Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Aboff, Giarra, Henritze, McGarvie and VanLeuven Named von Kienbusch Award Winners
May 29, 2009 | Field Hockey, General, Women's Cross Country, Women's Golf, Women's Lacrosse, Women's Swimming and Diving, Women's Track and Field, Women's Volleyball
Seniors Susannah Aboff, Kathrine Giarra, Parker Henritze, Holly McGarvie and Jolee VanLeuven were awarded the 2009 C. Otto von Kienbusch Award on Thursday night at the PVC Senior Student-Athlete Awards Banquet.
The C. Otto von Kienbusch Award is the highest female student-athlete award at Princeton. C. Otto von Kienbusch was a staunch opponent of the addition of women to Princeton University in the late '60s. Once women were admitted to the school, several early women athletes made a trip to his home in upstate New York to try to win him over. They were so successful that he became such a supporter of women's athletics at Princeton that he endowed this award.
Susannah Aboff
Susannah Aboff completed the rare feat of back-to-back individual championships at the Ivy League golf tournament last month.
Her second Ivy title helped Aboff earn an individual bid to the NCAA East Regional, making her the first Tiger since 2005 to appear in the NCAA postseason. The individual invitation was one of just three in the East region and nine nationally. Aboff's Ivy championship also led her to the league's inaugural Player of the Year honor and completed a four-year run of being on the All-Ivy team, making Aboff the fifth Ivy golfer and second Tiger to earn an All-Ivy spot all four seasons.
In Princeton's last 23 tournaments, Aboff finished as the top Tiger 20 times. That run, which stretches from the 2007 spring season through the 2009 Ivy meet, included eight individual championships at various events.
Kathrine Giarra
Kathrine Giarra has been the Ivy League's best and most consistent diver throughout her four-year career, and she was a leading force for Princeton in winning three Ivy League team swimming and diving titles during the last four years. Giarra won both the 1- and 3-meter diving competitions in both 2007 and 2009 and earned Ivy League Championships Diver of the Meet honors in both years. In the other two years, she never finished outside of the Top 5 in either event and placed second in both events following an injury-plagued 2008 season. Her performance scored big points for Princeton in winning the 2006, 2007 and 2008 Ivy League championships.
Giarra reached an individual career milestone in 2009 by qualifying for her first NCAA championship meet. She missed All-America honors by one spot in the 1-meter competition, but in her final day of collegiate competition, she earned All-America honorable mention by placing 12th overall in the 3-meter. Her finish helped Princeton to 18th place at the NCAA championships, the highest finish for a non-scholarship school and the second-highest finish for a non-BCS school.
Parker Henritze
Parker Henritze graduates as one of the most decorated volleyball players in Ivy League history. The lone Princeton woman to earn both Ivy League Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year honors in her career, Henritze is a four-time All-Ivy selection and a three-time first-team selection. She was named to the team unanimously in each of the last two years, including during her Player of the Year performance in 2007.
A starting outside hitter since the beginning of her freshman year, Henritze guided Princeton to a 45-11 Ivy League record in her four years. In 2007, she led the Tigers to the first 14-0 record in the Ivy League and the program's first Ivy title since 2004 and the first NCAA tournament appearance since 2001. Henritze has been among the Ivy League leaders in kills and aces throughout her career and served as the lone captain of a senior-laden team in 2008.
Holly McGarvie
During her autumns, McGarvie was an integral part of four Ivy League championships and two NCAA quarterfinal appearances in field hockey. After playing a more defensive role as a freshman, McGarvie was moved into the forward line as a sophomore and the results were instantaneous as she led the team in scoring as a sophomore and ranked third as both a junior and a senior. She was a three-time All-Ivy selection in field hockey, twice earning first-team honors. McGarvie, who played in every game for four years, finished with 69 points for her career, including a 29 as a senior.
In the spring, McGarvie led the Tigers to four NCAA women's lacrosse tournament appearances. She was named the 2009 Ivy League co-Player of the Year, and is just the third player in the Princeton history to earn Rookie and Player of the Year honors during a career. McGarvie has been an All-Ivy honoree all four years and was named first-team All-America last year (this year's All-Americas have not yet been announced).
McGarvie has started in every game during her career, amassing 116 goals and 52 assists for 168 points. She ranks in the Top 10 in the program in points, assists and ground balls in a career. A two-time Tewaaraton Trophy nominee for the outstanding player in college lacrosse, McGarvie will represent the U.S. at the World Cup this summer.
Jolee VanLeuven
Jolee VanLeuven was captain of both the cross country and the track and field teams. She is a five-time NCAA participant and has been an All-America as well. She has earned four All-Ivy League honors and is a three-time Academic All-Ivy honoree.
VanLeuven has guided her teams to four Ivy League team titles and helped the 2008 cross country team to unprecedented success with a fifth place finish in the NCAA championship, the best finish in Princeton history, and a near-sweep of the Ivy League Heptagonal race. She ran her best time of the season, a blistering 20:58, at the NCAA championships. She also holds the third-best times in program history in the 10,000 and the fifth-best time in the 5,000.