PRINCETON, N.J. — Olympic Gold Medalist goalie Ashleigh Johnson (Sr., Miami, Fla./Ransom Everglades) is among 10 finalists for Princeton University’s C. Otto von Kienbusch Award, given to the outstanding senior female athlete at the institution. The winner will be announced June 1 at the Gary Walters ’67 Princeton Varsity Club Awards Banquet.
The 10 finalists are: field hockey player Cat Caro, lacrosse player Ellie DeGarmo, fencer Katharine Holmes, lacrosse player Olivia Hompe, Johnson, hockey player Kelsey Koelzer, soccer player Tyler Lussi, volleyball player Cara Mattaliano, fencer Anna Van Brummen and track and field athlete Julia Ratcliffe.
Ashleigh Johnson
Ashleigh Johnson, who has twice been named the top women’s water polo player in the world, is one of two Princeton athletes ever to win an Olympic gold medal and then return to compete as a Tiger, along with Bill Bradley ’65. Johnson was the goalie on the United States team that won gold at last summer’s Rio Olympics.
As Princeton’s goalie, Johnson finished her career with a 100-17 record, along with a school-record 1,362 saves and a .693 save percentage. She is a 19-time Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Defensive Player of the Week award winner, a four-time first-team all-conference player and the CWPA Player of the Year.
Internationally, she allowed just 28 goals, made 51 saves and was named the tournament’s top goalkeeper in Rio. Johnson was also the first-ever African-American to make the U.S. national team.
A finalist for the 2017 AAU Sullivan Award as the nation’s top amateur athlete, Johnson was also named an espnW IMPACT25 honoree for the Woman of the Year and the Swimming World Magazine’s Female Water Polo Player of the Year for the second straight season. She became the first water polo player to ever win the Women’s Sports Foundation SportsWoman of the Year award.
Johnson is a psychology major from Miami, Florida.
Release courtesy Princeton University Athletics Communications
