With regular season and/or conference tournament titles in four different sports and top-three finishes in 10 others, 2022-23 was another memorable year for Lake Forest College Athletics.
Forester teams combined for a .665 winning percentage in league contests and a school record 84 all-conference selections. Six athletes at the College were selected as their league's player of the year and five more were named newcomer/rookie of the year or to all-freshman teams. In addition, conference coach of the year honors were bestowed on two members of the department.
As always, Lake Forest College student-athletes also excelled in the classroom in 2022-23. They earned Midwest Conference Elite 20 awards, which are presented to the individual at each MWC Tournament or Championship Meet with the highest cumulative grade point average, in five of the league's 18 sports. Forty-Two Foresters were named Academic All-District® by College Sports Communicators and 91 were inducted into the Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society. A total of 41 conference all-academic team honors went to members of the men's and women's hockey and golf teams and the lists for men's and women's lacrosse will be announced soon. The 2022-23 Academic All-MWC release will come out in July.
Fall
A sport-by-sport summary of 2022-23 begins in the fall with the department's first conference title of the year, which was secured by the men's soccer team with a 2-0 triumph at Grinnell College on the final Saturday of the regular season. Lake Forest hosted the four-team MWC Tournament the next weekend and, in the semifinal, scored twice in the final minute of regulation and once in double-overtime to defeat Knox College 4-3. The next day was also dramatic as a goal with 22.1 seconds on the second half clock gave the Foresters a 2-1 victory over Grinnell and their fourth NCAA Division III Tournament appearance in the last 10 years. With a league-best 0.63 goals against average, .844 save percentage, and four shutouts in eight conference games, goalkeeper Szymon Mocarski was named MWC Defensive Player of the Year. He was joined by defender Rafael Bonilla-Climaco and midfielder Karl Weisenfeld as First Team All-MWC honorees and three more Foresters were Second Team All-MWC selections. Forward Elliot Hull earned the MWC Elite 20 Award.
Record: 8-9-3, 5-1-2 MWC (Champion) | Results | News | Statistics | Roster | History
A week after men's soccer secured a spot in the national tournament, the football team did the same with a 13-7 victory at the University of Chicago. The Foresters claimed back-to-back conference titles for the first time in program history after outscoring their nine MWC opponents 327-71. With a career record of 82-53, Jim Catanzaro is now the winningest head coach in team history and his squad's consecutive NCAA Division III Playoff berths are also a program first. D3football.com named Doug Antonucci a Second Team All-American on special teams after he accounted for half of the team's NCAA Division III-leading eight blocked punts. He was joined by kick returner Damon Bonds (23.8 yards per kickoff return), cornerback Dante Esposito (8 pass breakups, 1 interception in 8 games), defensive end Alex Bendler (20.5 tackles for loss, 11.0 sacks), and safety Trenton Brail (2 interception return touchdowns) as All-Region selections. All five were also First Team All-MWC honorees, as were linebacker Javan Ah-Quin, defensive end Justin Albee, and tackle Ian Ramey. Eight more Foresters garnered Second Team All-MWC accolades.
Record: 9-2, 8-1 MWC (Co-Champion) | Results | News | Statistics | Roster | History
Three sports at the College were conference runners-up in the fall. Women's tennis has now finished among the top two teams in the league six years in a row and has advanced to nine of the last 12 MWC Tournament Finals. Lake Forest players combined to win 47 of 54 individual singles and doubles matches against conference opponents during the regular season. Margaret Bugnacki posted a team-best 31-20 record in singles and doubles combined and, at the 2022 MWC Individual Tournaments, claimed a conference title at #2 singles. Second Team All-MWC honors were earned by Foresters at seven of the other eight positions in the lineup.
