April 1, 2008

LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell sophomore goalie Alison Carter (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor) became the latest Bison to earn Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Southern Division Player of the Week honors when she picked up the award on Tuesday. Carter recorded 25 saves and yielded just 12 goals in three appearances this past weekend as Bucknell posted a 4-0 record, including 3-0 against Southern Division foes.

Carter played perhaps the best game of her career on Sunday when she helped Bucknell (22-4, 3-0 CWPA Southern Division) cap off an unbeaten weekend with a 7-6 overtime victory over Maryland. Carter stopped a career-high 14 shots in that come-from-behind win.

A starter in 20 games this season after serving as the primary backup to Mandy Bynum last year, Carter helped the Bison to a thrilling 6-5 win over No. 16 Princeton on Friday night at Kinney Natatorium. It was Bucknell's first-ever win over the Tigers as it entered the game 0-22 all-time against them. Carter recorded seven saves in the contest.

On Saturday, Carter added four saves to her weekend tally when she played the first half of an easy 11-1 triumph over George Washington. Carter yielded just one goal as Bucknell registered the final 11 scores of the game. She then took the second half off in favor of backup Rachel McGills, who played the entire game against non-league foe St. Francis (N.Y.) later that afternoon.

Carter, who logged a total of 86 minutes over the weekend, now has 164 saves this season and has given up 133 goals for a solid save percentage of .552. Adding in her 40 saves last year, Carter now has more than 200 career stops (204) and ranks fourth on Bucknell's career list.

Carter is the first Bison other than Valentina Rozas to be named CWPA Southern Division Player of the Week this spring. Rozas has claimed the award three times this year.

Bucknell, which is one win shy of equaling the program record for consecutive victories, will travel to Princeton, N.J., for a pair of games this Saturday. The Bison will take on the host Tigers at 12 p.m. and then face Brown at 5:30 at DeNunzio Pool.