Fordham Preparatory School - Ramview Ramview Winter/Spring 2020 | Page 12

E VE NTS AND RE CAP GLOBAL EDUCATION PROGRAM This fall was a busy one for the Global Education Program. Started in 2016, the program gives Fordham Prep students opportunities to raise their awareness of the world outside their own environment. Participants expand their worldview and become true global citizens by interacting with peers from across the globe, caring for the earth, and immersing themselves in other cultures. This is accomplished both by visiting other countries and welcoming others to the United States. The program prepares Fordham Prep students to enter a world that is evermore interconnected. In September, the Prep welcomed two students from Istituto Leone XIII, a Jesuit high school located in Milan, Italy, for a full semester of study. The students have lived with a host family, been enrolled in a full academic schedule, and have taken part in multiple community activities. In November, eight of their schoolmates came to the United States and participated in the first part of an exchange between the two schools. During the week, the visitors attended classes, went to a Knicks game, toured St. Patrick’s Cathedral, The Empire State Building, Times Square, The Botanical Gardens, and many other NY sites with their host brothers and their families. Fordham Prep students will take part in a reciprocal visit to Milan during the 10 RAMVIEW February break. This is the second year this exchange has taken place. Also in November, six students and two faculty members from Fordham Prep spent a week in Dublin, Ireland, at Clongowes Wood College, Ireland’s oldest Jesuit School. This is the third year of this partnership. During their trip, Fordham Prep students attended classes, experienced traditional Irish music, hiked in the Glendalough valley, and led school- wide prayer. Students from Clongowes will come to New York and visit with students from the Prep in April of 2020. Fordham Prep has also increased its allocation of resources to the Global Education Program this year. In September, the school officially christened the new Global Education Conference Room. The room, replete with new furniture, photographs of excursions past, and a state of the art video conference system, allows students to engage with their peers from around the world without leaving the Rose Hill Campus. In the second semester of the school year, the Global Education Department will be sponsoring trips to Guatemala, Tanzania, Italy, China, Costa Rica, and Rwanda. Read the complete article at fordhamprep.org/news PLAYING DOUBLE DUTY “While many members of the Fordham Prep faculty and staff took some well deserved rest over Labor Day weekend 2019, school counselor Charlie Cipriano was at his second job. Mr. Cipriano is a goalie for the Chaos Lacrosse Club of the Premiere Lacrosse League (PLL), a professional lacrosse league founded in 2019. Mr. Cipriano was a high school All- American at Herricks High School, setting the national record for career saves by a high school goalie at 1,366. He then attended and played Division I lacrosse at Fairfield University. During his collegiate career, he was a two-time team captain, two-time Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Goalie of the Year, an All-American, and more importantly, a Scholar All-American. Mr. Cipriano joined the Fordham Prep Counseling Department in 2016 and also joined the coaching staff of the Varsity Lacrosse team where he’s lent his expertise as the team’s goalie coach. He helped lead the Rams to a New York CHSAA ‘AA’ title in 2018 and during his tenure, has coached All-American Stephen Zupicich ’19 (Ohio State). When asked about his time thus far at the Prep, ‘Cip’ said he is thrilled to be at Rose Hill. “It’s an absolute honor to be working with the young men of Fordham Prep, to be part of the Counseling Department and to be able to play a small part in the journey of our students as they grow and mature.” FALL SPORTS RECAP The fall athletics season was a very successful one for the Rams. It was filled with team honors, individual successes, and historic feats. This made it one of the most memorable in fall seasons in recent years. The Varsity Soccer team began their season winning their first 14 matches. In the process, they claimed the CHSAA New York Archdiocesan Championship. During the playoffs, the team defeated rivals Xavier and Regis to advance to the CHSAA New York City Championship, their first championship game appearance since 2017. In front of an enthusiastic crowd, the Rams defeated Iona Prep 1-0 to claim the school’s fifth City Championship. With the victory, the team advanced to the CHSAA State Semi-Finals to take on St. Anthony’s High School of Long Island. In a thrilling match at St. John’s University, both teams were held goalless after regular time and two overtime periods. Therefore, the match was to be decided on penalty kicks. After the first round of kicks, the score was still tied at 4-4. Unfortunately, after the second round of penalty kicks, St. Anthony’s, the eventual CHSAA state champions, edged out the Rams by a margin of 9-8. The team finished the season with an outstanding 17-2 record. Throughout the fall, the Rams were consistently ranked as one of the top all-boys high school soccer teams in the nation by USA Today. They peaked in the rankings at number 20 the week of October 15. After the season, Head Coach Pete McNamara was honored by United Soccer Coaches as the New York State Coach of the Year in the Private/Parochial Division. Six members of the team were selected to the CHSAA All-Division squad, seniors Colin Marmet, Lewis Govan, Miguel Negrete, Teddy Tsoubris, and Ben Follana and junior Matt Ragde. Govan, Negrete, and Tsoubris were also selected to play in the Mayor’s Cup, an all-star game where the best players in the CHSAA take on those from the PSAL. The 2019 Cross Country season was filled with both individual and team success and an historic treble in the CHSAA New York City Championships. The triumvirate of senior Niall Ryan, junior Eamonn Sullivan, and sophomore Myles Hogan consistently turned in outstanding performances throughout the course of the season, none more thrilling than in the City Championship race. The trio of harriers finished first, second, and third, respectively, a feat that no other coach in the league could recall happening. By doing so, the Rams claimed a championship not expected by many. This was the team’s first New York City championship since 2013. Fantastic individual performances were a hallmark of the team’s season. A week after the city championship, Hogan went on to capture the individual sophomore Catholic New York State championship. Sullivan took the individual title at the Purdy Invitational earlier in the fall. Senior Justin Jordaens was also victorious in the CHSAA Bronx Championship in October. The victory in the City Championship qualified the team to participate in the New York State Federation Championship, a meet that includes Catholic, public, and private schools. Niall Ryan’s seventh place finish, one that qualified him for an All-State designation, helped lead the team to finish the meet in fifth place, the highest finish in this meet in the program’s storied history. The Varsity Football team finished their season with a 3-7 overall record picking up wins versus Xaveiran and St. Francis, the latter in both the regular season and playoffs. The team fell in the CHSFL AA semi-finals to eventual champions Chaminade. Seniors Owen Lefredo and Sean Halbert were both named to the CHSFL All-League team. Both players as well as classmate Tom Petti were invited to play in the prestigious CHSFL Senior Bowl. The fall crew season was highlighted by the program’s participation in the renown Head of the Charles Regatta in October. A large number of freshman also joined the team this fall. The program participated in five races during the fall and will now spend the winter preparing for the highly competitive spring season. The Fordham Prep Bowling team finished the year in second place in their CHSAA division with a number of impressive victories over Xavier, Cardinal Hayes, Christ the King, St. Francis Prep, Bishop Loughlin, and Cardinal Spellman. And the freshman swimming and diving team won their first CHSAA title since 2011! SPRING 2020 11