Record: 11-10, 5-1 MWC (2nd) | Roster | Results | News | Statistics | History
The Lake Forest volleyball team was also second in the MWC standings and postseason tournament after finishing fifth each of the last three full seasons. The Foresters' appearance in the four-team MWC Tournament was the program's first since 2014 and they reached the event's final for the first time since 2011, helping Katie Rueffer earn MWC Coach of the Year honors. Outside hitter Mary Gegen and middle blocker Madison Stevens racked 298 and 237 kills, respectively, and shared team-high honors with 43 blocks apiece. They were named First Team All-MWC while libero Izzi Visnjevac was a second team selection after tallying 434 digs. Gegen was also the recipient of the MWC Elite 20 Award.
Record: 16-13, 7-1 MWC (2nd) | Results | News | Statistics | Roster | History
The women's soccer team's runner-up finish in the MWC standings was the second in as many years and the Foresters outscored opponents 15-1 in eight conference games. They advanced to a third consecutive MWC Tournament and have now qualified for the four-team event in 23 of the last 28 full seasons. Lake Forest recorded an eight-game winning streak the team's stretch of 11 contests without a loss matched the third-longest run in program history. Goalkeeper Maggie Kersting repeated as MWC Defensive Player of the Year after posting a league-best 0.13 goals against average, .947 save percentage, and 7 shutouts during MWC play. Midfielders Hiwa Brown and Anna Hoffman, defender Krissy Kuwahara, and forward Anna Gracia combined for 18 goals and 6 assists and joined Kersting as First Team All-MWC selections. Gracia was also the MWC Newcomer of the Year and midfielder Paityn Tabor earned the MWC Elite 20 Award for the second time.
Record: 11-5-3, 7-1 MWC (2nd) | Results | News | Statistics | Roster | History
Fielding a lineup of five freshmen, women's golf earned a third-place finish at the 2022 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship Tournament with the lowest 54-hole score in program history (997) by 70 strokes. Gabrielle Krebs was a First Team All-SLIAC honoree after finishing sixth in the individual standings and two of her teammates earned Second Team All-SLIAC accolades by placing in the top 16. Krebs set a school record with a three-day total of 238 at the SLIAC Championships and finished the year with the second-best scoring average (82.05) in school history. The Foresters won a pair of invitationals during the fall and their scoring average of 345.0 also ranks second in team annals.
Roster | Results | News | Statistics | History
The Lake Forest women's cross country team placed sixth while a pair of Forester men competed as individuals at the 2022 MWC Championship Meet. Delfina Jorgensen and Bart Brophy were their respective teams' top runners at the event. A week earlier Monika Wolska posted the Foresters' fastest women's 6-kilometer time of the season with a clocking of 26:44.5 while Lionel Whitehead accomplished the same feat in the men's 8K race at 29:45.2.
Results | News | Statistics | Rosters | History
Winter
Swimming and diving was the first winter sport to compete for a conference title and the Lake Forest women were in contention until the final event. Their 860.5 points at the MWC Championships were just three fewer than the total posted by host Grinnell College, denying the Foresters their first title since 2020. The men placed third and have now finished among the top three in the league in all but one season since 1984. Violet Anderson was named MWC Swimmer of the Year for the second time in her career and added Second Team Academic All-America® honors from College Sports Communicators. She was joined by teammates Ally McCarthy and Amelie Andres as winners of multiple individual events while Helena Blumenau and Harriett Townsend added victories on the women's side and Sebastian Wagoner for the men. Lake Forest also had another MWC Elite 20 Award winner in Caprice Kalvelage. Earlier in the season Vadim Tashlitsky earned his 100th dual meet victory as the Foresters' head coach.
Results | News | Rosters | History
Another runner-up performance was turned in by the men's handball team, which finished just behind Minnesota State University-Mankato at the 2023 U.S. Handball Association National Collegiate Championships in Tucson, Arizona. The women placed fifth in Lake Forest was fourth in the combined team standings. Forester Dylan Schmitt edged out teammate Collin Peters in the Men's A1 Singles final. Zach Dybal and Mitch Dirnbeger also competed in the A1 Division, as did Audrey Peters on the women's side. Lake Forest players added titles in three other singles brackets at the event. Earlier in the season Schmitt was the champion of the Joe Ardito Contenders Tournament.
