Princeton University Athletics
William W. Roper Trophy
September 20, 2001 | General
Awarded annually to a Princeton senior man of high scholastic rank and outstanding qualities of sportsmanship and general proficiency in athletics. Presented by Mrs. William W. Roper and the Class of 1902.
Scott Denbo
Scott Denbo was hurt as a freshman when the indoor Heptagonal track and field championships rolled around. He chose to compete anyway in his specialty, the shot put, and he finished fourth.
He would compete seven more times in Heptagonal championships both indoors and outdoors after that beginning disappointment, and he would roll a perfect seven.
Denbo won the outdoor title as a freshman, and he didn't stop there, running the table both indoors and outdoors his final three years to establish himself as one of the top track and field athletes in recent Ivy League history.
"Scott is a world-class athlete who has a tremendous work ethic," says men's track coach Fred Samara. "It is very easy to coach someone like him because he is so dedicated to the sport."
As a freshman he set an indoor shot put record with an NCAA-qualifying throw of 56' 1.25". As a junior he earned All-America honors at the 2000 NCAA outdoor track and field championships.
He capped his career by competing yet again at the NCAA outdoor championships one final time, finishing 17th. He was an NCAA qualifier all four years.
A history major from Nashville, Denbo was also an Academic All-Ivy selection.
C a r e e r H i g h l i g h t s
* 2001-01 captain
* 1999, 2000, 2001 indoor Heptagonal shot put champion
* 1999, 2000, 2001 indoor first-team All-Ivy League
* 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 outdoor Heptagonal shot put champion
* 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 outdoor first-team All-Ivy League
* 2000 outdoor shot put All-America
* 2001 Bonthron Trophy
* 2001 Academic All-Ivy League
* 1999, 2000, 2001 NCAA outdoor shot put participant
Dennis Norman
Dennis Norman doesn't say much. When he does, it's rarely about himself or his athletic career at Princeton.
So in lieu of his own words, how about letting a few actions speak for themselves?
Dennis Norman became the first offensive lineman and fourth player in Princeton history to be a three-time first-team All-Ivy League football selection. He also finished his career as the seventh-round draft choice of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks.
Norman accomplished all this in football despite missing spring practice every year because he was a two-time Heptagonal champion in track and field in the discus, which made him a two-time first-team All-Ivy League thrower.
Add in a degree in computer science engineering, and you have the story of four pretty well-spent years at Princeton.
Norman, from Marlton, N.J., was already being projected as a starter his freshman season when he suffered a broken leg in the middle of training camp. The injury cost him his entire freshman year, but he recovered well enough to earn first-team All-Ivy as a sophomore. He would follow that up with two more first-team selections, as well as a pair of second-team All-ECAC selections.
His two Heptagonal discus titles show what kind of dominator he was in the spring as well.
C a r e e r H i g h l i g h t s
FOOTBALL
* 1998, 1999, 2000 first-team All-Ivy League
* 1999, 2000 second-team All-ECAC
* 2000 Poe-Kazmaier Trophy as team MVP
* 1998 Donold Lourie Award for offensive Rookie of the Year
TRACK & FIELD
* 1999, 2000 outdoor Heptagonal discus champion
* 1999, 2000 outdoor first-team All-Ivy League
Matt Striebel
Matt Striebel heard it a million times in four years at Princeton: Imagine how good you'd be at one if you gave up the other.
The answer turned out to be a resounding: Not very. And if he had been better, he certainly wouldn't have been better off.
Striebel saved his best for the final week of his college career, when he 1) scored two goals and had two assists in Princeton's 10-9 overtime win over Syracuse in the NCAA lacrosse championship game, 2) was named All-America in lacrosse, 3) won a share of the Roper Trophy as the outstanding senior male athlete at Princeton and 4) was drafted by the new outdoor lacrosse league.
That week capped a four-year run that saw Striebel establish himself as a true scholar-athlete and team player, and he reaped the rewards in a big way.
The English major from Gill, Mass., started every game for four years in soccer, helping the team to its first Ivy championship in 40 years as a junior and winning the team's most outstanding player award as a senior. He added four more Ivy League championships in lacrosse, helping the Tigers go 24-0 in league games in his four years.
He assisted on the goal that sent Princeton's first-round game against Virginia in the 1999 NCAA soccer tournament into overtime (Princeton would eventually lose), and he added six goals and 12 more assists in four NCAA men's lacrosse tournaments. Princeton would win two national lacrosse titles and finish as national runner-up in his four years.
Striebel was an attackman for his first three lacrosse seasons, but he moved to midfield as a senior to accommodate a younger corps of attackmen. He responded with his best season as a senior, earning first-team All-Ivy and honorable mention All-America honors while having a career-high in goals.
He was also a three-time Academic All-Ivy League pick.
C a r e e r H i g h l i g h t s
SOCCER
* 1999, 2000 Academic All-Ivy League
* 2000 honorable mention All-Ivy League
* David S. Hackett Memorial Soccer Cup
LACROSSE
* 2001 first-team All-Ivy League
* 1999, 2000 second-team All-Ivy League
* 2000, 2001 honorable mention All-America
* 1999 Academic All-Ivy League
* 2001 captain