Princeton University Athletics
Unintentional Career
December 04, 2000 | General
Maureen Davies crept onto the Princeton softball scene in 1993-94 as she began her freshman year. The Thornhill, Ont., native had played in the Canadian summer club programs as a young girl and throughout her high school days because high schools did not offer competitive softball. Somehow Davies got noticed, and being noticed paid big dividends for her and Princeton softball.
The young girl from Thornhill played with the hopes of attending a college in the United States and was eventually recruited by former Tiger head coach Cindy Cohen. Princeton caught Davies' eye and soon after that the Tigers were catching her fastball.
Davies went on to become the Ivy League Rookie of the Year, earning first-team All-Ivy honors, and made the first-team once again in 1996 after being named Pitcher of the Year.
She led Princeton to Ivy League championships during her first three seasons and was the No. 1 pitcher when the Tigers advanced to the Women's College World Series in 1995 and 1996. Davies was named a regional All-America selection as a junior and earned Princeton's Patton-Poole Women's Softball Award for her sportsmanship and influence that had been most valuable to the team.
When all was said and done, Davies had registered a school-record 83 wins on the mound and set Princeton records for shutouts (32), complete games (86), strikeouts (596) and innings pitched (732) throughout her career. She finished her four-year stint with an 83-27 mark and the school's second-best winning percentage (.755).
"My fondest memory of Princeton softball was winning the NCAAs, which sent us to the World Series in 1995 and 1996." Davies says.
Davies graduated in 1997 and worked in the Admission Office at Princeton for two years. She never really thought much about coaching as a career, and certainly never thought she would coach at Princeton, but Cohen hired her as an assistant in 2000.
"I never really thought about a career in coaching," says Davies. "I had only imagined starting a career and possibly coaching my own children. My mother coached me when I was younger, and I thought it would be something that I would enjoy doing one day, but after taking on the assistant coaching position here I fell in love with it. It all made sense to me at that point. It was like a dream and this place has become a home."
The dream lives on for Davies when in July she was named the program's third head coach going into its 20th season.
"When I think of Princeton softball, my thoughts turn to Coach Cohen. She developed this program over the last 18 years. I never imagined that I would be in this position," Davies says. "I'm going to develop my own style as I go, but I plan to stick to the basics of what made this program such a success."
At an institution like Princeton, it takes a special person to make it through the grueling academics and highly competitive Division I athletic programs. The little girl from Canada who played summer softball figured all that out when she arrived on campus. She made it through unscathed and now will take a different approach as she will assist her team and individual players through the same rigorous schedule.
"I had a great experience as a student-athlete, and I want to further that experience as a coach," says Davies. "I understand this program, I know what it is like to be a student-athlete here, and I also know what they are going to bring to the field these days. With all that in mind, not only do I want to achieve great success for this team, but I also want to help make sure that they have the best Princeton experience they can possibly have while they are here." Just a few months down the road Davies will embark on her first season as a head coach, as she starts on a career path that she never thought she would travel.
by Jen Rynearson