Timeline: 50 Years of Princeton Women's Athletics
10/17/2020
Princeton Women's Athletics in the 1970s
6 Ivy League titles • 34 All-Ivy honorees • 15 National championships • 29 All-Americans
1970
Helena Novakova ‘72 and Margie Gengler Smith ’73 become the first Princeton women to compete in a varsity intercollegiate athletic event when they enter the Eastern Intercollegiate Championships in New Paltz, N.Y., which began on Oct. 17, 1970. Gengler Smith won the singles title, Novakova came in third, and together they won the doubles, claiming the team trophy as well.
1971
The first women’s sports at Princeton are tennis, squash, swimming and diving, field hockey, basketball and open rowing. The first women’s varsity team competition is a tennis match against Penn on April 12, 1971.
1972
Wendy Zaharko ‘74 wins the first of her three individual squash national titles.
Open rowing wins the Eastern Women’s Rowing Championships, the first Eastern title for a Princeton team sport.
1973
Lacrosse plays its first season.
The squash program wins the first of its now 17 national titles, including a run of 12 in 19 years from 1973-91.
Cathy Corcione ‘74, Jane Fremon ’75, Barb Franks ’76 and Carol Brown ’75 of women’s swimming & diving won the 200-yard freestyle relay and established an American record at the AIAW National Championships.
1974
Cathy Corcione ‘74 of women’s swimming & diving wins national championships in the 100 and 200-yard individual medley events.
Cathy Corcione ‘74 of women’s swimming & diving earns her ninth All-America honor.
Carol Brown ’75 and Janet Youngholm ’75 win national rowing championship in the 2- (pair) and race at World Championships in Lucerne, Switzerland, finishing fifth. This was the highest placing for any U.S. women’s entry and first Princeton women to compete at a World Championship representing the U.S.
1975
Suzanne Perles ‘75, a member of Princeton’s first field hockey team, is also Princeton’s first female Rhodes Scholar.
Women’s Basketball won the first four Ivy League championships by winning the annual postseason tournament. The tournament format existed between 1975 and 1982. Double round-robin play determined the champion beginning with the 1982-83 season.
1976
Nancy Gengler ‘80 wins the individual squash national title.
Liz Osborn ‘76 of women’s swimming & diving earns her tenth All-America honor.
Carol Brown ‘75 earns the bronze medal for the United States at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games in the W8+. Mimi Kellog ‘76 was sixth as the coxswain for the United States in the W4+.
1977
Susan Replogle ‘80 of women’s tennis named USTA All-America.
1977-80
Women’s athletics at Princeton grows with volleyball competing first in 1977, cross country and track and field in 1978-79, ice hockey in 1979, and soccer in 1980.
Two players were picked in the Women’s Professional Basketball League college draft in 1979. Heidi Nolte ’79 was drafted in the fifth round by Dallas. C. B. Tomasiewicz ’79 was selected in the sixth round by Philadelphia.
1978
Cross country win the first of three consecutive Ivy League Heptagonal championships
Princeton Women's Athletics in the 1980s
38 Ivy League titles • 309 All-Ivy honorees • 9 National championships • 60 All-Americans • 2 Academic All-Americans
1980
Cross country completes the three-peat with another Heps title -- starting an academic year where the women claim their first Ivy League “Triple Crown” by adding indoor and outdoor Heps championships.
1981
Charlotte Tiedemann ‘82 of women’s swimming & diving earns her tenth All-America honor.
Field hockey wins the program’s first Ivy League title.
Open Rowing collects its first team Ivy crown with the 2V8.
1982
Softball begins play. The program wins its first of seven consecutive Ivy League titles in 1983, on the way to 19 in its first 36 seasons.
Women’s swimming & diving wins its fourth-straight Ivy League title.
Diana Caskey ’85, Ann Heusner ’83, Liz Richardson ’84 and Betsy Lind ’86 of women’s swimming & diving won the 800-yard freestyle relay at the AIAW National Championships.
Martha Russo '85 becomes the first field hockey player to be nominated for the Honda Award.
Open Rowing collects its first Ivy title with the 1V8 boat.
1983
Women’s track & field wins its third-straight Ivy League indoor title.
Women’s track & field wins its fourth-straight Ivy League outdoor title.
1984
Lynette Prescott ‘85 becomes the women’s soccer program’s first three-time All-America.
Joy Cummings ‘84 of women’s tennis named ITA All-America.
Open Rowing won its first team Ivy title, beginning a stretch of four consecutive crowns.
Anne R. Marden ‘81 won the silver medal for the United States in the W4x at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
1986
Demer Holleran ‘89 wins the first of her three individual squash national championships.
1988
Fencing becomes a varsity program.
Lynn Jennings ‘83 finishes sixth in the 10K at the Seoul Olympics.
Anne R. Marden ‘81 collected the silver medal for the United States in the W4x at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games.