Results | News | Rosters | History
A six-game winning streak late in the year helped the Forester women's hockey team clinch home-ice advantage in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association Slaats Cup Playoffs for the 11th consecutive full season. Lake Forest also advanced to the semifinals for the 10th time during that span. All-NCHA honors went to goaltender Hannah Turnage, who ranked among the top 10 in the nation with a .943 save percentage and five shutouts and graduated with the second-highest career save percentage in program history. Meanwhile, defenseman Willow Poppleton was named to the NCHA All-Freshman Team, giving the Foresters a player listed among the best rookies in the league in eight of the last nine years.
Record: 15-9-4, 9-5-2 NCHA (4th) | Results | News | Statistics | Roster | History
A 121-120 overtime victory over Grinnell in the season finale gave men's basketball at least a .500 record in MWC play for the eighth consecutive full season. The Foresters had the leading scorer in the conference in guard Alex Knight, who was a First Team All-MWC selection after scoring 18.1 points per league game. Forward Johnny Roeser was the top rebounder (10.5 rpg) during the conference season and point guard Elijah Bull ranked second in assists (3.8 apg). Lake Forest's .470 field goal percentage on the year was the highest mark in the MWC.
Record: 11-14, 8-8 MWC (5th) | Results | News | Statistics | Roster | History
Men's hockey earned eight of a possible 12 points against the top two teams in the NCHA, posting a victory and tie against Adrian College and a pair of shootout wins over Aurora University. The Foresters added a triumph in game two of the team's NCHA Harris Cup Playoff series at Aurora before being eliminated in the ensuing 20-minute minigame. Defenseman Matteas Derraugh scored six goals, assisted on 14, and was +16 en route to earning all-conference honors from the NCHA and First Team West All-American accolades from the American Hockey Coaches Association. Forward Colin Bella, Lake Forest's leading scorer with 14 goals, was named to the NCHA All-Freshman Team and the Foresters matched their own conference record with 22 NCHA All-Academic Team honorees.
Record: 11-12-4, 7-8-3 NCHA (7th) | Results | News | Statistics | Roster | History
The women's basketball team was the top-scoring unit in the MWC at 72 points per contest, a mark that increased to 78.8 while Lake Forest won five of the last eight games of the season. Guard Katie Neher was named MWC Player of the Year after leading the league and ranking 18th in the country with 20.9 points per game. She turned in the Foresters' first 500-point season in more than two decades and became the ninth player in program history to surpass 1,000 career points. Guard Maurissa Edwards (14.9 ppg) and forward Annie Lally (14.5 ppg) were also among the top five scorers in the league.
Record: 9-15, 5-11 MWC (7th) | Results | News | Statistics | Roster | History
Spring
In just its second season after returning to varsity status at the College, the men's lacrosse program captured its first conference title by defeating the other five teams in the Midwest Lacrosse Conference by a combined score of 85-32. Farwell Field, the site of two dramatic conference tournament victories by the men's soccer team in the fall, hosted another in early May as Lake Forest erased multiple three-goal deficits and scored with just 3.3 seconds on the clock to defeat University of Dubuque 10-9 in the final and advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Foresters led the nation in caused turnovers per game and Conor Murphy was fifth in the country individually with 62 in 18 contests. He was joined by midfielder Trip Gaston and defenders Jack Gillard and Connor Tartaglione as First Team All-MLC honorees while six of their teammates were second team or honorable mention selections. Phil Dodson repeated as MLC Coach of the Year and, after racking up a team-high 54 points on 34 goals and 20 assists, attacker Brendan Herbert garnered MLC Rookie of the Year accolades.
