Bucknell University Athletics
Ryan McCarty Receives Senior Athletic Award at Bucknell
5/3/2002 8:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
April 30, 2002
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Bucknell senior Ryan McCarty (St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis Country Day School), a co-captain on the Bucknell men's water polo team, received a special award at the University's annual Senior Athletic Awards Banquet, sponsored by the Bison Club and held at the University on April 30.
McCarty won the Ronald J. "Pete" Pedrick Award, presented to one male and one female senior athlete in recognition of demonstrated improvement and special contributions to Bucknell athletics over a four-year period. McCarty shared the award with Barb Morgan of the women's swimming and diving team.
In addition to McCarty, 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. Track & field standout Stephanie Bango won the women's Mathewson Award, while men's basketball star Bryan Bailey received the men's Mathewson Award.
McCarty was a four-year member of a men's water polo team that floated in and out of the national rankings during his freshman and senior years. Throughout the course of his career, he accumulated 177 career goals, falling just seven goals short of the Bucknell career top-10 list.
A co-captain his senior year, McCarty ended his career with his most successful all-around season. The team leader in goals (53) and points (70), the utility player picked up All-Southern Division and All-East honors at the conclusion of his final year. In addition, McCarty was a co-recipient of the team's Scott Schulte Award at the squad's end of year banquet, presented annually to "the individual who contributes the most to Bucknell water polo." During his final season, McCarty had the best game of his Bison career, scoring seven goals in a contest against Johns Hopkins, for the seventh highest single-game scoring performance in school history.
Not only did McCarty excel in the pool, but he also achieved at high standards in the classroom. A 3.43 Biology major, he has been a four-year member of the American Water Polo Coaches Association All-Academic Team, a Verizon Academic All-America nominee and a member of the University's Dean's List.
Bucknell is a highly selective, privately endowed liberal arts institution with an enrollment of approximately 3,550 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 8 of 11 years.
Bucknell has finished in the top 10 nationally in the graduation rates of its student athletes in each of the 11 years the NCAA has conducted such a survey. Twice in that span Bucknell ranked FIRST in the nation in graduation rates. In addition, Bucknell ranks third in Division I in the total number of Verizon Academic All-America selections, with 101 national Academic All-Americans since 1970.
