SPORTS
January 23, 2019
Griffin LaMarche The Best Team In The World Wasn’t Even At Worlds In the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK), one of the strongest teams entered during the Summer Split: Griffin. The rookie team came up from the LCK Challenger Series and was not expected to make such large ripples. The lineup consisted of top-laner Choi “Sword” Sung-won, jungler Lee “Tarzan” Seung-yong, mid-laner Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon, bot-laner Park “Viper” Do-hyeon and support Son “Lehends” Si-woo. Griffin burst out of the gates in the Summer Split, beating MVP, Hanaha Life Esports and BBQ Olivers, but it did not make headlines until they swept three-time champions SK Telecom T1, Spring Split champions Kingzone-Dragon X and 2018 Worlds semifinalists Afreeca Freecs. By week four, Griffin held a record of 8-1, only dropping one match to the eventual Summer Split champions KT Rolster. With picks such as Aatrox top, Irelia mid, Urgot mid and Singed support, Griffin found players that satisfied the aggressive meta of the Summer Split and rolled over the competition in the first half. However, the picks are just half the story. Griffin oriented its team with the mindset of “five as one.” All three laners, including the jungler, had the potential to carry games on their own picks such as Trundle, Irelia and Urgot, with other picks such as Sejuani and Ornn providing a healthy amount of crowd control to disrupt the enemy team. The most notable player on the team, Viper, posted up an average 6.7 Kills/Deaths/Assists in a champion pool including Kai’Sa, Ryze, Yasuo, Irelia and Vladimir. The most notable games included an AD Carry Morgana with a record of 2/1/15, and a Kai’Sa game with the record 12/3/7. Griffin was able to find early success with very powerful team synergy, and a calm demeanor during team fights. While Griffin posted up an impressive second place in the Summer Split, its hopes of going to Worlds were unfortunately cut short. It was beaten first in the Grand Finals by KT Rolster, which sent the rookie team to face Generation Gaming in the regional gauntlet. The veterans proved themselves worthy again, beating Griffin in a close 3-2 series, denying the rookie team from its first World Championship appearance. Nevertheless, it bounced back and swept the 2018 KeSPA Cup, defeating Afreeca Freecs, Damwon Gaming and Generation Gaming without dropping a single game to any of them. Even though Griffin may have missed Worlds, it has proven to be one of the best teams in the world through its regional dominance and ability to adapt to the meta flawlessly. Griffin is a sign that a new wave of Korean talent is coming. Rookie teams Damwon Gaming and Team BattleComics also are entering the LCK, replacing MVP and BBQ Olivers as the ninth and tenth seed. As veteran teams such as SK Telecom T1, Generation Gaming and Kingzone Dragon-X began to falter in the summer of 2018, new teams began to rise take the spotlight. This year will be a huge year for rebuilding, regrowth and a change of guard in the Korean “League of Legends” scene, and Griffin is the head of that new wave. The 2019 LCK Season began on Jan. 16.
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Varsity Scores & Stats Men’s Basketball Fordham 68 George Mason 71 (FOR) Honor: 21 PTS (4-6 3PT) Women’s Basketball VCU 47 Fordham 44 (FOR) Goulding: 12 PTS (5-8 FG) Fordham 50 Dayton 72 (FOR) Cavanaugh: 11 PTS (5-13 FG), 4 REB, 2 AST
Women’s Track Penn 8-Team Select (Individual Results Only) (FOR) Grebe: 3,000m - 10:11.38 - 4th NYC Gotham Cup (Individual Results Only) (FOR) Harbaugh: 3,000m - 10:54.52 - 7th (FOR) Kelly: Long Jump - 17’4” - 7th Men’s Track Penn 8-Team Select (Individual Results Only) (FOR) Reardo: High Jump - 6’3 1/4” - 4th Long Jump - 22’11 1/4” - 5th NYC Gotham Cup (Individual Results Only) (FOR) Raefski: 3,000m - 8:50.85 - 4th
Men’s Swimming & Diving Fordham 86.5 La Salle 210.5 (FOR) Sleutjes: 1,000 Freestyle - 9:53.25 - 1st 500 Freestyle - 4:59.17 - 4th Women’s Swimming & Diving
Fordham 195 La Salle 105 (FOR) Brunner: 50 - 23.94 - 1st 100 - 51.93 - 1st 100 Butterfly - 57.01 - 1st
Athletes of the Week Nick Honor
Tara Brunner
Freshman
Senior
Men’s Basketball
Swimming & Diving Brunner led a strong women’s team in its victory over La Salle, winning three events individually — 50 (23.94), 100 (51.93) and 100 Butterfly (57.01) — and the 200 Medley Relay.
