Five Finalists Named For C. Otto Von Kienbusch Award
Five Princeton student-athletes have been named finalists for the C. Otto von Kienbusch award which is awarded 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 KLienbusch Award will be presented at the Gary Walters '67 Princeton Varsity Club Awards Banquet on Thursday, May 22nd starting at 5:00 p.m. ET. For more information on the 2025 banquet, click here.
Meet the 2025 finalists!
McKenzie Blake | Women's Lacrosse
The Princeton women's lacrosse record books have been rewritten by McKenzie Blake during her four seasons at Sherrerd Field. A sociology major from Haddonfield, N.J., Blake's 231 goals are the most ever by a Princeton women's lacrosse player and fifth-most among all active Division I players and sit as the second-most ever by an Ivy League player. Blake has amassed 263 career points during her career, ranking No. 4 all-time by a Princeton player and No. 6 all-time by an Ivy League player. The 2025 unanimous Ivy League Attacker of the Year, Blake is a three-time first-team All-Ivy selection whose 2025 season has seen her break the Ivy League record for goals in a season with 89 surpassing a record that had stood for 44 years. A two-time selection to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List, Blake was 1 of 25 nominees for the Tewaaraton this season which is presented annually to the nation's Most Outstanding Player. An honorable mention All-American in 2024, Blake is a two-time first-team All-Region selection and has earned five different Offensive Player of the Week honors during her career. Three times during the 2025 season, Blake tied the program record for goals in a game with eight tallies, becoming the first player in program history to reach that mark multiple times during a career. Over the course of her Princeton career, Blake has scored at least one goal in 69 of 71 career games played including each of the final 38 of her career. A part of two outright Ivy League championships during her freshman and senior seasons, Blake led her team to three NCAA Tournament appearances during her four seasons, reaching the second round all three times and advancing to the 2025 NCAA Quarterfinals.
Katherine George | Women's Open Rowing
One of the best rowers in the country, Katherine George has collected two first-team All-American honors and was selected as a finalist for the CRCA Athlete of the Year last year. All George has ever known is the first varsity as she helped the Tigers to the Ivy League title and a bronze medal at NCAAs as a freshman, the boat's best finish since 2013 at the time. As a sophomore, George rowed on the varsity eight that did not lose in the regular season including a victory over No. 1 Texas, ending the Longhorn's 22-race winning streak. George and the Tigers won 2023 Ivy gold, earning the program's fourth straight Ivy crown and third consecutive Ivy team title. Princeton earned bronze again at NCAAs in 2023, leading the team to third place in the team Standings, marking the first time in program history that Princeton finished top three in consecutive seasons. In 2024, George paced the 1V to the top time at the Ivy League Championships, earning the program the Sally P. Shoemaker Trophy and the NCAA automatic bid. George will look to make it four for four as the Tigers compete for the 2025 Ivy League championship this weekend on the Cooper River. The history major from Chearsley, United Kingdom has secured two All-Ivy accolades and has led the Tigers' 1V to a 31-3 mark in her four seasons during the regular season.
Victoria Liu | Women's Golf
Few women's golfers in program history have put together a four-year career like Victoria Liu. A computer science major from Vancouver, British Columbia, Liu has won eight career tournaments during her time on the course as a Tiger which is tied for the fourth-most wins all-time by a Princeton women's golfer. A two-time Ivy League Player of the Year in 2023 and 2024, she began her career with a selection as Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 2022. Liu was the Ivy League Championship medalist in 2022 and 2024, making her one of four players in Ivy League history, each of them fellow Tigers, to win multiple individual Ivy League women's golf championships. Liu is a four-time NCAA Regionals selection, twice competing alongside her teammates after an Ivy title, and twice earning an individual at-large selection. A three-time first-team All-Ivy selection, Liu has won her home event at the Princeton Invitational three times. In 2023 and 2024, Liu received a sponsor's exemption to compete as an amateur on the CPKC Women's Open in Canada to make her first two career starts on the LPGA.
Mena Scatchard | Women's Cross Country
An eight-time Ivy League champion, Mena Scatchard is one of the most accomplished distance runners in the 47 year history of Princeton women's track and field. A 2025 NCAA indoor runner-up in the mile, Scatchard is just the second Tiger to place that high at nationals - and she did it while climbing from 10th to second with the fastest final two laps in the entire field. At the conference level, Scatchard won individual Ivy League titles in four events, while winning four 4x800 relay titles. She set four facility records during her championship performances. Additionally, she is a nine-time First Team and three-time Second Team All-Ivy honoree. A public & international affairs major from North Yorkshire, U.K., Scatchard has rewritten the Princeton record books during her four years. She holds six program records, including the 5000m, 1500m, 3000m, mile, 4x800 relay and distance medley relay. She also ranks second all-time in the Princeton record books in three other events, while making the all-time top-10 in four more. Scatchard's performances have landed her in the Ivy League all-time top-10, all-meets in seven events. A rare middle distance runner that also excels on the cross country course, Scatchard is a two-time All-Ivy performer and finished second overall to lead the Tigers to their first cross country Heps title in nine years. Scatchard's individual achievements and leadership have guided Princeton women's cross country and women's track and field to new heights this year, helping the program complete its first Triple Crown since 2011 and third all-time - two milestones that will be cemented and cherished in the history of the program.
Kayla Yelensky | Women's Water Polo
A four-time CWPA All-Conference player and soon to be three-time All-American, Kayla Yelensky was the engine of the Princeton Women's Water Polo Team's offense during her time with the Tigers. Yelensky led the Tigers to three CWPA Championship appearances including the 2023 and 2024 titles. In 2023, Yelensky registered 60 goals and 87 points for a squad that finished 30-4 overall, just the third team in program history to have least 30 victories (2014, 2015). Princeton won the CWPA title that season and reached the national semifinals for the first time ever, marking the first non-West Coast team to get to the Final Four since 2016. Yelensky set a new career high with 94 goals in 2025 becoming just the third Tiger to ever record 90+ goals in a season. A School of Public and International Affairs major from Stamford, Conn., Yelensky is a three-time ACWPC All-Academic Team member and CWPA Scholar Athlete, finishing her career with 278 goals, second-most all-time, along with 113 assists, 91 steals and 179 drawn ejections.
