College Sports Communicators (CSC) announced the 2023 Academic All-District® Women's Volleyball Teams on Tuesday and four Lake Forest players were among the honorees.
To be eligible for nomination, student-athletes maintain at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale at their current institution and be at least a sophomore academically and athletically. They also must compete in at least 90 percent or start at least two-thirds of their team's matches.
Representing Lake Forest College on the list are seniors
Grace Franz,
Mary Gegen, and
Holland Smits, as well as junior
Rebekkah De Kok.
Franz was a First Team All-Midwest Conference selection after leading the 2023 Foresters with 264 kills and 225 digs. The outside hitter recorded nine double-doubles and added 40 aces to her stat line for the season. The psychology major was an Academic All-MWC selection for 2022-23.
Gegen is now a two-time Academic All-District® honoree and has now been listed among the best players in the league after earning Second Team All-MWC accolades this fall. The outside hitter's 49 blocks led the team and she ranked second on the squad in kills (231), digs (217), and double-doubles (8). Gegen's 885 career kills are the 10th-highest total in team history. In addition to her on-court honors, the environmental studies and biology double-major has been named Academic All-MWC twice and earned the MWC Elite 20 Award in 2022.
Smits, a psychology major, played in all 25 of the Foresters' matches and made 20 starts. The opposite/outside hitter was third on the team with 183 kills and fourth with 34 blocks. Like Franz and Gegen, she was an Academic All-MWC honoree in 2022.
After missing most of 2022 due to injury, De Kok appeared in all 25 matched with six starts this season. The opposite/outside hitter tallied 113 kills, 36 digs, and 18 blocks on the year. De Kok, a communication major, has appeared with Gegen on the Academic All-MWC list in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
The 2023 Foresters posted a 17-8 overall record and finished third in the conference standings at 6-2 in MWC play.
