Created: 6/15/2005 7:50:06 AM
C. Otto von Kienbusch Award
Presented in memory of a member of the Class of 1906. The award is presented to the senior woman of high scholastic rank who has demostrated ability in athletics and the qualities of a true sportswoman.
Four athletes -- Stephanie Hsiao, Avery Kiser, Esmeralda Negron and Elizabeth Pillion shared the 2005 C. Otto von Kiensbusch Award.
Stephanie Hsiao, an East Asian studies major from Irvine, Calif., put together one of the greatest careers in the history of Princeton women's swimming and diving. She initially broke through during her sophomore year by winning two events in the Ivy League Championships, including the 100 breaststroke, an event she only began to compete in during that season. That win highlighted one of three team championships Princeton won during Hsiao's career. She would win 13 events during her final two years, including seven as a senior when she would be named the 2005 Ivy League Championship Swimmer of the Meet. Both a two-time NCAA Championships representative and a two-time Academic All-Ivy selection, Hsiao succeeded in more ways than one during her Princeton career.
Avery Kiser, an operation research and financial engineering major from Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., made an immediate impact on the Princeton women's golf team as a freshman and has led the team since. In four years, she has taken medalist honors in 11 different tournaments and has led the Tigers to 11 team titles. Kiser won the Ivy League Championship in her freshman, sophomore and junior campaigns to become the only Ivy League golfer to win three straight league titles. Her bid for a fourth fell a few strokes short earlier this year, but Kiser finished fourth to claim All-Ivy honors for the fourth time in her career, becoming only the second Ivy women's golfer to do so. Kiser is the only Princeton golfer to compete in the NCAA Championships in all four years of her career. As a freshman and sophomore, she earned individual invites, while as a junior and a senior she competed as part of Princeton's team entry as the Tigers won the Ivy League Championship in those seasons.
Esmeralda Negron, a Spanish major from Harrington Park, N.J., graduates as the all-time leading scorer in soccer at Princeton for men and women. She was also the keystone of the Tigers' unprecedented run to the NCAA Final Four this past fall, when the Tigers became the first Ivy League school to reach the women's soccer Final Four and the first Ivy school in any sport to reach the Final Four of a 64-team NCAA tournament. Negron set Princeton single-season records with 20 goals, 12 assists and 52 points while earning her second-straight Ivy League Player of the Year Award and third first-team All-Ivy honor last fall. She finished with 47 goals and 111 points, and she is second all-time in assists at Princeton with 17. She also had four career overtime goals. Negron was also named first-team All-American this season.
Elizabeth Pillion, a psychology major from Villanova, Pa., brought a winning spirit to two Princeton teams. Pillion finished her career with two national championships and three Final Four appearances in lacrosse and three NCAA tournament appearances and one NCAA Final Four in soccer. She played in seven NCAA tournaments, compiling a 19-4 record in postseason events. Pillion, despite a limited background in the sport, walked onto the soccer team her sophomore year. She became an immediate contributor that year, worked her way into the starting lineup as a junior and became a second-team All-Ivy League defender as a senior. Pillion was a two-time first-team All-America and two-time unanimous first-team All-Ivy selection in women's lacrosse. Her 150 career points rank 11th all-time at Princeton, and her 46 career assists rank in the top 10 in program history.
William Winston Roper Trophy
Presented by Mrs. William Winston Roper and the Class of 1902 in honor of Princeton's famed football coach, whose tenure produced an 89-28-16 record in 17 seasons. The award is presented to a Princeton senior of high scholastic rank, outstanding sportsmanship and general athletic ability.
Two athletes -- Soren Thompson and Will Venable - shared the 2005 William Winston Roper Trophy.
Soren Thompson, an art and archeology major from San Diego, Calif., joined the men's fencing team and made an impact to both the team and the sport. As a freshman, Thompson became the first Princeton fencer to become an NCAA individual champion (in the epee) since Harold Winkmann in 1994 and the fourth ever to wear a Princeton uniform. Thompson followed his rookie performance with a silver medal at the 2002 NCAA championships in the same weapon. As a junior, Thompson went a perfect 11-0 in the Ivies and was named the IFA champion. During the 2004 Summer Games, he advanced to the quarterfinals in the men's epee individual event before losing 15-11 to defending Olympic gold medalist Pavel Kolobkov of Russia. This season, after compiling a 10-1 record in the Ivy League, he was named to the All-Ivy first team for the fourth time in his career. He was also a three-time All-America. Thompson was named Academic All-Ivy this season.
Will Venable, an anthropology major from San Rafael, Calif., was a first-team All-Ivy League selection and NCAA tournament participant in both basketball and baseball. Venable is one of just eight players in Princeton men's basketball history to twice win the program's B.F. Bunn Trophy, honoring the team's Most Valuable Player. He finished his career with 1,010 points, 26th all-time at Princeton. His 155 steals are fourth in program history, and his 253 assists rank ninth all-time at Princeton. He was a team captain his senior season. In baseball, Venable transitioned into the lineup as a sophomore after two full years away from the sport. He hit .239 that season in 27 games. A year later, he batted .344, had 20 RBIs and stole 14 bases. As a senior, Venable raised his average another 40 points to hit a team-leading .385 with 33 RBIs, nine home runs and 35 runs scored. He earned first-team All-Ivy honors at the position at center field. The son of a former professional baseball player, Venable will focus on baseball now -- picked by the San Diego Padres in the seventh round of the Major League Baseball draft.