Princeton University Athletics
Eight Tigers Earn Regional All-America Honors
November 12, 2001 | Field Hockey
Nov. 12, 2001
PRINCETON, N.J. - The Princeton field hockey team placed eight players on the 2001 STX/NFHCA Division I Regional All-America team, as was announced on Nov. 12. Five players took first-team honors, while three were named to the second-team. The 2001 STX/NFCHA Division I All-America teams will be announced on Monday, Nov. 19.
Junior co-captains Emily Townsend (Houston, Texas) and Kelly Baril (Peabody, Mass.) were first-team selections along with classmate Ilvy Friebe (Bonn, Germany) and sophomores Claire Miller (Scarsdale, N.Y.) and Cory Picketts (Marmora, N.J.).
Townsend is the only returning starter in the Tigers' defensive corp and has been its leader all season. She is second on the team in scoring with 24 points (10 goals, 4 assists) and was one of three Princeton players to be unanimously selected to the first-team All-Ivy. Baril had played 1217 minutes in the cage for the Tigers and has a .769 save percentage and a 1.32 goals-against average. Most recently she posted nine first-half saves in the 2-1 win over Old Dominion in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Friebe's season has been nothing short of remarkable. A unanimous first-team All-Ivy pick, she was also selected as the 2001 Ivy League Player of the Year after being named the league's Player of the Week four times during the season. She has led the nation in points, points per game, goals and goals per game throughout the season and is also ranked in the top-10 in assists per game. Friebe established new Ivy League records for points (37) and goals (15) in a season, and broke the Princeton record for goals in a season, previously held by Honda Broderick Award finalist and Ivy Player of the Year, Kirsty Hale '99. She has 71 points (30g, 11 a). Miller is fourth on the team in scoring with 21 points (3g, 15a). A unanimous first-team All-Ivy selection, Miller been ranked in the top-3 in the nation in assists and assists per game throughout the season. Picketts had16 points (7g, 2a) but scored the biggest goal of her career with 5:07 left in the game against Old Dominion to lead Princeton to a 2-1 victory, and a berth in the 2001 NCAA Final Four.
Junior Rachael Becker (Broomall, Pa.) and freshmen Jen Elliott (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and Natalie Martirosian (Richmond, Va.) represent the Tigers on the second-team. Becker is third on the team in scoring with 23 points (10g, 3a) and earned honorable mention All-Ivy status. Elliott has stepped up and played every minute of every game this season for the Tigers. Martirosian was named the 2001 Ivy League Rookie of the Year after starting every game for the Tigers. She has 16 points (5g, 6a) on the season, including four game-winners.
Princeton (17-2) will meet Michigan (16-5) in the NCAA Final Four, hosted by Kent State University, on Friday, Nov. 16 at 4:30 p.m. The Tigers made three-straight appearances in the Final Four from 1996-98, and reached the title game in 1996 and 1998. The winner between the Orange and Black and the Wolverines will meet the winner of the Maryland (19-3)/Wake Forest (15-4) matchup at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 18 to determine the 2001 NCAA champion.