, losing 5-2 to Long Island University (LIU), but rebounded quickly, defeating St. Francis College 7-0 on Sunday. They sit at 3-1 as they prepare for a month-long road stretch.

Fordham entered the weekend coming off a dominant 6-1 win last Saturday against Fairleigh Dickinson, but struggled against a very talented LIU team. LIU held Fordham to just two singles points, winning the remaining four singles matchups and two of the three doubles matchups to earn the doubles point.

Carlota Casasampere Escoda and Nicole Li were handed their first losses in singles play while Avery Aude and Lorraine Bergmann also took losses in #1 and #2 singles respectively. The duo of Valeriya Deminova and Bergmann as well as that of Casasampere Escoda and Aude fell in their doubles matchups. Deminova won her third straight matchup in singles while sophomore Eleni Fosoula continued to impress, winning both her singles matchup and her doubles matchup paired with Rachelle Yang.

Fordham bounced back quickly against St. Francis College, which entered Sunday winless at 0-4, coming off two straight 7-0 losses to start the spring season. However, Fordham was more than willing to hand them their third straight 7-0 loss, winning the doubles point and all six singles matchups.

Senior Genevieve Quenville earned her wins in both singles and doubles play in her first appearance this season and Bergmann earned her first win in singles play. Fasoula is off to a red hot 6-0 start this season with three singles wins and three doubles wins. Rachelle Yang is also undefeated in combined singles and doubles play.

This weekend series marks the end of a brief three-game homestand. Fordham hits the road for a four-game stretch, beginning with Boston University on Feb. 26. While the road trip includes a game in Flushing, New York against Queens College, Fordham won’t technically have another home game for about a month as they go off to play Drexel University, Quinnipiac University and Queens College . They’ll return to Life Time Athletic on March 13 to face Siena College.

Softball Grand Canyon Classic

Fordham 1 Weber State 5

Fordham 2 Grand Canyon 10 [5 Innings]

Weber State Fordham

1 4

Kansas Fordham

N. Colorado Fordham

2 6

3 2 Women’s Basketball

Rhode Island 58 Fordham 43 A. DeWolfe 10 PTS

Men’s Basketball

Fordham

66

Duquesne

54

C. Ohams 18 PTS, 14 REBS

Fordham VCU J. Navarro 20 PTS

61 66

Squash

Fordham 4 Bucknell 5 Fordham 9 Lehigh 0

Fordham 8 Conneticut 1

Men’s Tennis

Fordham 1 St. Francis Brooklyn 4

Fordham Brown

Women’s Tennis

Fordham LIU

Track & Field

Rutgers Invitational & BU Valentine Invitational No Team Scoring

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS Softball continues their road games this week. Fordham 7 Penn Club 2 Fordham 7 St. Francis Brooklyn 0

–Compiled by Maddie Bimonte

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS Men’s Baketball looks to rebound after a loss on Tuesday.

Women’s Basketball Falls at Rhode Island

By KALEY BELL

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR EMERITA

Historically, the Fordham Rams have always taken the win against the Rhode Island Rams. In their last eight meetings, Fordham consistently came out on top. However, history has been ignored and Rhode Island took the win for the first time since the 2014-15 season. Fordham’s women’s basketball team hadn’t taken a loss since Jan. 23 against Dayton, but this past Sunday, Fordham came up short, losing 58-43. The Rhode Island Rams came into the game ready to defend their home court and their 12 game winning streak. And they were able to do so. Rhode Island also boasted an undefeated conference record coming into the contest. Fordham had over a week of rest heading into the matchup following a road win against Duquesne on Feb. 5. The team knew that Rhode Island would be tough to beat, but with their own winning streak to defend, they were ready to show the opponent all they had.

Throughout the whole game, the Fordham Rams struggled to make shots. Fordham shot just 28.2% from the field and 20% from three point range, highlighting their difficulties on the offensive end.

Senior Asiah Dingle and junior Anna DeWolfe had the most points for the team, each with 10, as they found themselves outscored by Rhode Island’s top players. Rhode Island was able to take advantage of the offday that Fordham had. The Rhody Rams had 40 rebounds as a team, 31 of these being defensive rebounds. This created the scoring opportunities that Rhode Island needed in order to defeat Fordham.

Shooting and rebounds do not account for the whole story. Rhode Island had difficulty with the ball themselves as they had 16 turnovers. Fordham was unable to convert these turnovers into points, and it cost them the game. On the same end, Fordham had 13 turnovers that pushed the Rhode Island Rams to add to their winning streak.

With the loss, Fordham falls to 16-6 in the season and 7-3 in conference play, while Rhode Island improves to 20-3 and a perfect 10-0 in conference play. Rhody sits atop the Atlantic-10 conference, while Fordham is slightly behind in fourth place.

