TOP TIGER: Princeton University women’s basketball player Kaitlyn Chen dribbles up the court in a game this past winter. Senior star point guard Chen was named last Thursday as the recipient of the 2024 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. Tiger men’s senior fencer Tristan Szapary was named as the winner of the 2024 William Winston Roper Trophy which is awarded annually to a Princeton senior man of high scholastic rank and outstanding qualities of sportsmanship and general proficiency in athletics. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

As Kaitlyn Chen played in her final game at Jadwin Gym for the Princeton University women’s basketball squad this past March, she reflected on the special ride she has enjoyed with her teammates.

“This school is just amazing and it is surrounded by such great people,” said Chen, a 5’9 native of San Marino, Calif., who helped Princeton defeat Penn 72-55 that night as the Tigers clinched a tie for the Ivy League regular season crown. “I am just lucky to be here and be able to celebrate this with them. I will just be grateful for all of the memories I have made here and all of the friendships and relationships that I have grown and developed. Those will be with me the rest of my life.”

Last Thursday evening at the Gary Walters ’67 Princeton Varsity Club Awards Banquet, Chen’s memorable career was celebrated as she won the 2024 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. NCAA champion épée fencer Tristan Szapary won the 2024 William Winston Roper Trophy, which is awarded annually to a Princeton senior man of high scholastic rank and outstanding qualities of sportsmanship and general proficiency in athletics.

Star point guard Chen made an indelible impact in just three seasons as her freshman campaign was canceled due to COVID-19 issues. Chen led the Tigers to three Ivy League titles, three Ivy League Tournament crowns, and three NCAA Tournament appearances.

Chen, an anthropology major, helped the Tigers become the first Ivy League women’s team to win NCAA Tournament games in back-to-back seasons as they topped Kentucky 69-62 in the 2022 NCAA tournament and then edged N.C. State 64-63 in a first round contest in 2023. A two-time unanimous First-Team All-Ivy selection and 2023 Ivy Player of the Year, Chen helped the Tigers go 74-16 during her time at Princeton, including three Top-25 victories.

The true definition of a student-athlete, Chen was named a College Sports Communicators Second Team Academic All-American as a senior, the program’s first since 2016, after finishing her Tiger career with 1,276 points also with 359 assists, the third highest total in program history. In her senior season, Chen averaged 15.8 points and 4.9 assists a game as the Tigers went 25-5.

In the wake of the win over Penn in Chen’s Jadwin finale, Princeton head coach Carla Berube credited her point guard with refusing to let the Tigers lose.

“She rises up in the biggest of times, in the biggest of games; we knew she wasn’t going to allow an Ivy League championship slip through her fingers,” said Berube of Chen, who is heading to UConn this fall to play for the powerhouse Huskies as a graduate transfer. “She was making great plays for her teammates and for herself. I think she read the floor really well tonight.”

Szapary, for his part, also displayed a knack for rising to the occasion as he capped his senior year by winning the NCAA épée title. It was Princeton’s ninth individual men’s fencing national championship and first since 2012. The All-American honor that came with the NCAA title was Szapary’s second straight.

Szapary’s final bouts as a member of the Princeton fencing team added him to the program’s record books for all-time when he knocked off top-seeded Henry Lawson of Harvard, 15-9, in the épée semifinals and then beat Notre Dame’s Jonathan Hamilton-Meikle 15-14, winning on a double touch to take the title.

Over his Tiger career, Szapary, a two-time team captain and a neuroscience major from Wynnewood, Pa., was a two-time NCAA regional champion and three-time All-Ivy League honoree, twice earning first-team honors. Szapary’s final season also saw the team return to the top of the Ivy League, winning its first men’s Ivy title since 2017. That followed a 2023 season where Szapary helped the team to a national runner-up finish at the 2023 NCAA Championships.