Bucknell University Athletics
Brandt, Meerscheidt, Zavrel All Named to Academic All-Patriot League Rowing Team
5/25/2021 3:07:00 PM | Women's Rowing
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell placed a league high three student-athletes on the 2021 Academic All-Patriot League Rowing Team, with sophomore Caroline Brandt, junior Kate Meerscheidt and senior Olivia Zavrel all named to the 11-person squad.
All three Bison played key roles in the team's runner-up finish at the Patriot League Championships, with Brandt and Zavrel rowing in the second-place Varsity Eight and Meersheidt capturing a silver medal in the Second Varsity Eight.
Brandt was one of two Bison to earn First Team All-Patriot League honors, coming after she rowed in the 5 seat of the Varsity Eight all spring. That crew went unbeaten in the regular season with home dual wins over Colgate, Delaware and Connecticut, along with a first-place finish at the George Cup in Virginia. After being named Patriot League Boat of the Week twice during the regular season, the 1V8+ finished a close second to Navy and pulled away from Boston University for the silver medals, which clinched a second-straight runner-up team finish for Bucknell.
Off the water, Brandt is a biomedical engineering major who earned a perfect 4.0 grade-point average last fall to bring her cumulative GPA up to a lofty 3.78. She has served as a lab teaching assistant in the Department of Physics, she is a member of the Biomedical Engineering Society, and she is a member of the e-NABLE Club, an online community that uses 3D printers to make prosthetic limb devices.
Zavrel also rowed in the Varsity Eight all spring, primarily in the 3 seat. She is a geography major with a 3.73 cumulative GPA, and she also has a minor in international relations with a concentration in sustainability and development. She spent time this semester working with the SEDA-Council of Governments using digital tools to create and analyze shapefiles for publishing map products. Last year she spent five months in New Zealand working with the Food Reliance Network conducting research on international food insecurity networks. Zavrel also served as a Sustainable Communities intern with the Bucknell Place Studies Initiative.
Meerscheidt earned Second Team All-Patriot League honors this spring after leading the Second Varsity Eight to silver medals at the league regatta. The Bison 2V8+ went 4-0 in the regular season, and then at the Patriot League Championships finished four seconds behind Navy and eight seconds ahead of every other crew in the field. Those second-place points were critical in Bucknell's second-place team finish.
Meerscheidt majors in anthropology and English/literary studies, and she carries an impressive 3.90 cumulative GPA. She was a CRCA Scholar-Athlete honoree in 2020, and this was her second career Patriot League silver medal. Meerscheidt was a member of the runner-up Varsity Four as a freshman in 2019, which was the last time the championships were contested prior to this year.
In order to be eligible for the Academic All-Patriot League Team, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore with a minimum 3.20 cumulative GPA, and be a starter or key reserve on his or her team.
Also on Tuesday, Navy's Hanna Prince was named the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the sport of rowing. Bucknell was the only team to garner three spots on the Academic All-Patriot League Team. The Bison trio was joined by Prince and Millie Oldham of Navy, Boston University's Christina Lamagna and Josephine Olson, Colgate's Edi Dukesherer, Holy Cross' Madeline Downey, Lehigh's Bella Papov, and Loyola's Theresa Martin.
All three Bison played key roles in the team's runner-up finish at the Patriot League Championships, with Brandt and Zavrel rowing in the second-place Varsity Eight and Meersheidt capturing a silver medal in the Second Varsity Eight.
Brandt was one of two Bison to earn First Team All-Patriot League honors, coming after she rowed in the 5 seat of the Varsity Eight all spring. That crew went unbeaten in the regular season with home dual wins over Colgate, Delaware and Connecticut, along with a first-place finish at the George Cup in Virginia. After being named Patriot League Boat of the Week twice during the regular season, the 1V8+ finished a close second to Navy and pulled away from Boston University for the silver medals, which clinched a second-straight runner-up team finish for Bucknell.
Off the water, Brandt is a biomedical engineering major who earned a perfect 4.0 grade-point average last fall to bring her cumulative GPA up to a lofty 3.78. She has served as a lab teaching assistant in the Department of Physics, she is a member of the Biomedical Engineering Society, and she is a member of the e-NABLE Club, an online community that uses 3D printers to make prosthetic limb devices.
Zavrel also rowed in the Varsity Eight all spring, primarily in the 3 seat. She is a geography major with a 3.73 cumulative GPA, and she also has a minor in international relations with a concentration in sustainability and development. She spent time this semester working with the SEDA-Council of Governments using digital tools to create and analyze shapefiles for publishing map products. Last year she spent five months in New Zealand working with the Food Reliance Network conducting research on international food insecurity networks. Zavrel also served as a Sustainable Communities intern with the Bucknell Place Studies Initiative.
Meerscheidt earned Second Team All-Patriot League honors this spring after leading the Second Varsity Eight to silver medals at the league regatta. The Bison 2V8+ went 4-0 in the regular season, and then at the Patriot League Championships finished four seconds behind Navy and eight seconds ahead of every other crew in the field. Those second-place points were critical in Bucknell's second-place team finish.
Meerscheidt majors in anthropology and English/literary studies, and she carries an impressive 3.90 cumulative GPA. She was a CRCA Scholar-Athlete honoree in 2020, and this was her second career Patriot League silver medal. Meerscheidt was a member of the runner-up Varsity Four as a freshman in 2019, which was the last time the championships were contested prior to this year.
In order to be eligible for the Academic All-Patriot League Team, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore with a minimum 3.20 cumulative GPA, and be a starter or key reserve on his or her team.
Also on Tuesday, Navy's Hanna Prince was named the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the sport of rowing. Bucknell was the only team to garner three spots on the Academic All-Patriot League Team. The Bison trio was joined by Prince and Millie Oldham of Navy, Boston University's Christina Lamagna and Josephine Olson, Colgate's Edi Dukesherer, Holy Cross' Madeline Downey, Lehigh's Bella Papov, and Loyola's Theresa Martin.
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