Princeton University

“I pretty much sucked at all of them,” said Yelensky describing her sports playing days as a 10-year-old.

She made a deal with her father, Alex, who played water polo in college at UMass. He got her, as she described it, an obnoxious water polo suit with water polo balls on it and said, once you can zip it up yourself, you can go play.

“I stood in front of the mirror in my room to try and zip it up,” said Yelesnky about her first suit. “Once I got it on, I went to my first practice and it all kind of flowed naturally.”

She still has the suit, by the way.

Yelensky, in high school, transferred to a private school, Greenwich Academy, because it was one of the few places in Connecticut where she could play, and she saw her water polo career grow exponentially.

The future Tiger would travel to the West Coast two or three times a month to play in tournaments where she’d fly out Thursday or Friday then catch the red eye home to get to classes on Monday.

It was a difficult lifestyle for Yelensky, but it exposed her to high level water polo. She got the nickname of East Coast Girl.

“I struggled a little bit feeling like an outsider,” said Yelensky. As time progressed for the Stamford, Conn., native, she kept making teams and eventually got to represent the United States on youth national teams.

Being the East Coast Girl grew on Yelensky. She was down to the top four schools in California and Princeton when it came down to making a college decision.

“I really wanted to go to what felt like home to me and that was Princeton,” said Yelensky. “I’m really happy with my decision while still being that East Coast Girl and competing at the highest level.”

Yelensky immediately made an impact in the pool with the Tigers. She recorded 55 goals, 39 assists, 37 drawn ejections and 36 steals as the Tigers finished third in the CWPA in 2022 and she collected second-team all-conference honors.

“I had no expectations coming in,” said Yelensky about Princeton. “I wanted to be able to learn from my teammates and learn from the program. The collegiate game is way different than what I was used to in high school for many reasons. Having a consistent coaching staff and team was big whereas I grew up playing with boys and it was always up in the air who was on my team when I entered a tournament.”

Yelensky and the Tigers had a dream season in 2023. The Tigers finished 30-4 overall, becoming just the third team in program history to have least 30 victories (2014, 2015). Princeton won the CWPA title and reached the national semifinals for the first time ever, becoming the first non-West Coast team to get to the Final Four since 2016.

Yelensky mentioned the Wagner loss as a turning point in the season. Princeton had just come off beating No. 12 UC Santa Barbara before falling to the Seahawks, 12-8.

“We ended up losing to Wagner and it was a bit of a wakeup call to us,” said Yelensky. “We were able to create a roadmap coming out of 2022 and realized we had all the tools to succeed, and we needed to piece together the puzzle as one unified team.”

The Tigers went on a 15-game winning streak after the Wagner contest. Princeton hosted the CWPA Tournament and it took down No. 18 Harvard, 12-8, in the championship.

Yelensky had jumped into the DeNunzio Pool many times during her career, but the one right after winning the title was extra special.

“I think the moment of jumping into the pool after winning the championship was the final product of months of hard work, dedication, commitment and consistency,” said the two-time CWPA champion.

The Tigers’ run did not stop in the NCAA Tournament as they took down No. 3 Cal, 11-9. Yelensky felt confident going into the game about the Tigers’ chances.

“I remember looking at the scorer’s table before our game and seeing the Cal coach scouting USC (the winner of the game prior),” said Yelensky. “I knew we were going to win the game. They are already overlooking us and they’re not ready.“

Yelensky scored twice and had five drawn ejections in the victory. She followed that with a hat trick and three drawn ejections vs. No. 1 USC, earning NCAA All-Tournament Second-Team honors.

The 2023 season finished with an All-American honor for Yelensky, the first of her career after posting 60 goals, 47 drawn ejections, 27 helpers and 15 blocks. She was even better in 2024, snagging 69 goals, 47 drawn ejections, 31 steals and 23 assists.

Once again, the Tiger was fantastic in big games as she collected four goals in the CWPA Semifinal vs. Brown before five points in the championship victory over No. 13 Michigan, leading to her being named CWPA Tournament Most Valuable Player.  She finished with second-team All-America accolades.

The scoring did not stop in her senior campaign as she snagged a career-high 94 tallies, adding 48 drawn ejections, 24 assists and 21 steals. She was the first Tiger to reach 90 goals in a season since Adele McCarthy-Beauvais in 2002 and just the third player to get to that mark overall. She will graduate second all-time in career goals with 278.

Despite all of that, Yelensky did not care about the honors.

“I play to have fun, and I have fun playing, so when I think about the numbers I get lost in the filler,” said the soon-to-be three-time All-American. “Any record is a true reflection of the team. I think it’s a great honor to have teammates that trust putting the ball in my hand and giving me extra pass to put in the back of the net. In water polo, the most important moments are the seconds leading up to the goal and the goal is the end result of the work put in before it. I appreciate my teammates so much for giving me that opportunity to be at this position, but at the end of the day, it wouldn’t be possible without them.”

Yelensky is part of the Class of 2025 with Grace Houlahan, Kate Mallery and Rachael Carver. That group won 95 games, good for a .772 winning percentage along with two CWPA titles.

While Yelensky and Carver may have secured the most awards among the group, the team leader in goals was more than appreciative of the others in her class.

“Grace is one of the best teammates I have ever had,” said Yelensky. “She has taught me a lot about how to be a good teammate and what characteristics embody that. Kate is someone who, out of the pool, can be the quirkiest, most outgoing teammate, but she also deeply cares about each player on the team. Rachael is the teammate who doesn’t care how much she needs to sacrifice to help the team win.”

Yelensky is immensely proud of what she and her classmates have done during their time at Princeton.

“There are a lot of behind-the-scenes factors that really play into what makes our program what is today and how different we were from my first year,” said the senior captain. “That’s the legacy that I want to leave behind.”

Life after Princeton is not totally set in stone. Yelensky’s water polo career may not be finished as she is in talks with the Israeli national team.

Regardless of what’s next for Yelensky, you know she will be ready for the next shot.