At the end of the 2021 season, in recognition of their four outstanding years at student-athletes, Julie Lord of women’s tennis and Amanda Lee of women’s golf were both named Lake Forest’s nominees for NCAA Women of the Year for the Midwest Conference, and over the summer, men’s soccer’s Joao Godoy was named Athlete of the Year for Men’s and Mixed Sports for the Midwest Conference.
Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year award is rooted in Title IX and recognizes graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their NCAA eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service, and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.
Lord captured three Midwest Conference championships at #1 doubles and two at #1 singles and led Lake Forest to a league title and the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament in 2018-19. With a record of 135-45, in singles and doubles combined, Lord finished her career ranked third in program history in overall victories. She was voted her team's Most Valuable Player as a freshman and senior and captained the squad in 2021. The communication major earned Academic All-MWC and Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar-Athlete honors all four years and graduated in May with a 3.945 cumulative grade point average. While on campus the Richter Scholar took part in the MWC Female and Ethnic Minority Mentoring Program and served as Athletic Council Vice President, a First Year Studies mentor, and a German tutor. She also donated her time through programs and organizations such as National Girls and Women in Sports Day, Special Olympics, and Feed My Starving Children.
Lee The women's golf team's two-year captain and four-time MWC owns the second-lowest career scoring average (85.40) and three of the top seven rounds in program history. She won six events during her career and led the Foresters to four top-three finishes at the conference championships. Lee earned All-MWC and Academic All-MWC accolades her first two seasons and was named All-SLIAC and a SLIAC All-Academic honoree each of the last two years. Lee earned All-MWC and Academic All-MWC accolades her first two seasons and was named All-SLIAC and a SLIAC All-Academic honoree each of the last two years. She graduated with a 3.96 GPA while majoring in business (accounting concentration) and international relations with a minor in Chinese. She was Athletic Council's vice president for administration, a member of the College's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and a Richter Scholar. She also served as fundraising manager, mission director, vice president, and president for the College's Relay for Life program and as a teachers' assistant at the Gorton Community Center's Children's Drop-in Center. Lee received the College's Nicholas J. Wasylik Senior Athletic Award in 2021 for her drive, determination, and positive outgoing attitude.
The Midwest Conference (MWC) Athletes of the Year is awarded to one student-athlete representing women’s sports and one student-athlete representing men’s and mixed sports, the MWC Athletes of the Year award honors graduating student-athletes for their exceptional achievements in athletics, academics, leadership, and community service. A
s the inaugural recipient of the MWC Athlete of the Year award representing men’s and mixed sports, Godoy helped lead the Forester men's soccer team to an overall record of 35-23-3 and a league mark of 21-6-0 over the last four years. Lake Forest advanced to the four-team MWC Tournament in each of Godoy’s first three seasons and won the event to earn a spot in the NCAA Division III Tournament in 2017. Successful in the classroom as well, Godoy graduated with a 3.93 cumulative grade point average and was a three-time Academic All-MWC honoree. The double major in finance and mathematics also earned Third Team Academic All-American® accolades from the College Sports Information Directors of America this spring. Godoy was also involved in several community service initiatives while in school. He volunteered his time at Feed My Starving Children and Bernie's Book Bank on numerous occasions and participated in the Special Olympics and Relay for Life on campus. In addition, he traveled through Europe and Brazil visiting underpriviledged schools and soccer clubs as part of Spirit of Football.