Foresters Finish Off 2014-15 with Record Number of Academic All-Conference Honorees

After an historic year in athletic competition, Lake Forest College teams added yet another school record by earning the most Academic All-Midwest Conference awards in school history. The league announced the 2014-15 Academic All-MWC honorees on Tuesday.

The criteria to become an Academic All-MWC selection includes a minimum grade point average of 3.33, which is calculated only in the awarded academic year. Student-athletes who letter in any MWC sport are eligible for the award.

Forester student-athletes were listed 115 times on Tuesday, giving the College 127 academic awards from its teams' conferences this year. Lake Forest's men's and women's hockey teams each had six players named to the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association All-Academic Teams in April. The previous school record for league academic awards was 88 set in 2013-14.

Eleven of the College's 15 MWC sports set or tied their program records for academic all-conference honorees. Among them was football, which had the most of any team with 20. Women's soccer was second with 12, tying last year's record-setting output. Women's tennis had the highest percentage of its members listed with six out of eight (75%). The women's basketball (9 of 16), women's cross country (8 of 16), and women's swimming and diving (8 of 16) teams also had at least half of their rosters on the list. The Forester softball and men's soccer teams each had nine honorees, the men's basketball and men's swimming and diving teams seven, the men's cross country team six, the volleyball team five, the men's tennis team four, the women's golf team three, and the men's golf team two.

"I am extremely proud of our student-athletes and the way they performed this year," began Lake Forest College Director of Athletics Jackie Slaats. "While there were several incredible and noteworthy athletic accomplishments, their record breaking success in the classroom was equally as impressive and important.   Our coaches and administrative staff also deserve a lot of credit for the emphasis they consistently put on academic success and for the time and energy they devote to the programs we have in place to help ensure that our Forester student-athletes have the opportunity to excel in all phases of college life."

Midwest Conference Release (pdf)