Princeton University Athletics
Kirsty Hale, Caitlin Rich: Von Kienbusch Award
March 31, 2000 | General
C. OTTO VON KIENBUSCH AWARD
Awarded annually to a Princeton senior woman of high scholastic rank who has demonstrated general proficiency in athletics and the qualities of a true sportswoman. Presented in memory of C. Otto v. Kienbusch '06, friend and benefactor of women's athletics at Princeton.
Kirsty Hale
There were just more than 17 minutes left in the game, and Princeton lined up for one of its 14 penalty corners. Christine Hunsicker stopped the ball and Melanie Meerschwam fired a pass to the senior superstar who started the corner.
Kirsty Hale took the feed and buried the ball in the back of the cage. The Dartmouth goalkeeper never had a chance. Princeton took a 2-0 lead en route to another win ... another Ivy League crown.
The goal itself was hardly spectacular. In a season of 70 goals, 17 wins and a classic battle in the NCAA championship game, that kind of goal would be easy to forget. In fact, Hale likely has. To her, it was nothing more than an insurance goal.
To the record books, it was the final change.
The goal was No. 61 in the storied career of Hale, the single most dangerous offensive threat in the history of the Ivy League. Hale had smashed each single-season mark and owned the records for career assists and career points. This was the final offensive mark left for her to claim, and it was just a matter of time.
Hale stood after the game and insisted that the record meant nothing to her. You believed her. You believed that she would have happily ended her career with her name completely free from the record books as long as the team stayed successful. You believed it because you watched her play and you knew that above all, Kirsty Hale was a winner.
With Hale, Princeton went to two national title games, three Final Fours. With Hale, Princeton never lost an Ivy League game (it went 26-0 since 1995). With Hale, Princeton became a team that was respected by all opponents.
But most important to Hale, Princeton became the best team it could be for 70 minutes a game. She took no shortcuts, accepted no losses. She went through opponents because she could, and because she had to. It was the path towards victory.
It was the only path she knew.
Achievements & Honors 1998 Honda Award finalist ... 1998 first-team NFHCA All-America ... 1998 Regional first-team All-America ... 1998 Ivy League Player of the Year ... 1996, 1998 NCAA all-tournament team ... 1998 captain ... 1997 second-team NFHCA All-America ... 1996, 1997, 1998 first-team All-Ivy League ... 1995 Ivy League Rookie of the Year ... 1995 second-team All-Ivy League ... holds Princeton career records for goals (71), assists (56) and points (198) ... holds Princeton single-season records for goals (24), assists (25) and points (73), all in 1996.
Caitlin Rich
The smile hadn't left her face, and the significance of the night's events certainly had yet to sink in. In fact, the eventual realization of what had just occurred may be just that-eventual. It may take a while for Caitlin Rich to actually believe what those in attendance at this year's Senior Athlete Banquet had just heard-she had won Princeton's highest female athletic honor, the Otto von Kienbusch Sportswoman of the Year Award.
Taking her place among those elite athletes who came before her at Princeton was an honor that Rich had always hoped for, but the surprised look on her face upon hearing her name announced was genuine.
So were the tears of elation, which had barely time to dry before friends, family, coaches and classmates were busy congratulating her on the achievement.
Shortly after the banquet, one of those proud classmates came up to Rich and told her that she was "awesome," but the award-winner responded with a humble, "I'm not awesome ... I just fence."
And really, that brief interaction said pretty much all that needed to be said that night, because for every basketball star who plays every game in front of a crowd of thousands, there is an equally talented athlete who succeeds without the support of countless adoring fans. The significance of Rich winning this award may go beyond her alone. For many of the students at Princeton-who, by the way, continued to deliver even more congratulations over the next few days-this award recognized the efforts of those athletes whose athletic careers can go relatively unnoticed from start to finish despite four years of hard work, long practices and grueling road trips.
Rich finishes her career as arguably the best female fencer in Princeton history. The Tigers' only three-time All-America and three-time All-Ivy selection, she was named the Most Outstanding Fencer at the 1996 NCAA championships while only a freshman. Rich followed up her rookie campaign with a remarkable 60-6 record in dual-meet competition as a sophomore, a feat that may never be repeated. She finished her career with a 149-24 record in dual-meets, winning nearly 90 percent of her bouts.
Last season she captained the Tigers to an Ivy League title, the first-ever in school history, and her ?p?e squad went on to win the Intercollegiate Fencing Association championship, also a Princeton first.
Then again, she was just a fencer.
by Mike Zulla
Achievements & Honors 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99 captain ... 1996, 1997, 1999 second-team All-America ... 1996, 1997, 1999 first-team All-Ivy League ... Most Outstanding Fencer at 1996 NCAA championships ... 1999 Academic All-Ivy League.