Four Princeton student-athletes have been named finalists for the 2022 C. Otto von Kienbusch Award, which is presented annually to the top senior student-athlete from a women’s program.
The Art Lane ’34 Award will be presented at the Gary Walters ’67 Princeton Varsity Club Awards Banquet on Thursday, May 19th starting at 5:00 p.m. ET. For more information on the 2022 banquet, click here.
Meet the 2022 finalists!
Maia Chamberlain (Women’s Fencing)
Maia Chamberlain was Princeton’s fifth NCAA women’s individual fencing champion and the second Princeton woman to win the NCAA saber championship, winning the honor as a sophomore in 2018 in her second trip to the NCAA Championships. As a freshman, Chamberlain debuted at the NCAAs with a semifinal appearance in a season that saw her earn the first of three first-team All-Ivy honors. Culminating in another semifinal run in 2022, all three of Chamberlain’s trips to the NCAA Championships saw her finish in the top four in the nation, earning All-America honors all three times. Chamberlain’s freshman and senior years saw Princeton bring home team trophies from the NCAA Championships, as the men’s and women’s teams combined to finish fourth both in 2017 and in 2022.
Abby Meyers (Women’s Basketball)
Abby Meyers was the unanimous Ivy League Player of the Year during one of the greatest seasons in Princeton Women’s Basketball history in 2021-22. Meyers averaged 17.9 points per game, giving her 538 points overall, the most in a single season in program history. She was ranked among the top 60 players in the entire country in scoring, field goals made and three-pointers made. She also shined in the biggest games of the season, scoring a career high 29 points in the program’s second NCAA win ever over SEC Champion Kentucky and registering the game-winning basket against No. 22 Florida Gulf Coast, the team’s first win over a ranked opponent in 45 years. She earned AP Honorable Mention All-America status, making her just the third Tiger to earn All-American honors.
Lucy Rickerson (Women’s Soccer)
A four-time All-Ivy League selection for women’s soccer, Lucy Rickerson helped Princeton to three NCAA tournaments and two Ivy League titles as a regular starter on the back line. Starting 61 games in her career, Rickerson was a part of Tiger teams that held opponents to 0.73 goals per game and 44 shutouts across her four seasons. Rickerson’s rookie season of 2017 saw Princeton advance to the NCAA quarterfinals for the third time in program history, knocking off nationally second-ranked North Carolina in the round of 16. Princeton returned to the NCAA tournament in 2018 and again in 2021 where Rickerson helped the team advance out of the first round of the NCAA tournament for the seventh time in program history. Rickerson earned first-team All-Ivy League honors as a sophomore and a senior, was a second-team honoree as a junior, and opened her career as an honorable mention All-Ivy League, twice earning Academic All-Ivy recognition. Also a United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America third-team honoree as a senior, Rickerson was twice a United Soccer Coaches all-region selection, on the second team as a sophomore and third team as a junior.
Kyla Sears (Women’s Lacrosse)
Kyla Sears has rewritten the record books for Princeton women’s lacrosse during the most successful offensive career in program history. The 2022 Ivy League Attacker of the Year, Sears ranks No. 1 all-time in points by a Tiger with 307, No. 1 in goals with 209, No. 1 in assists with 98 and No. 1 in free position goals with 75. An efficient performer, she has scored at least one goal in every career game played. Her production has made an impact nationally as she ranks No. 7 among active players in points-per-game, No. 12 in goals-per-game, and No. 20 in assists-per-game. A three-time first-team All-Ivy selection, Sears ranks No. 2 all-time in points by an Ivy League player, No. 2 in goals and T-No. 5 in assists. In 2018, she established new Ivy League freshmen records for goals with 64 and points with 83. A three-time Ivy League champion, Sears’ 40 assists in 2019 are a single-season program record. Sears was named one of 25 nominees for the Tewaaraton Award as national player of the year in 2022.
