Gabriel Heiber

LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell senior Gabriel Heiber (Caracas, Venezuela/Miami Beach (Fla.)), a member of the Bison 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 Elaine Langone Center on Tuesday, April 28.

Heiber won the Lee S. "Bud" Ranck Award, presented to senior athletes "for outstanding spirit and contributions to the Bucknell athletic program." Heiber shared the award with Aubrey Rowe of the women's water polo team, who was the female selection.

In addition to Heiber, 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.

After leading the Bison in ejections drawn each of his first three years in the Orange & Blue and ranking second on the team as a senior, Heiber finished his career number one in program history with 182. By drawing 63 ejections in 2008, the center forward holds the second highest single-season mark at Bucknell, trailing his teammate Alex Lampley.

Heiber was recognized several times for his superior play, being named Second Team All-Conference at season's end. He also earned the team's Scott Schulte Award, the squad's highest honor going to "the individual who contributes the most to Bucknell water polo."

A member of the Venezuela's national team, Heiber's success continued out of the pool as well. The biology member was a frequent member of the Dean's List as well as the CWPA All-Academic Team each of his four years.

Bucknell is a highly selective, privately endowed liberal arts institution with an enrollment of approximately 3,500 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 14 of 18 years, including 10 of the last 11.

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 116 national Academic All-Americans since 1970.