Record: 13-5, 5-0 MLC (Champion) | Roster | Results | News | Statistics | History
While a narrow 16-14 loss at College of Saint Benedict during the regular season cost women's lacrosse a second conference title in as many seasons as an NCAA sport, a 16-6 triumph at the same location in the Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference Tournament Final provided redemption and sent the Foresters to their first NCAA Division III Tournament. Lake Forest outscored league opponents 113-51 and won 8 of 12 games in April and May. MWLC Midfielder of the Year Ali Graham excelled all over the field, leading Lake Forest with 50 goals, 66 points, 47 caused turnovers, 76 draw controls, and 54 ground balls on the year. Attacker Jenna Doctor scored 46 goals and was also a First Team All-MWLC selection and six of their teammates were named to the second team.
Record: 9-10, 6-1 MWLC (2nd) | Roster | Results | News | Statistics | History
For the second year in a row, men's tennis placed second in the conference in both regular season and postseason play. Lake Forest won five of six regular season league matches by the same 9-0 score and blanked Cornell College 5-0 to advance to the MWC Championship Match for the seventh time in the last nine years. Oleksyi Vyshyvanyuk repeated as MWC Player of the Year award after defending his individual conference title at #1 singles. Forester players added runner-up finishes (Second Team All-MWC honors) at seven of the other eight positions in the lineup and Kyle Lassen earned the MWC Elite 20 Award.
Record: 11-9, 5-1 MWC (2nd) | Roster | Results | News | Statistics | History
It was a record-setting spring for the men's golf team, which turned in the best round in program history with a six-over 294 at the Forester Spring Invite on April 14 and then shattered that mark with a one-over 289 at the next day's WLC Spring Invitational. The Foresters also broke the 36-hole record two weeks earlier with a score of 600 and bested the previous 54-hole mark by 17 strokes with a 901, good for third place at the season-ending St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships. Chris Petri finished fifth in the league with a 221 (+5), the program's best individual three-round score, and Max Golding also earned First Team All-SLIAC honors with a sixth-place 224 (+6). Golding, who transferred to the College before the spring semester, set a new school record for scoring average at 74.80 and the team's mark of 306.38 is also the program's best.
Roster | Results | News | Statistics | History
The Lake Forest softball team won its last nine regular season games and qualified for a 23rd consecutive four-team MWC Tournament. Included in the winning streak was the 500th victory for Joe Kinsella as a collegiate head coach. The Foresters outscored opponents 239-154 over the course of the spring and ranked second in the conference with a .316 batting average and 2.73 earned run average. After batting .355 with five home runs and 35 runs batted in, right fielder Elena Chrisman was named Second Team All-Region by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Chrisman, second baseman Kelly Collins (.404 batting average), and catcher Kyla Chevalier (.393, 6 home runs) were First Team All-MWC selections and two of their teammates were second team honorees.
Record: 26-14-1, 12-4 MWC (3rd) | Roster | Results | News | Statistics | History
The final team to compete in 2022-23 was track, which set 10 outdoor school records during the season, including seven at the MWC Championship meet. Three of those marks came from sixth-place finishes by AJ Jones in the women's 100m (12.67), Mary Radziewicz in the women's 200m (26.22), and Matthew Lungu in the men's 400m (50.92). Lungu and Jones also set team records in the 60m and 200m during the indoor season. With 22 men and 22 women on the roster, the Foresters fielded the largest team in program history.
Rosters | Results | News | History
2022-23 by the Numbers
Overall Record: 168-131-15 (.559)
Conference Record: 89-43-7 (.665)
Conference Titles: 3
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 4
School Records: 132
All-Conference: 84
All-Region: 7
All-American: 2
Conference Newcomer/Rookie of the Year or All-Freshman Team: 5
Conference Player of the Year: 6
Conference Coach of the Year: 2
Conference Player/Performer of the Week: 37
Academic All-Conference: 41 (so far, Academic All-MWC will be announced in July)
MWC Elite 20: 5
CSC Academic All-District: 42
Academic All-America: 1