Pyne Winner

First and foremost, congratulations to Ella Gantman, the women's soccer goalkeeper who was announced yesterday as one of the two winners of the 2023 Pyne Prize.

You can read all about Gantman and the other winner, Austin Davis, HERE.

From the release: The Pyne Honor Prize, established in 1921, is awarded to the senior who has most clearly manifested excellent scholarship, strength of character and effective leadership.

Also from the release: 

“Ella not only thinks critically about improving the communities that she’s a part of to be more inclusive and engaged, but follows through and creates that change,” said Claire Pinciaro, assistant dean for student life in Yeh College.

If you don't realize it, that's one Princeton women's soccer goalkeeper talking about another. Pinciaro was an All-Ivy selection as a senior, when she helped the Tigers go 7-0-0 in the league and then to a win over West Virginia in the first round of the NCAA tournament before falling to Marquette in the second round.

For the record, Pinciaro made seven saves in the NCAA win over West Virginia. Former head coach Julie Shackford said this after the game: "We have to give a lot of credit to Claire for coming up big both in the first half and the second half."

Gantman's made history of a different kind this past fall, when she had a shutout in the first game ever played on the new Myslik Field at Roberts Stadium. 

As TigerBlog read the University release about the two Pyne winners, he was particularly struck by how Gantman mentioned that she was a "proud product" of the Washington, D.C., public school system. In fact, how about this:

“I am deeply honored to have been selected for this prize,” Gantman said, adding that she was initially shocked upon learning of the award. “I am a proud product of the D.C. Public Schools system, and this level of recognition from an institution like Princeton was never on my to-do list.” Gantman said receiving the Pyne Prize also has inspired reflection. “I was born in a rural rice town in China, and I was orphaned by the time I was a few days old. Most of the children from my orphanage will never step onto a college campus. This prize is a reminder of where I come from, where I am and an encouragement to continue to serve my communities,” she said.

Ever the historian, TB went back through the list of winners of the award, which dates back to 1922. The first winner was Charles Denby Jr., who also had a connection to China, where he spent much of his career as a diplomat. 

There were quite a few names on the LIST OF WINNERS who stood out to TigerBlog. Among them were Art Lane of the Class of 1934, who captained the football team to the 1933 national championship and for whom Princeton's annual award to a senior athlete for outstanding commitment to sport and society is named. Two years after Lane won, the 1936 winner was Pepper Constable, who also was the captain of the national championship football team.

TB doesn't know how many athletes have won the Prize. He does now that football players Brent Woods in 1983 and Alex Sierk in 1999 were winners. Woods, you might recall, was one of the quarterbacks at Princeton in the early 1980s who rewrote the passing record book; Sierk was a placekicker whose field goal on the final play of the 1995 season gave Princeton an outright title.

Hockey player Landis Stankievech was the 2008 winner, which is probably the least shocking news you'll ever hear if you know anything about him. The same is true of Jen Babik, a field hockey/softball player who won in 1993.

The first woman to win was Marsha Levy, and she also became the first woman to be elected as an alumni trustee. She went from Princeton to get her Ph.D. at Yale and is now a professor at NYU in the psychoanalysis area.

Three years later, Sonia Sotomayor was one of the winners. TB didn't have to do a search on her to find out what her current job is.

The list is an impressive one. To be included on it makes you extraordinarily special. 

Make sure you read the accomplishments of this year's winners. You'll see what TB means.