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Bucknell Athletics A celebration of a successful fall of 2017

WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY: PL Champions
WOMEN'S SOCCER: PL Tournament Champions
MEN'S WATER POLO: MAWPC East Regular Season Champions
FIELD HOCKEY: PL Tournament Runner-Up

Across Bucknell's seven fall teams, 29 Bison were selected to all-conference teams for their performance, with five capturing major awards.

Kendall Ham: PL Tournament MVP and Scholar-Athlete of the Year, CoSIDA Academic All-American
Christine Bendzinski: PL Champion and Scholar-Athlete of the Year, NCAA Qualifier
Abdullah Anderson: PL Defensive Player of the Year
Alex Pechin: PL Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Rade Joksimovic: MAWPC East Region MVP

Backed by two-time champion Christine Bendzinski, the women's cross country team captured the Patriot League crown for the third year in a row. Colleen Buckley and Jenna Farmer also raced to All-Patriot League finishes for the Bison, who have now won 11 of the 28 Patriot League team titles awarded.

The women's soccer team clinched its second-straight Patriot League Tournament title by topping Navy, 3-2, behind a Kendall Ham hat trick. The Bison advanced to their fourth NCAA tournament, where they played West Virginia. Ham, who graduated as the program's No. 2 goal scorer, later became the first Bison women's soccer player to twice be named an Academic All-American.

The men's water polo team finished a perfect 10-0 in MAWPC East Region play to capture its second-straight regular-season title. Rade Joksimovic led the way offensively, joining Hall of Famers Scott Schulte and Jeff Hilk as the only Bison with multiple 100-goal seasons.

The field hockey team qualified for the Patriot League Tournament for the 10th-straight season. Once there, the Bison pulled off a 2-1 shootout upset over second-seeded American in the semifinals. The Bison scored first and led nationally-ranked Boston University for much of the title game but finished as the league runner-up after a hard-fought 2-1 loss.

Highlights of the football team's campaign included a pair of walk-off victories. At Lafayette, Colin Jonov returned an interception a school record 95 yards for the game-winning score in overtime. Against Sacred Heart, John Burdick booted a career-best 46-yard field goal as time expired. The Bison also led the Patriot League in total defense for the sixth time in the past seven seasons.

Despite starting mostly underclassmen, the volleyball team finished one win back of the final Patriot League Tournament spot. Highlights of the season included Bucknell's first win over Colgate since 2010 and Mimi Richards breaking the program record in single-season block assists.

Led by a seventh-place finish by Will Bordash, the men's cross country team took fifth at the Patriot League Championships. The Bison appear to have set themselves up nicely for 2018 as the team's next four scored runners, Drew Dorflinger, Connor McMenamin, Jacob Stupak and Ben Siciliano, all finished in the top 30 and are set to return.

The men's soccer team finished third in the Patriot League standings despite being selected to finish sixth in the preseason poll. The Bison went 5-3-1 in league play, including a 1-0 overtime victory over co-Patriot League leader Loyola at Emmitt Field.

'ray Bucknell!

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