October 2 was Lake Forest College's Homecoming and the Forester volleyball team's match against Monmouth College and football team's game against Cornell College capped off a day full of celebration. It was the College's first Homecoming since 2019.
The festivities began with the unveiling of the new locker rooms in Halas Hall. The College added men's and women's lacrosse as varsity sports this year and they will occupy two of the newly-renovated spaces in the building. New locker rooms for men's and women's soccer were also created and the football locker room received significant enhancements. Donors got their first look at the finished product Saturday morning.
The Breakfast of Champions was next on the schedule. Traditionally held in the Mohr Student Center, the event was moved to the Sports and Recreation Center, where Forester Athletic Hall of Fame inductees and their guests enjoyed a meal served by Parkhurst.
After the meal, College President Stephen D. Schutt and Vice President for Athletics and Career Advancement Jackie Slaats led the annual Athletic Recognition Ceremony. The event featured the induction of Tracy Rainey '10 (softball/basketball), Dan Carter '10 (football), Katie Snowden '07 (cross country/hockey), and Steve Pape '90 (football) into the Forester Athletic Hall of Fame. In addition, the Forester Impact Award was presented to the family of the late Jean Whyte Mohr '52 and Frank Mohr Jr. '52 for their decades of loyalty and commitment to the College and Forester Athletics. The honorees were also recognized on the field at halftime of the football game later in the day.
Jean and Frank Mohr were instrumental in the recent addition of varsity women's lacrosse and restoration of the men's program, which had been discontinued in 1994. Their generosity enabled the College to install artificial turf on the entire area south of Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse, which is now capable of hosting lacrosse, softball, and soccer games and practices. The venue was named Mohr Field in their honor and, after Saturday's Athletic Recognition Ceremony, guests moved out side for the facility's official dedication.
In addition to the scheduled events, tailgating on South Campus began at in the morning and continued throughout the afternoon and into the evening. There was also an opportunity for fans, parents, and alumni to purchase old jerseys and other Forester apparel at the annual rummage sale, which was held before and during the football game on Farwell Field.
In addition to celebrating the Foresters' Tradition of Excellence, fans cheered on a pair of current teams Saturday afternoon. Volleyball unfortunately fell in four sets to Monmouth College while football blanked Cornell College 17-0 in a game that was declared final before the beginning of the second half due to weather. Meanwhile, the men's and women's soccer teams were victorious at Monmouth College and Oleksyi Vishyvanyuk was competing in the third round of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regional Tournament.
"It is always great to have alumni back on campus," noted Lake Forest College Director of Athletics and Head Football Coach Jim Catanzaro. "This year, after being off in 2020, was extra sweet. The alumni, family and friends that made this weekend special I am confident enjoyed it as much as we did!"