McCarthy-Beauvais writes her name into women's water polo recordbooks

For the last four years, senior Adele McCarthy-Beauvais has been one of the cornerstones of the women's water polo team.

In a sport that has only existed at Princeton for a mere six years, McCarthy-Beauvais has certainly written her name into this program's history.

In her sophomore season, she made her first mark on the team, setting the all-time scoring record for Princeton University. In her four seasons as a Tiger, McCarthy-Beauvais has averaged nearly 90 goals.

In her Princeton career, McCarthy-Beauvais has helped the Tigers earn three Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships as well as two Southern Conference Championships in the Collegiate Water Polo Association.

Additionally, she was named third-team All-America in 2002 and second-team All-America in 2001 and 2000. While this season's All-America teams have not yet been released, McCarthy-Beauvais has already earned honors in the CWPA. In the Southern Conference, she received first-team All-South honors as well as being named to the first team All-East Team.

She was also featured in Sports Illustrated's Faces in the Crowd, and represented the nation as part of the USA National B Team.

Competitive edge

Her coaches attribute her success to her competitive edge. And it is that competitive edge that drove her in her final season wearing the Orange and Black.

As captain of this year's squad, McCarthy-Beauvais has taken a huge role as one of the leaders on the team. But that was a role that she was more than ready for.

Her teammates could not say enough about McCarthy-Beauvais' leadership.

"She just had the best attitude both in and out of the water," sophomore driver Julie Miller said. "Whether it be in practice or in the locker room, she was very very encouraging to everyone on the team.

"She made everybody feel important."

Sophomore two-meter Kathryn Parolin echoed those comments: "She was one of the best players in the pool. But also, she did as much in the pool as she did out of the pool. As captain she did a great job holding our team together."

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In the water, she was one of the scoring leaders once again for the Tigers, helping Princeton to a fourth-place finish at the Eastern Championships this season. In her final game as a Tiger, she led the team with two goals against a tough Michigan squad. On top of that, in her last game at home, the ECAC Championship game against top-seeded Hartwick, the captain netted four goals, two in the third quarter, to catapult the Tigers into the championship spotlight.

"Playing with her in the water made you a better player," Miller said.

Her legacy will long be remembered by both her school and her teammates.

"I'm really going to miss her," Miller said.

Looking back over the year, her name has dominated the Daily Princetonian's coverage of women's water polo. Her contributions to the sport of water polo here at Princeton will not soon be forgotten, and for this reason, the Daily Princetonian names her its Female Athlete of the Year.