With 21 points on Saturday, Honor has hit double figures in points in 16 of 18 games this season — three of them being for 20 points. Honor was also 4 for 6 from beyond the arc in this week’s loss to George Mason.
Each week, The Fordham Ram’s sports editors honor one male athlete and one female athlete for their on-field performances as their “Athletes of the Week.”
News & Notes • Holden Hits Huge Milestone In Women’s Basketball’s 72-50 loss at Day-
• Swimming & Diving Honored
• Mullens, Charles Immortalized
• Squash Snowed Out
For the 15th year in a row, both Men’s and Women’s Fordham Swimming and Diving have been honored by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) with their Scholar All-America Team Award for the fall semester of 2018. Both teams acheived the dignified honor, given to colleges with teams that maintain a 3.0 or better, and the men ranked tenth overall.
ton on Sunday, senior and co-captain Lauren Holden hit a three-pointer during the first quarter that gave her a total of 1,001 points in her collegiate career. Holden hitting the mark makes her the 21st student-athlete in the program’s history to do so. The historic bucket was the 187th triple in Holden’s historic career, and she completed the night with seven points and two assists. Personal acheivements aside, the Rams’ loss puts them at 12-7 and 3-2 in conference play.
Bob Mullens and Kenny Charles, two former stars of Fordham Men’s Basketball, will have their numbers retired during halftime of the Rams’ home game on February 23. Mullens, who died in 1989 and was inducted into the Fordham Athletic Hall of Fame in 1975, led the team to their first NIT in 1943, that same year becoming Fordham’s first All-American. He was later drafted by the New York Knicks in the opening season of the BAA. Charles’s Fordham career (1969-73) was also historic, as he currently ranks seventh in the program’s history in points (1,697) and second in points per game (20.0).
Men’s Squash was scheduled to play three games this weekend — one in the Bronx on Saturday and two in Poughkeepsie on Sunday — but all three were cancelled due to snow and will not be made up. The team will next play Bucknell at home on Saturday, Jan. 26.
– Compiled by Dylan Balsamo
Chris Hennessy The First Place New York Islanders The New York Islanders are in first place in the Metropolitan Division. By the time you read this, they may not be, but they led the division at least once. The importance of that to the Islanders players and fans is hard to put into words, but I will give it my best shot. Going into the season, exactly zero people (including yours truly) thought the Islanders would make the playoffs. They lost their best player and captain to free agency, and despite hiring a hall-of-fame coach and general manager, they did not make any big-time free agency acquisitions to replace the production of John Tavares. Yet, here we are in January — yes, I know, only January — and the Islanders are the hottest team in the league, with a 14-3 record in the 17 games between Dec. 15 and Jan. 19. While that record is absolutely not sustainable over an extended period of time, the hot streak has launched the Islanders into playoff relevancy for the first time in three years. The four-line balance, hot goaltending and, most importantly, hall of fame-level coaching have contributed to this success. The most electrifying and energetic line the team has is their fourth line of Matt Martin, Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck. The group was reunited when new General Manager Lou Lamoriello made a trade with the Maple Leafs to get Martin back on Long Island. Over the last few weeks, the line has rekindled the fire they had in their 2013-2015 seasons when they played together, and the team is reaping the benefits. When I was on the Islanders beat last week while they played the Lightning, Cizikas said, “The confidence the three of us are playing with is making it a lot easier out there not just for myself but for us as a group.” That confidence is prevalent throughout the entire locker room, especially with goaltenders Robin Lehner and Thomas Griess. The goaltending in the last 17 games has been jaw-dropping, out-of-this-world ridiculous and the numbers do not even look real. Lehner is 9-1 in his last ten starts and currently leads the league in Goals Against Average (GAA). They also lead the league in team GAA with two goaltenders who are not considered elite in the league. Lehner would most likely be in the conversation for the Veznia trophy for the best goaltender, but splitting the games with Griess led to a lack of games played compared to the other contenders. My first piece for The Ram was all about Lehner, Griess and goaltending coach Mitch Korn. The final and most important piece of the Islanders success is the new coach Barry Trotz. Trotz won his first career Stanley Cup last year with the Washington Capitals and was not retained after the season. Two weeks after the Finals, Trotz signed a contract with the Islanders to become the head coach. This season, he passed legendary Islanders coach Al Arbour on the all-time wins list and has instilled an unparalleled level of confidence upon the team. He is the favorite for the Jack Adams Award for best coach and should win the second one of his career come the end of the season.