At Cornell, female athletes are defining excellence on their own terms — their achievements stretching far beyond the scoreboard. Their stories are shaped not just by records and wins, but by resilience, community and the work it takes to get there. The Sun spoke with three female athletes, Emily Pape ’26, Hojung Yoon ’27 and Annelies Bergmann ’27, who are proud to belong to the Red.
Emily Pape ’26
Emily Pape is a senior forward on the women’s basketball team. She is from Chicago and is studying environment and sustainability in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. This year, she recorded her 1000th career point in the team’s win against Dartmouth, ending her basketball career with 1,111 points and 112 made threes.
Pape has been playing basketball since second grade, but playing in college was not initially on her radar, as neither of her parents were collegiate athletes. Eventually, family friend Jim Kilburg, who coached Pape and her sister throughout high school, inspired her to look into the recruiting process.
Pape used the unexpected time off during the COVID-19 pandemic to perfect her game and work towards the Division I level. She now plays for the Red alongside her sister, freshman guard/forward Ally Pape. She wears number 32 in Kilburg's honor, after he passed away in 2021.
Pape is honored to represent Cornell as a female athlete.
“It’s incredible to be around such amazing women and meet different people on different sports teams too,” Pape said. “It makes you realize how special this community is, just female athletes and college athletics in general. It makes you realize how much it took for everyone to get here and how accomplished all these women are.”
Pape’s appreciation of hard work shows up in her game. She ended her senior season averaging 10.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. She set a new career high with 54 made threes this season, the fourth most made in a single season in the team’s history.
When asked what advice she would give to young female athletes, Pape spoke to the importance of believing in oneself.
“I know it's easier said than done, but trust yourself and know that especially in athletics or out of athletics, you’ve put in the work. Trust that you know what you’re doing.”
Pape notes a few role models that have shaped her confidence both on and off the court. She looks up to Jewel Lloyd, a WNBA player on the Seattle Storm who played on Pape’s club basketball team during the pandemic. She also credits her Cornell coaching staff who have helped her gain strength and confidence as both a player and person.
Hojung Yoon ’27
Hojung Yoon ’27 is a backstroke and individual medley specialist for the women’s swim team. From La Crescenta, California and enrolled in the Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Management, Yoon holds school-record times in three events: the 200-yard backstroke, the 200-yard individual medley and the 400-yard individual medley.
This past season, Yoon was the Red’s leading scorer at the Women’s Ivy League Swim and Dive Championship, posting a tally of 63 points and helping the Red achieve sixth place — its highest placement at the Championship in 16 years. Yoon described it as “exciting.”
“This season… I could tell there was a shift in the team environment and morale,” Yoon said. “Over the course of the season, I think we improved as a team, swimming and academic wise. We just had a lot of fun. I think that helped us achieve the goals we wanted at the end of the season.”
Yoon is undoubtedly a star of women’s swimming at Cornell, yet she almost did not attend the school at all. Given that five of Yoon’s swimming club teammates were already at Cornell, she felt uneasy about committing to Cornell.
“When I started my recruiting process as a junior [in high school], I told myself, ‘oh, I’m not going to Cornell because five of my former teammates were already there,’” Yoon said. “I wanted to be somewhere else, where nobody knew me and I could have a fresh start.”
However, Yoon’s mother, Kyungjin Lee, eventually persuaded Yoon to visit. Lee didn’t want her daughter to be too far away from her eldest sister, Jungmin Yoon ’26, who also swims for the Red.
“My mom said, ‘I would love for you to at least take a recruiting trip to Cornell,’” Hojung said. “‘I would feel better knowing that you go to school… with [Jungmin].’”
Hojung committed to the Red during her senior season, after “seeing” all the positive aspects of Cornell her club teammates had described.
Now a junior, Hojung has come around on her former Cornell skepticism.
“I’m really glad I came to Cornell,” Hojung said. “I’ve just met phenomenal people, people who will stay in my life forever.
When asked about her general feelings of being a female athlete, Hojung considers representing Cornell to be a great honor.
“It’s such a privilege to be at Cornell,” Hojung said. “I think bringing attention to women's sports and how we can do the same exact things [as men] is such a privilege to do at Cornell.”
Annelies Bergmann ’27
When asked about her relationship to hockey outside of the rink, junior goaltender of the women's ice hockey team Annelies Bergmann described herself as “the least hockey-loving hockey player ever.” While not an avid supporter of the sport in her personal life, she spends countless hours on the ice, dedicating herself to the sport.
Passionate and dedicated to her craft, Bergmann reflected on her time on the Red fondly, saying "there's no better place to be than at this school that combines athletics and academics, I wouldn't change a thing.”
After a challenging freshman season, in which the daunting weight of a new environment, new experiences and overall mental pressure to succeed felt overwhelming, Bergmann persevered and won Ivy League Rookie of the Year with a 20-7-1 record.
The goaltender referenced her sophomore season being the time where she “nailed down the mental aspect.”
She recalled a game in which the team was trailing 3-1 against Quinnipiac and in a moment of near defeat, her teammate senior defender Grace Dwyer reminded her that the team had her back and that one loss wasn't everything. During the final 10 minutes of the game, they fought back and ended up in a 3-3 tie, teaching Bergmann the value of her team's support and the strength of believing in herself
With a constantly shifting team environment, including the loss of 11 players who graduated after Bergmann’s Freshman year, the team shifted from a group of strong experienced core players to a younger and smaller team. While many would see this as a detriment, Bergmann said the younger personalities kept things fun and fresh but the team still held each other accountable.
Bergmann highlighted the team culture as a fundamental part of her success.
After being named the 2024-2025 ECAC Goaltender of the Year, she cited her success greatly to her team, stating “the team won that award.” She spoke about how the team improved significantly every year, with a commitment to each other and the sport, while finding the fun in every moment.
“This team always dedicates themselves to creating a dynamic environment where every woman can thrive and is supported academically and personally,” said Bergmann.
With this mentality, she was able to win the ECAC tournament with her team last season and rack up 54 saves in the semifinals. But more than that, Bergmann expressed how it felt greater than just a trophy — it was a team bonding moment.
When asked about the highlights of her college career so far, she referenced the locker room after every home game win, stating “looking around the locker room, seeing smiles and holding hands with my closest friends, those are the moments that I feel represent Cornell hockey.”
Jane Haviland is a member of the Class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is a features editor for the News department and can be reached at jhaviland@cornellsun.com.
