The Daily Princetonian names Athletes of the Year

Adele McCarthy-Beauvais

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 and 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.

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."

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.

Yasser El-Halaby

Yasser El-Halaby, this year's Daily Princetonian male Athlete of the Year, made attending a squash match this season worthwhile. Though "Yass-man," as his fans called him, was backed by what proved to be the nation's second best squash team, there was always something different about watching him play — something different in the way he moved, in how he nailed his shots, and even in the way he competed.

It was almost the difference between men and boys, one might say, which is not to degrade the men's squash team but instead to say that El-Halaby is a man amongst the boys he competes against.

Of course, this is funny, because El-Halaby is only just a freshman, and still 18 years old. He was younger than every player he competed against, which only means that he was younger than every single player he beat. As he lost only one match the entire season, competing and winning are nearly synonymous to him.

It is almost mind-numbing to think what El-Halaby might be able to accomplish in his next three seasons at Princeton, because it seems as if he has accomplished all he possibly can in just his first try. It is unnecessary to remark that Princeton squash, and Princeton University, is very, very fortunate to have Yasser, who certainly will bring excitement to the C-Floor of Jadwin Gymnasium for what we hope to be three more glorious seasons.

That is of course, if the United States Immigration do not give him any more trouble as it did at the beginning of the academic year.

The freshman was named the 'Prince's' male Athlete of the Year hands down. His spectacular season statistics speak for themselves.

He claimed the collegiate squash national championship with a 3-0 defeat of senior teammate Will Evans. Playing No. 1 singles all season, El-Halaby helped the Tigers win the Ivy League title and led the team to a No. 2 finish behind Trinity in the National Team Championships.

Most impressively, in his freshman season El-Halaby lost just one single match, to Trinity's Bernardo Samper on Feb. 15. The Yass-man turned the tables in the Team Championships, however, winning 3-0. He also defeated Samper, the 2002 National Champion, in the National Five-Man competition in mid-December.

The freshman garnered a number of post-season accolades which certainly deserve mention. He was named Ivy League Player and Rookie of the Year along with All-Ivy Team honors with senior teammates David Yik and Will Evans. El-Halaby was also named first-team All-American and, with his win in the finals of the intercollegiate individual championships, is college squash's finest player.