Princeton Women's Athletics in the 1990s
41 Ivy League titles • 448 All-Ivy honorees • 12 National championships • 117 All-Americans • 10 Academic All-Americans
1990
Women’s Basketball’s Sandi Bittler earned a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
1991
Open Rowing started a streak of seven straight Ivy team titles.
1992
Women’s golf begins competition.
Lynn Jennings ‘83 wins bronze in the 10K at the Barcelona Olympics.
Women’s volleyball wins its fourth-straight Ivy League title.
Women’s swimming & diving wins its third-straight Ivy League title.
1993
Miriam Ticktin ‘93, captain of the women’s swimming and diving team, earns a Rhodes Scholarship.
1994
Field Hockey begins a stretch of 10 straight Ivy League titles.
Women’s Lacrosse wins national championship, defeating Maryland, 10-7, in College Park.
1995
Softball makes the NCAA Women’s College World Series, returning again in 1996. All-America honoree Jen Babik ‘95 earns a Rhodes Scholarship.
1996
Women’s Basketball makes its first postseason appearance in 1996 at the National Women’s Invitational Tournament in Amarillo, Texas, finishing seventh. No. 8 seeded Princeton, which earned the Ivy League’s first-ever at-large bid to a postseason tournament, lost to Arkansas and Western Kentucky at the tournament before defeating Illinois State.
Lynn Jennings ‘83 finishes ninth in the 5K at the Atlanta Olympics.
Katie McCandless ‘92 (Ireland) competes in the qualifying round of the 5K at the Atlanta Olympics.
Field hockey becomes the first Ivy League school to advance to the NCAA Championship Game.
1997
Water polo plays its first game.
Mary Moan ‘97 becomes the first Tiger to qualify through the regional and play in the NCAA women’s golf championship tournament.
Katherine Johnson ‘97 wins the individual squash national championship.
Amy MacFarlane ‘97 becomes the first field hockey player in Ivy history to earn four straight first-team All-Ivy honors.
Open Rowing’s 2V8 boat won the NCAA Championship.
1998
Lightweight rowing begins competition and is Princeton’s most recent addition to its varsity athletic menu.
Women’s Water Polo makes its first trip to the National Collegiate Championships.
Women’s lightweight rowing starts a stretch of three straight Eastern/Ivy titles.
1999
Julia Beaver ‘01 wins the first of her three individual squash national championships.
Women’s lightweight rowing begins a remarkable stretch of five straight national titles.
Princeton Women's Athletics in the 2000s
48 Ivy League titles • 523 All-Ivy honorees • 13 National championships • 177 All-Americans • 3 Academic All-Americans
2000
Eva Petschnigg '03 wins the NCAA foil championship, becoming Princeton’s first female NCAA fencing champion.
Women’s Water Polo won its first CWPA Championship.
Women’s lightweight rowing secures its first of two straight Eastern Sprints/Ivy titles.
2002
Women’s Lacrosse wins national championship, defeating Georgetown 12-7 in Baltimore
2003
Cross country captain Laura Shackelton ‘03 earns a Rhodes Scholarship.
Women’s swimming & diving wins its fourth-straight Ivy League title.
Women’s lacrosse wins its second consecutive national championship with a 8-7 overtime victory over Virginia in Syracuse; Rachael Becker wins the Tewaaraton Award as national player of the year.
2004
The women’s soccer team makes the semifinals of the NCAA College Cup, becoming the first Ivy League team in any sport to make the final four of a 64-team tournament.
Field Hockey defeated Yale, 6-0, in its Ivy opener to collect its 32nd straight conference victory.
Lianne Bennion Nelson '95 earned the silver medal for the United States in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
2005
Field hockey begins a stretch of 11 straight Ivy titles.
2006
Women’s hockey makes the NCAA tournament for the first time, returning in 2016, 2019 and 2020.
Open Rowing’s 1V8 boat won the NCAA Championship.
2007
Princeton begins a run of three consecutive squash national team titles.
2008
Cross country finishes fifth at the NCAA Championships as a team - a result they’d match the following year -- the highest finishes by an Ivy program in the 2000s.
Women’s swimming & diving wins its third-straight Ivy League title.
Caroline Lind ‘06 captured the gold medal for the United States in the W8x at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games
Princeton Women's Athletics in the 2010s
58 Ivy League titles • 570 All-Ivy honorees • 7 National championships • 207 All-Americans • 20 Academic All-Americans
2010
Alicia Aemisigger ‘10 of women’s swimming & diving earns her 13th All-America honor.
Women’s Basketball starts a stretch of four straight outright Ivy League titles. The Class of 2013 went 54-2 in conference and was one of only three classes to ever win four straight outright conference championships.
Cross country wins its fourth consecutive Heps title, setting the pace for a clean sweep of Heps titles as the women add a second “Triple Crown” following indoor and outdoor league titles.
2011
Addie Micir ‘11 becomes the first women’s basketball player to earn Ivy League Player of the Year.
Women’s lightweight rowing wins Eastern Sprints/Ivy title.
