Gengler to retire after 2004 season
Princeton NJ -- Louise Gengler, whose skill as an athlete and dedication to the ideal of the coach as a teacher have made her one of the greatest names in the history of women's athletics at Princeton, announced this summer that she will retire as women's tennis coach after the 2004 season.
Gengler, a three-sport athlete in the early days of women at Princeton, will be completing her 25th season as the head women's tennis coach. She has led the Tigers to seven Ivy League championships and four EITA championships and has a career record of 323-174 entering her final season. Gengler's tenure at Princeton is the longest of any woman coach in school history. She currently trails only men's track coach Fred Samara and women's track coach Peter Farrell among active Princeton coaches in length of service. "Few people have had as remarkable a career in athletics at Princeton as Louise Gengler," said Director of Athletics Gary Walters. "As an undergraduate, she was a pioneer in the evolution of women's athletics at Princeton. As a coach, she has been a tremendous role model and teacher to the student-athletes who have been fortunate to play for her." Gengler came to Princeton in 1972, two years after women were first admitted. She and her two sisters, Marjory of the class of 1973 and Nancy of the class of 1980, continued the family tradition of attending Princeton, a tradition that included her father Herb Gengler of the class of 1931 and grandfather John Logan of the class of 1913, a Walter Camp All-America in football. In addition, another uncle, Art Gengler '33, attended Princeton, and this past spring her nephew Trevor Smith '03 captained the men's tennis team. Louise Gengler played tennis, ice hockey and field hockey and won the 1975 C. Otto von Kienbusch Award as the top senior sportswoman at Princeton. She then played professional platform tennis, twice earning the No. 1 ranking in the country, while also serving as a teaching tennis pro before returning to Princeton as head women's tennis coach in 1980. "I will have had 25 years," said Gengler. "It's been a great career for me. I plan to stay involved in tennis and remain in the Princeton area. Now I'm looking forward to the next step I take. When I took the job, I thought I'd do it a few years and then go to business school. But I really got involved and felt challenged, and Princeton is a great place to work." Away from tennis, Gengler is an avid baseball fan who started the Taking Kids Out program to bring children to Trenton Thunder baseball games to introduce them to that sport and theme-based academic lessons (see story on this page). Article courtesy of Athletic Communications |
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