W. lacrosse coach Sailer looks to extend success

Chris Sailer, head coach of the women's lacrosse team, does not like to do things just once.

During her career as Princeton's coach, she was named Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year, not once, not twice, but five separate times, in 1992, 1993, 1994, 2000 and 2001. Three times, in 1993, 1994 and 2000, she was honored by her peers as the Division I Coach of the Year.

With a personal record like that, winning has got to be a habit. Indeed, the winning percentage she has amassed during her time with the Tigers indicates that it is.

Sailer, entering her 16th season at Princeton, has won 182 games and lost only 68. She has reeled in five Ivy League titles and eight Final Four appearances.

Under Sailer's steady leadership, Princeton has been national runner-up three times (1993, 1995 and 2000). The Tigers have also reached the national semifinals four times (1989, 1992, 1996 and 2001) and the quarters twice (1998 and 1999).

The 1994 season brought Sailer's career to the highest level a college coach could hope for. That year – undoubtedly the greatest in Princeton women's lacrosse history — Sailer's team won the NCAA title.

Actually, the NCAA crown was just another gem on the top of an already impressive pile of jewels for the 1994 season. Also that year, Princeton won its first outright Ivy title and set school records for wins (16), consecutive wins (14), points (344), goals (231) and assists (113).

Three other years — 1989, 1992 and 1995 — Sailer's Tigers reached No. 1 status; for most of 2000, they were No. 2; and they have been ranked among the nation's top 10 the last 13 years.

Not only have Sailer's teams been successful, but individual players have excelled as well. Sailer has coached 27 of Princeton's 29 All-America selections. In 1998, she became the first women's lacrosse coach in Ivy history to have both the League's Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year the same season.

Sailer surged into Princeton on a wave of athletic prowess. She was captain of both the lacrosse and field hockey teams at Harvard. Twice she was a first-team All-Ivy pick in lacrosse, and she was a member of the U.S. national team. Upon graduation from Harvard in 1981, she received the Radcliffe Alumni Association Award for athletic excellence and leadership.

Before a one-year stint as assistant coach for both field hockey and lacrosse at Penn, Sailer attended the University of Massachusetts, where she earned a master's degree in sports management. She also taught and coached at Choate Rosemary Hall from 1981-1984.

Sailer's other credentials include serving as president of the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association from 1996-1999 and being honored by both the Harvard Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Haverford High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1998. In 1996, she was inducted into the New England Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

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But more so than credentials, what really makes a good coach is personality – the ability to inspire players, not just impress them. Once again, coach Sailer meets the test.

"What makes Chris such a great coach is her ability to get the most out of her players," senior attack Kim Smith said. "Chris has instilled in us the drive to improve each day and compete with one another while also stressing the value of teamwork and dedication."

Sailer will continue to do just that, because to this coach, not even 16 times is enough to break a habit.