Establishment of Girls' Teams
Fall Sports
Girls Cross Country
Started: 1990
Fact: The first Girls Cross Country team got Pingry off to a hot start, finishing with a record of 9–0. Pingry Athletics Hall of Famer Victor Nazario coached the inaugural team and enjoyed six undefeated seasons in a seven-year span from 1990–1996.
Gymnastics
Started: 1978
Fact: Gymnastics ran only three seasons, from 1978–1980.
Girls Soccer
Started: 1976
Fact: In 2020, before mask-wearing fans on the Bugliari World Cup Field, the Girls’ Soccer Team (9–3–1 and seeded #1) tallied a 5–2 victory over Oak Knoll in the NJSIAA Central West, D Non-Public Tournament finals, notching their third straight state sectional title.
Girls Tennis
Started: 1976
Fact: Over the past four seasons, Girls Tennis has won several titles, including the Conference, County, Prep A, Sectional, and Group championships, compiling a 53–1 record. The girls were named NJ.com Team of the Year the past two seasons as the #1-ranked squad in New Jersey.
Volleyball
Started: 2023
Fact: The inaugural season yielded many memorable moments, including the first win in program history—a thrilling 2–1 victory at home over Bound Brook.
Co-ed and Girls Water Polo
Started: Co-ed 1992, Girls 2007
Fact: Carol Wilhelm ’94 and Heather Rooze ’94 were the first girls to join the Coed Water Polo Team in 1992.
Winter Sports
Girls Basketball
Started: 1974
Fact: This past winter, Taylor Francis ’25 joined Katie Occhipinti ’08 and Megan Horn ’18 as members of Girls Basketball’s 1,000 Career Point Club.
Girls Fencing
Started: 1975
Fact: They named their first captains in 1982: Marisa Nucci ’83 and Karen Dennison ’83
Girls Ice Hockey
Started: 1994
Fact: Girls Ice Hockey won their first tournament—the Prep State Championship—in the 1999-2000 season and recently celebrated their first overall NJSIAA State Championship with a win over IHA at the Prudential Center this past March.
Girls Ski Team
Started: Co-ed 1994, Girls 2019
Fact: The girls won back-to-back Non-Public State Championships in 2019 and 2020.
Girls Squash
Started: Co-ed 2003, Girls 2008
Fact: The first female captain at Pingry was Maggie O’Toole ’05 of the inaugural 2003-04 Coed Team, and when the girls got their own team for the 2008-09 season, they made an immediate impact, with Chloe Blacker ’10 winning the NJ State Championship.
Girls Swimming
Started: Co-ed 1974, Girls 1981
Fact: Buffy Cave ’83 and Robin Jervey ’82 captained the first Girls Swimming team, while Ann Cunningham ’78 was a pioneer as the first female swimmer at Pingry, helping the 1974-75 team to a 10–2 record.
Girls Winter Track
Started: Co-ed 1975, Girls 1977
Fact: Sarah Boyd ’77 and Jennifer Groel ’78 were the first two female student-athletes to run for the Winter Track Team.
Co-ed Wrestling
Started: 2022
Fact: Current wrestler Sonia Nkansah ’25 shares, “While wrestling is growing in New Jersey, it’s not always open to girls. There are still parts of the sport that are adjusting to the addition of girls.”
Spring Sports
Cheerleading
Started: 1976
Fact: The final season at Pingry was the spring of 2008, and before the program started in 1975, the boys’ cheerleading team ran from 1954–1966.
Girls Golf
Started: Co-ed 1976, Girls 2007
Fact: Lena Hagman ’77 was the first official female Pingry golfer who paved the way for future successes, like the undefeated 2018 team (16–0).
Girls Lacrosse
Started: 1984
Fact: Current Director of Athletics and Student Success Carter Abbott started coaching the girls’ lacrosse team in 2011 and has grown the program into a perennial powerhouse, consistently ranked among the top teams in the state.
Girls Softball
Started: 1976
Fact: In the 1977 season, despite being only the second year for the Girls Softball program as a varsity squad, they turned in a season for the ages, compiling an impressive 12–3 record and capturing the State Prep Tournament.
Girls Spring Track
Started: 1978
Fact: In 2019, seven girls qualified to compete at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor Meet.