Fordham is back in action again to lock down a win on Wednesday to face the University of Massachusetts, Amherst Minutemen in Amherst, Massachusetts. The game starts at 7 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+ and on WFUV radio.

Men's Basketball Upends Duquesne, Falls to VCU at Rose Hill Gym

By ALEXANDER WOLZ

SPORTS EDITOR EMERITUS

Two very different opponents yielded two different outcomes for Fordham Men’s Basketball. The Rams returned to the win column on Saturday with a strong victory over Duquesne University and followed it up with a one-sided defeat against their Ram rivals Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) this past Tuesday. The Rams now sit at 11-13 on the year, and 4-7 in the Atlantic 10.

Fordham entered Saturday’s contest against Duquesne aiming to take away some positives from an otherwise challenging three game road trip. It started with a 72-69 loss against Saint Joseph’s, a game that by all accounts, Fordham will feel they should have won. Last Tuesday’s meeting against St. Bonaventure had told a different story as the preemptive A-10 favorites handed Fordham its worst loss of the season, 76-51.

Seeing an opponent they had already beaten brought some recollections of the basketball Fordham was playing a little over the month ago. Even without graduate guard Darius Quisenberry, the Rams’ leading scoring threat, Fordham withstood the Dukes, 65-54.

Some may immediately point to the quality of the opponent compared to others Fordham has faced. Duquesne entered Saturday riding an eight game losing streak to fall to the bottom of the A-10, sitting 6-15 overall, 1-8 in conference.

However, as has been proven time and time again throughout this college basketball season, especially in the A-10, each opponent must be respected the same. That has been Fordham’s approach all year long and it paid off against Duquesne in one of the team’s best collective efforts yet.

Countless categories prove that to be the case. Take a 48-25 advantage in the rebounding battle, an area Fordham has lived and died by this year. Graduate forward Chuba Ohams led the charge there with 14, combined with 18 points for yet another double double. Add in another eight rebounds from sophomore Abdou Tsimbila, a career-high, and those two alone nearly matched Duquesne on the boards.

Shooting finally picked up the pace, too. Fordham shot it 41% overall, an equal number from deep and nearly 89% from the free throw line. Most importantly, that did not come from just a single player. Four Rams finished in double figures, as alongside Ohams, junior Kyle Rose dropped in 10 points and graduate guard Josh Colon-Navarro poured in another 15.

Then there is sophomore Antrell Charlton, tasked with raising his game in the wake of Quisenberry’s injury and doing so by hitting double figures for a second consecutive game with 11.

Alongside scoring, each player contributed to the game in a number of other ways. The aforementioned rebounding is one; Colon Navarro grabbing five and Rose and Charlton securing six apiece. Sophomore Pat Kelly added four off the bench and the team had 16 offensively, tying a season-high.

Charlton led the way in assists with six there, too, and Rose dished out another five. All together, the Rams assisted on 16 of its 25 made baskets. Defensively, the Rams once again shut down their opposing team’s best player, limiting Primo Spears to just eight points on another difficult shooting night.

All of that had contributed to an important victory for the Rams. They led by 10 at the half, 34-24, and fought off each of the Dukes’ second half runs to preserve an 11 point margin. It appeared as if things would even up late, but as they did against Rhode Island, Fordham stood its ground.

It’s yet another sign that though things have been challenging at times, Fordham’s entire roster is worthy of competing at the A-10 level. As the team continues to battle short of full strength, each of those contributions will be just as valuable as the next. When it all clicks together, it can result in a win, regardless of who they come against.

However, it took a bit too long for that same fortune for Fordham on Tuesday as the home Rams could not maintain their winning ways against A-10’s now secondbest, VCU, who improved to 8-4 in conference following a closer-thanexpected 66-61 victory.

It was a tale of two halves, as has been the case much of this season, with a dismal first on both ends of the ball countered by a resounding effort in the second to cut a lead that once grew to as much as 17 down to just single digits.

Fordham allowed 40 points in the opening frame to the conference’s worst offense — scoring just under 65 points per game — 26 of which came in the paint. Much of that production stemmed from a press defense, which VCU has hounded opponents with in recent history.

Coach Neptune had discussed that defense as the number one thing that differentiated VCU from any other opponent Fordham has played, saying, “It’s hard to mimic that speed and athleticism no matter what you do.” Because of that, he felt Fordham was, expectedly, a bit stunned in the beginning.

As Neptune often says, the goal is to play a complete 40 minutes. Once Fordham found its footing, things began to change.

Fordham responded with a much cleaner, more aggressive second half, outscoring VCU 35- 26. The difference came in taking care of the ball and adjusting to that defense. After committing 15 turnovers in the first half, Fordham responded with just two in the second, trimming VCU’s 18 points off turnovers down to just four.