Open Rowing’s 1V8 boat won the NCAA Championship.
2012
Diana Matheson ‘08 helps Canada to its first Olympic medal in women’s soccer, scoring the game-winning goal in the bronze-medal game. She helps the team win bronze again in 2016.
Field Hockey won its first ever program title with a 2-1 victory over No. 1 North Carolina in the NCAA Championship game.
Julia ‘14 and Katie ‘12 Reinprecht along with Michelle Cesan ‘14 (alternate) represent the United States in the 2012 London Olympic Games (field hockey).
Katie Reinprecht ‘13 and Kat Sharkey ‘13 become the second and third players in Ivy League history to earn four first-team All-Ivy selections.
Katie Reinprecht ‘13 becomes the first Princeton field hockey player to win the Honda Sport Award.
Women’s Basketball becomes the first-ever Ivy League women’s team to receive a national ranking. The Tigers moved into the AP Top 25 Poll, earning a No. 24 national ranking in the Week 18 poll. The season saw the Tigers win their third consecutive Ivy League championship and earn the No. 9 seed into the NCAA Tournament, the highest ever for an Ivy program at the time.
Women’s Water Polo wins the CWPA Eastern Championship and earns its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
Caroline Lind ‘06 won the gold medal for the United States in the W8x at the 2012 London Olympic Games. Andreanne Morin '04 picked up the silver medal for Canada in the W8+. Lauren Wilkinson '11 also earned the silver medal for Canada in the W8+.
2013
The fencing teams win the combined men’s/women’s NCAA team title, a first in program history. Eliza Stone ‘13 adds the NCAA saber title.
Kelly Shon ‘14 becomes the second Tiger to qualify through the regional and compete in the NCAA women’s golf championship tournament.
Michelle Cesan ‘14 and Julia Reinprecht ‘14 become the fourth and fifth players in Ivy League history to earn four first-team All-Ivy honors.
Niveen Rasheed ‘13 becomes the first women’s basketball player to earn All-American honors.
2014
Julia Ratcliffe ‘17 of women’s track & field wins the national championship in hammer throw - the program’s first individual NCAA title.
Women’s lacrosse wins the first of five consecutive Ivy League championships.
2015
Women’s Basketball put together a historic unblemished 30-0 regular season record in 2014-15, climbing to No. 13 in the Associated Press Top-25 and USA Today Coaches polls – the best rankings for an Ivy program. The Tigers’ 30-0 regular season surpassed Penn 1970-71 men’s team’s mark of 28-0 for the best in Ivy basketball history. Earning the highest-ever NCAA seeding for an Ivy program (No. 8), Princeton notched an 80-70 first round victory over Green Bay, joining Harvard’s 1998 squad as the only women’s basketball teams in league history to record a tournament win.
Megan Curham ‘18 of women’s track & field/cross country earns the fourth All-America honor of her career.
Blake Dietrick ‘15 becomes the second women’s basketball player to collect All-America selections.
2016
Women’s Basketball became the first Ivy League team to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament since the conference became an auto-matic qualifier.
Priscilla Frederick coached high jump for the national team of Antigua and Barbuda at the Rio Olympics.
Women’s tennis wins its third-straight Ivy League title.
Open Rowing won its first of four straight Ivy titles.
Julia ‘14 and Katie ‘12 Reinprecht along with Kat Sharkey ‘13 represent the United States in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games (field hockey). The team’s fifth place finish was its highest since 1996.
Ashleigh Johnson ‘17 helps the United States’ women’s water polo team to the gold medal. Gevvie Stone '07 earned the silver medal for the United States in the W1x.
2017
Anna Van Brummen ‘17 defeats teammate Katharine Holmes ‘17 in an all-Princeton NCAA epee final.
Maya Walton ‘20 becomes the third Tiger to qualify through the regional and compete in the NCAA women’s golf championship tournament.
Julia Ratcliffe ‘17 of women’s track & field is named an All-American for the fourth time in her career in the hammer throw.
Women’s volleyball wins its third-straight Ivy League title.
Ashleigh Johnson ‘17 becomes the first Princeton women’s water polo player to win the prestigious Cutino Award and become a first-team All-American.
2018
Princeton wins two NCAA individual fencing titles, with Kasia Nixon ‘21 winning epee and Maia Chamberlain ’22 in saber.
Leslie Robinson became the first Tiger selected in the WNBA Draft as she was picked 34th overall by the New York Liberty in 2018.
2019
Women’s lightweight rowing wins Eastern Sprints/Ivy League title.
Field hockey advances to the national championship game.
2020
Sarah Fillier '22 is named Princeton women’s hockey’s first two-time All-America, coming in each of her first two seasons.
Bella Alarie ‘20 became the first Princeton women’s basketball player to earn four first-team All-Ivy selections, three Ivy Player of the Year awards and two All-American honors. She later was selected fifth overall by the Dallas Wings in the 2020 WNBA Draft.
