Five Princeton student-athletes have been named finalists for the C. Otto von Kienbusch Award which is presented annually to a Princeton senior woman of high scholastic rank who has demonstrated general proficiency in athletics and the qualities of a true sportswoman. Presented in memory of C. Otto v. Kienbusch ’06, friend and benefactor of women’s athletics at Princeton.
The von Kienbusch Award will be presented at the Gary Walters ’67 Princeton Varsity Club Awards Banquet on Thursday, May 25th starting at 5:00 p.m. ET. For more information on the 2023 banquet, click here.
Meet the 2023 finalists!
HANNAH DAVEY | FIELD HOCKEY
Hannah Davey is one of the best and most versatile players in Princeton field hockey history. A second-team All-American as a forward on Princeton’s 2019 NCAA runner-up team, she then moved to defense to fill a team need and responded by once again being a second-team All-American. A four-time All-Ivy League selection and three-time first-team selection, Davey led the team in assists her freshman year and was then the second-leading goal scorer on the team that reached the NCAA final in 2019. Switching to defense after that, she won the Ivy League’s Defensive Player of the Year Award as a senior. She also was a two-time first-team All-Mid-Atlantic Regional honoree, once on offense and once on defense.
DARIA FRAYMAN | TENNIS
The 2023 Ivy League Player of the Year, Daria Frayman led the Tigers to a fourth-straight Ivy title and a third-straight NCAA Tournament second round appearance in 2023. Ranked as high as No. 1 in singles and No. 7 in doubles by the ITA during the 2023 campaign, she has also been selected to participate in the NCAA singles & doubles tournaments in 2022 and 2023. Frayman is a two-time First-Team All-Ivy honoree and was the runner up at the ITA Fall National Championships in 2021 and 2022. The ITA Northeast Region Rookie of the Year in 2020, Frayman has amassed 68 singles victories and 48 doubles victories in her career.
ALEXIS LAUDENSLAGER | SOFTBALL
One of three players in program history to win two Ivy League Pitcher of the Year awards, Alexis Laudenslager joined that club in 2023 with a season that led Princeton to its second straight Ivy League title, becoming the first player in program history to throw three no-hitters in a season. The only Princeton pitcher to author five solo no-hitters in her career, Laudenslager is a two-time first-team All-Ivy League honoree, helping the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament in 2022. With a career-high 179 strikeouts this spring, Laudenslager piled up more Ks in a season than any Tiger pitcher in 15 years, and her 352 career Ks, all but 35 of which came over the last two seasons, have her seventh in the history of the storied softball program.
SARAH POLSON | LIGHTWEIGHT ROWING
A two-time IRA national champion, Sarah Polson has been a catalyst for one of the greatest runs in Princeton Women’s Lightweight Rowing history. Unbeatable on the water, Polson and her boatmates in the first varsity have not lost to another lightweight boat during her time racing with the Tigers. Polson was in the boat that won the national championship in 2021, the program’s first title since 2003, rowing out to 26.3-second victory. In 2022, Polson and the varsity eight dominated, not losing a single race with the closest result being just over four seconds. At the IRA Championships, the varsity eight collected its second straight gold while the team won the team crown for the first time in program history. The varsity eight also has not lost in 2023 as Polson looks to finish off her career with a third straight national championship.
NIKKI VENEMA | SWIMMING & DIVING
A 13-time Ivy League Champion and 19-time all-conference honoree, Nikki Venema was the 2023 Ivy League Championships High Point Swimmer of the Meet and an NCAA Championships qualifier in the 100 and 200 freestyle. She holds program records in five events, top-10 times on the Tigers’ all-time list in eight, and is a two-time recipient of the Jerry Horton Most Valuable Swimmer or Diver award. Venema was a U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier in 2021 in the 50 and 100 freestyle along with the 100 butterfly. A two-time CSCAA Scholar Athlete All-American, Venema was also named CSC Academic All-District in 2023.
