April 29, 2008

LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell senior Brittany Kaplan (Belmont, Mass./Belmont), a member of three Bison women's rowing Patriot League championship teams, received a special award at the University's annual Senior Athletic Awards Banquet, sponsored by the Bison Club and held in Sojka Pavilion on Tuesday, April 29.

Kaplan won the Robert A. Latour Service Award, presented to senior athletes "for extraordinary service to Bucknell and local communities." Kaplan shared the award with Tommy Orr of the men's lacrosse team, who was the male selection.

In addition to Kaplan, several other student-athletes were honored at the banquet, including the winners of the Christy Mathewson Award, given to the most outstanding athletes in the senior class.

Kaplan has helped Bucknell to three straight Patriot League titles, and was a member of the 2006 varsity eight that was named the Patriot League Boat of the Year. She was named All-Patriot League that same season.

Last year Kaplan was a key leader (team captain) on the Bison squad that claimed team titles at the ECAC Metro Championship as well as the Murphy Cup. Additionally, she was part of the second varsity eight boat that contributed to the Patriot League championship.

Two days ago, Kaplan, again a member of the second varsity eight, helped the Bison to another Patriot League trophy. The second varsity eight finished second to Navy.

A five-time Erg Armageddon medalist, Kaplan spent three years as the vice president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, was the women's rowing representative for 2008 National Girls and Women in Sports Day and served as a female representative for the Dining Services Committee.

Bucknell is a highly-selective, privately endowed liberal arts institution with an enrollment of approximately 3,400 undergraduate students. Bucknell competes in NCAA Division I as a member of the Patriot League and has full membership along with American, Army, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh and Navy. Bucknell has won the Presidents' Cup, signifying the Patriot League's all-sports champion, in 13 of 17 years, including nine of the last 10.

Recently, 17 Bison programs - the seventh-most in Division I - earned NCAA Public Recognition for having Academic Performance Rates in the top 10 percent nationally in their respective sport. In addition, Bucknell ranks fifth in Division I in the total number of CoSIDA Academic All-America selections, with 114 national Academic All-Americans since 1970.