2024 All-Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Team Released; Fordham University’s Lercari, Provenziani & Bacharach Named Most Valuable Player, Rookie & Coach of the Year
BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Fordham University’s Thomas Lercari (Sr., Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes), Luca Provenziani (Fr., Rome, Italy/Liceo Scientifico Statale Isaaco Newton) and Brian Bacharach are honored with Most Valuable Player, Rookie and Coach of the Year status, respectively, as the 2024 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) All-Conference Team is released by the league office based on a vote of the organizations eight head coaches.
A total of 22 athletes are recognized with seven First Team, eight Second Team and seven Honorable Mention selections accompanying the three major awards.
A two-time All-Conference selection with First Team recognition in both 2022 and 2024, Lercari joins an exclusive group as the Ram’s goalkeeper becomes the seventh men’s netminder since 1997 to claim MVP status in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), MAWPC or Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC). Previously, Jon Pharris (2001, Princeton University, CWPA Southern Division), NIck Hill (2002, United States Naval Academy, CWPA Southern Division), 2024 CWPA Hall of Fame inductee Peter Sabbatini (2003, Princeton University, CWPA Southern Division), Mike Merlone (2010, Princeton University, CWPA Southern Division), 2024 CWPA Hall of Fame inductee Igor Mladenovic (2013, St. Francis College Brooklyn, CWPA Northern Division) and Brett Rehrer (2018, Gannon University, MAWPC-West Region) earned Most Valuable Player recognition.
Among the coaching ranks, Bacharach becomes the first head man to earn four consecutive laurels as the 2021 MAWPC-East Region, 2022, 2023 and now 2024 Coach of the Year earns his fifth overall nod. In 2019, Bacharach shared the MAWPC-East Region honor with then co-head coach and current Associate Head Coach Bill Harris. The award marks the seventh Coach of Year award bestowed on the Bronx institution as Harris also picked up recognition as the the 2017 MAWPC-East Region recipient after taking the 2009 CWPA Northern Division accolade.
Provenziani continues a reign of dominance for Fordham in the Rookie of the Year category as he joins George Papanikolaou (Sr., Athens, Greece/Athens College) (2023 MAWPC), Nir Gross (2022 MAWPC) and Hans Zdolsek (2021 MAWPC-East) in adding a fourth consecutive commendation to the legacy of Rams’ water polo. Overall, Fordham has claimed six Rookie of the Year nods with Masimilano Mirachi (2017 MAWPC-East Region) and Ali Arat (2009 CWPA Northern Division) previously earning recognition for their performance.
Since the establishment of Rookie of the Year honors in the CWPA prior to the 2003 season, Bucknell University (2007, 2014, 2016, 2019, 2020), Harvard University (2014, 2015, 2017, 2022, 2024), Princeton (2003, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2021), Brown University (2008, 2011, 2019, 2023), Fordham (2009, 2017, 2021, 2024), Johns Hopkins University (2008, 2009, 2011, 2015), St. Francis College Brooklyn (2004, 2006, 2013, 2018), Navy (2005, 2018, 2023), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2007, 2010, 2012), Gannon University (2017, 2019), Salem University (2016, 2021), George Washington University (2012), Washington & Jefferson College (2018), Mount St. Mary’s University (2020) and Wagner College (2022) have earned at least one CWPA/MAWPC/NWPC Rookie of the Year award.
The First Team is dominated by MAWPC regular season champion Fordham as Lercari is joined on the list by teammates Provenziani, Papanikolaou and Andras Toth (Fr., Pecs, Hungary/PTE Babits Gyakorlo Gimnazium).
The award marks the second All-Conference honor for Lercari following 2022 MAWPC First Team acknowledgement, while 2021 MAWPC-East Region Rookie of the Year Papanikolaou claims his fourth MAWPC First Team award with prior commendation in 2021 (MAWPC-East Region), 2022 and 2023.
The Rams’ quartet are joined on the First Team by 2023 First Team selection Kiefer Black (So., San Diego, Calif./La Jolla) of Navy, 2021 St. Francis Brooklyn NWPC Second Team honoree Adonis Vlassis (Jr., Athens, Greece/Lycee Franco-Hellenique Eugene DeLacroix Athens) of George Washington and Bucknell’s Matt Ryckman (Sr., Caracas, Venezuela/Loomis Chaffee (Conn.)).
On the eight athlete Second Team, George Washington goalkeeper Luca Castorina (Gr., Catania, Italy/Liceo Galileo Galiel) receives his fourth All-Conference decoration (2021 MAWPC-East Region, 2022 Second Team, 2023 Second Team), while Fordham’s Lucas Nieto Jasny (Sr., Barcelona, Spain/Col-legi Closa) (2022 Honorable Mention) and Mount St. Mary’s Alexandros Bellesis (Jr., Athens, Greece/Vouliagmeni Lyceum) (2022 Second Team) pick up their second awards.
The trio are joined on the Second Team by George Washington’s Andrija Sekulic (Sr., Belgrade, Serbia/Savremena Gimnazija), Wagner College’s Kyle Chambers (Sr., Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake) and Smith Connors (Fr., Brisbane, Australia/Good Shepard Lutheran College), Bucknell’s Aleksa Stefanovic (Jr., Belgrade, Serbia/”Sportium” Sportska Gimnazija) and Navy’s Orion Erwin (Fr., Encinitas, Calif./Cathedral Catholic).
2022 First Team honoree Michael Heller (Sr., Menlo Park, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep) leads the seven athlete Honorable Mention list. He is joined by Antonio Florena (Fr., Napoli, Italy/Liceo Classico Statale”Umberto I”) of George Washington, Phillip Long (Fr., Cupertino, Calif./Loyola) of Johns Hopkins, Asher Jones (So., Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) of Mercyhurst University, Aaron Tarr (So., Johannesburg, South Africa/Westville Boys) of Mount St. Mary’s, Patrick Ray (So., Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) of Wagner and Bucknell goalkeeper David Dumitru (So., Bucharest, Romania/JeanMonnet Theoretical).
The MAWPC All-Conference team is selected based on nominations and voting by each of the eight league institutions. The top 18 field athletes are recognized along with the three goalkeepers with the highest number of votes. Ties for the final position on either the First, Second or Honorable Mention Teams expands the number of athletes beyond six field athletes and/or a single goalkeeper. Selection of the league’s MVP, Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year are completed based on a vote of the eight institutions’ head coaches.