Another disappointing shooting night marred that effort, however, sitting at just above 30% in each half and an abysmal 1-12 from deep in the second alone. Ohams, whom Neptune credited as the “heart and soul of this team,” accumulated 14 points and 12 rebounds for his 14th double-double of the year, despite committing six turnovers.

Colon-Navarro’s contributions, offensively and defensively, resonated most. The senior guard scored a season-high 20 points, including a perfect 9-9 at the line. Collectively, Fordham converted 21 of 27 attempts there. He also played a large part in holding VCU to just 30% shooting in the second half. “He’s playing a little desperate, which is a good thing,” Neptune said. He also credited that defense, stating, “Josh is one of the best on-ball defenders, I think, in the entire country.”

His contributions have proved especially valuable as Quisenberry continues to navigate a day-to-day injury, representing the one missing piece Fordham likely feels they could use for a game like this one to end up differently.

Fordham will hope to see his return as it hosts two more games at home, welcoming George Mason University on Sunday followed by a Wednesday night contest with La Salle University.

Fordham’s goal is to play harder than its opponent, regardless of the opponent. “Doesn’t matter if it’s a home game, an away game, a championship game, the first game of the year. It’s all the same to us.” Regardless of the outcome, Fordham has certainly met that expectation.

COURTESY OF FORDHAM ATHLETICS

Ohams once again had a very strong week with two more double-doubles.

Fordham Baseball Looks To Bounce Back in 2022

By MADDIE BIMONTE

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

After numerous seasons impacted by COVID-19, Fordham Ram Baseball hopes to return to the top spot in the Atlantic 10 standings. With the 2021 schedule featuring multiple postponements and cancellations, 2022 looks to be a brighter spot for baseball. 2021 was certainly not what the team hoped for. Finishing fourth in the A-10 with an 11-9 conference record, this 2022 season hopes to bring a comeback to the A-10 Championship.

“Our guys will be excited to play and improve what they can do,” said head coach Kevin Leighton. The team has its work cut out for it as it plans to travel for three three-game series to start the year.

Major League talent just left Fordham in the form of pitcher Matt Mikulski, who went 50th overall in the second round of the MLB Draft. That marks the second-highest draft pick in program history (he signed with the San Francisco Giants). “Losing a guy like Matt Mikulski, I don’t know if you can really expect to replace that with just one guy,” said Leighton. “When you look at his numbers, they just kinda blow you away, especially when I looked back at last year. So, I’m just hoping that some guys can step up.”

Other graduating players include Nick Labella, who led the team in slugging and Alvin Melendez, who finished his career sixth all-time at Fordham in stolen bases (76), seventh in career ERA (2.36) and tied for fifth in career saves (14). The team also said goodbye to one of its relief pitchers Alex Hernandez and a critical piece of their outfield in Colton Snelling.

However, the team adds 11 new freshmen into the mix and brings back strong hitting. Four out of five of the top hitters during the 2021 season make their return this year. Graduate student C.J. Vazquez returns this year, coming off an impressive 2021, leading the team with a .312 batting average. Helping him are senior outfielders Jason Coules and Jake Guercio. Coules led the team with 46 hits and Guercio led the team in on-base percentage at .432.

Freshmen entering the roster incude pitchers Robbie Stewart, who impressed coaches on the mound during fall season, and Connor Haywood, coming off of an injury and a recipient of the Newtown Cy Young Award. Rounding out the freshman pitching is Anthony Scarlata, once a two-time second-team All-Skyland Conference pick in New Jersey.

Looking forward to the season schedule, the Rams will face tough competition from much larger programs. The Rams will face Atlantic Coast Conference team Virginia Tech for a road series later this February as well as Florida Atlantic University before returning home to the Bronx for matchups against Long Island University and Marist College.

The Rams kick off A-10 play on April 1 against Saint Louis. Other A-10 competitors include the University of Massachusetts, whom Fordham took two out of the three against in 2021, and St. Bonaventure, who played the Rams eight times that season, with the Rams winning six out of eight of those games.

The team registered impressive numbers last year, not only on the field but in the classroom. Just recently, Fordham Athletics released its graduation rates for athletes, and the men posted a 100% graduation rate in the program. “I’ve graduated every guy that we’ve ever recruited, and that’s something that we just really take pride in,” said Leighton.

In what is sure to be an exciting season for the Rams, the team is ready to go out and leave it all on the field. “It’s definitely gonna be a tough start. I think the good thing is we have an older group, especially positionally, that know what to expect, and they’re not going to be intimidated,” said Leighton.

The Rams’ season begins Friday with a game against Texas A&M University in a three-game series and will return to Houlihan Park for a one-game series against Sacred Heart University on the 23rd with first pitch at 3 p.m. on Mar. 9.