Lake Forest College volleyball player Mary Gegen '24 added one more entry to a long list of achievements as a Forester on Friday when she was announced as the 2023-24 Midwest Conference Athlete of the Year Representing Women's Sports.

Gegen will also be the conference nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award, which honors graduating student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service, and leadership. The Top 30 honorees (10 per division) will be announced in the fall, the nine finalists (three per division) later in the calendar year, and the 2024 NCAA Woman of the Year at the 2025 NCAA Convention in January.

In addition, Gegen will be the MWC's nominee for the Division III Commissioners Association Women's Sport Student-Athlete of the Year Award, which recognizes student-athletes for the same accomplishments and attributes as the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. The DIIICA will announce its regional selections on Wednesday, August 21, via press release, and the national winners on Wednesday, September 4.

Gegen has been listed among the league's best players throughout her career, earning First Team All-MWC accolades as a junior and Second Team honors as a sophomore and senior. She served as a team captain in each of those three seasons and was voted her team's Most Valuable Player twice. Gegen was selected to three all-tournament teams, named MWC Offensive Performer of the Week once, and tabbed Forester Athlete of the Week five times.

Despite her freshman season being shortened due to COVID, Gegen finished her career with 885 kills, the10th-highest total in team history, as well as 746 digs, 151 blocks, and 63 aces. She reached double figures in kills and digs in the same match 23 times and pounded out 20 or more kills in four contests.

Successful in the classroom as well, Gegen was an Academic All-District® selection by College Sports Communicators each of the last two seasons and is a three-time Academic All-MWC honoree. The double-major in environmental studies and biology was presented with the 2022 MWC Elite 20 Award for owning the highest cumulative grade point average of any player in the four-team conference tournament, was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa National Honors Society and the Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society, and graduated summa cum laude in May.

Gegen has also been involved in numerous activities on campus, including Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Relay for Life, GLASA Sled Hockey, Special Olympics, and National Women and Girls in Sports Day. In addition, she has donated her time at Feed My Starving Children, the North Shore Vibe Beach Cleanup, and North Illinois Food Bank.

Gegen is the sixth Forester in the last 12 years to earn one of the league's most prestigious awards, which was formerly called MWC Woman of the Year. She joins softball players Josie Klein '22 and Jenny McTague '17, soccer players Michelle Greeneway '16 and Becky Esrock '14, and swimmer Becky Shaak '13.