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Bucknell's Lauren Wible and Chris Cara Lead Nation in Three Offensive Categories
June 6, 2005 LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell's Lauren Wible, a junior first baseman on the softball squad, and Chris Cara, a senior attackman on the men's lacrosse team, finished 2005 first in the country in three key offensive categories in their respective sports. Wible led the nation in batting average, while Cara paced the country in points and assists per game. Despite seeing the season end at the Patriot League Tournament more than a month ago, Wible has been fluctuating between first and second in the NCAA batting average rankings with Arizona's Caitlin Lowe. Wible wrapped up the 2005 campaign with a .524 batting average. Lowe, whose Wildcats were eliminated from the Women's College World Series Sunday, raised her average to as high as .527 to take over the top spot last week. However, Lowe was just 3-for-12 in Arizona's three games at the Women's College World Series and completed the season with a .510 average to finish second nationally. The best-of-three championship series between UCLA and Michigan begins Monday night in Oklahoma City, Okla. The Wolverines' Jessica Merchant, who is hitting .391, owns the highest batting average on either of the teams, clinching the batting title for Wible. Wible ended the season with a 16-game hitting streak intact and her robust batting average is a new Bucknell and Patriot League record. The average is also the 11th-best in NCAA Division I history, and the best since UCLA's Stacey Nuveman registered a .529 mark in 2002. Wible and Nuveman are the only two hitters to lead the nation with better than .500 batting averages since 1999. In addition to her batting average, Wible ranked nationally in a number of other offensive categories. She stood second in doubles per game (0.39), third in slugging percentage (.903) and 22nd in walks per game (0.63), according to the latest NCAA rankings, which include games through May 29. As a team, the Bison were 10th in doubles per game with 1.53 per contest. A three-time All-Patriot League selection, Wible, who was a co-captain for the second consecutive season in 2005, was the only Bucknell player to play in and start all 38 games this year. She led the team in nearly every offensive category, and with a solo home run against Army in the Patriot League Tournament, extended her own Bucknell single-season record to eight home runs. She also has 14 in her career, which is best in Bucknell history. The Dover, Pa., native paced the team with 31 runs batted in and broke the Bucknell single-season standard for doubles by collecting 15. She fell just three total bases short of equaling Jenny Snyder's season record of 96. Wible also had at least one hit in 34 of 38 games, including 34 of her last 36, and 27 of her last 28. After going 0-for-7 in her first two games, Wible ended the season on a 54-for-96 (.563) tear. Along with her offensive prowess, which saw her raise her career average from .305 to .374 this year, Wible had another excellent defensive season. The left-hander committed just three errors in 340 chances for a .991 fielding percentage. She did not commit an error over her final 11 games of the season and has just 12 in her three-year career. Last week Wible was named the 110th Academic All-American in Bucknell history. That figure ranks third among all Division I institutions.
Cara this season broke the Bucknell and Patriot League records for career points with 249 (111 goals, 138 assists), and he tied the school assist mark. The Medford, N.Y., native, who was one of 16 finalists for the Tewaaraton Trophy, was presented the Christy Mathewson Award as Bucknell's top senior athlete last month. Cara had a banner week last week. First, he was named a third-team All-American, becoming Bucknell's 14th Division I lacrosse All-American, and 18th overall. Then, he was picked in the third round (14th overall) of the Major Lacrosse League Collegiate Draft by the Long Island Lizards. He was the second of three Patriot League players picked in the five-round draft and will have the opportunity to play for his hometown team. Both the Bucknell softball and men's lacrosse teams made their respective Patriot League Tournaments. The softball squad posted a 16-22 overall mark, including 8-10 in Patriot League play, to finish fourth in the league standings. The Bison defeated top-seeded Lehigh in the first game of the postseason, but were later eliminated from the tournament by the Mountain Hawks. The men's lacrosse squad finished the season with an 8-5 overall record and tied with Navy and Army for the best record in the Patriot League with a 5-1 conference mark. The third-seeded Bison dropped a heartbreaking 9-8 overtime decision to Army in the first round of the Patriot League postseason tournament to end their season.
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