ACC to Honor 52 With Postgraduate Scholarship Awards

GREENSBORO, N.C.- Four University of Louisville student-athletes: Makenli Forrest (track and field), Mercedes Pastor (field hockey), Piper Roe (volleyball) and Nikolina Jovic (tennis) were among 52 recipients of the 2021 Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Scholarship Award as announced by the Atlantic Coast Conference today.

This year's list includes three student-athletes who will also receive the Thacker Award and nine student-athletes who plan to pursue professional careers in their chosen sports and were named honorary recipients.

The Weaver-James-Corrigan and Jim and Pat Thacker postgraduate scholarships are awarded to selected student-athletes who intend to pursue a graduate degree following completion of their undergraduate requirements. Each recipient will receive $6,000 toward his or her graduate education. Those honored have performed with distinction in both the classroom and their respective sport, while demonstrating exemplary conduct in the community.

Makenli Forrest
Forrest is one of Louisville's most accomplished athletes. The Ellenwood, Ga., native captured the 2021 NCAA Indoor Weight Throw title, marking the third time a Cardinal has earned a national title in the event. Her NCAA-winning throw of 22.76m (74-8.25) set a school record and stands as the top collegiate throw this year.

In the 2021 Indoor Track and Field season, she collected six wins, including the ACC and NCAA Indoor titles. The three-time All-ACC performer and four-time NCAA All-American has tallied 14 career wins in and finished runner-up in the Weight Throw at the 2019 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. She owns four of Louisville's top-10 marks in the event.

The health and human performance major was an All-ACC Academic Team selection in 2020 and has been named to the Athletic Director's honor roll six times while earning Dean's List honors four times.

Mercedes Pastor
Pastor, a senior midfielder/forward from Buenos Aires, Argentina currently leads the second-ranked Cardinals with 10 goals and 25 points. In the fall 2020 season, the three-time NFHCA National Player of the Week was instrumental in the Cardinals' ACC fall regular season title, helping the Cardinals earn the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament for the first time in program history.

Louisville's team co-captain is a two-time National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-America selection, earning first team honors in 2019 and garnering second team accolades in 2018.

The industrial engineering major was one of four finalists for the Class of 2020 Honda Sport Award for Field Hockey and earned the 2020 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award winner for field hockey. She is a three-time NFHCA Academic Honor Roll member, earning Scholar of Distinction honors in 2017. Additionally, Pastor was named to the ACC All-Academic Team in 2018 and is a two-time ACC Academic Honor Roll member.

Pastor is also one of Louisville field hockey's community service leaders. Among her many local volunteer activities, she is active in the Droplet Water Project, a Kentucky-based non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the global effort to provide access to clean drinking water.

Piper Roe
Roe is a senior on the No. 13-ranked Louisville volleyball team, who redshirted her first year and then worked her way up into the starting lineup. Her best play coming the year she was named to the US Collegiate National Team and competed for Team USA in the summer of 2019. That year she hit .301 with 121 kills. She recorded 69 blocks with a season-high 10 at Notre Dame. The native of Roanoke, Va. had seven matches where she hit .500 or better including her match against Tennessee-Martin when she hit .727. She is also one of the Cards' most dedicated scholars. A staunch student, she has been a mainstay on the ACC Honor Roll, the Athletic Director's Honor Roll and is a four time Red and Black Scholar as a chemistry major who is now working on her MBA.

Nikolina Jovic
Jovic was an Honorary Postgraduate Scholarship Nominee for the award. She has been a stalwart leader on the Cardinal tennis squad. She is battling injuries this year, but is still 5-1 in doubles. Last year, in the abbreviated season, Nikolina had a 4-3 record at No. 4 and was 5-1 in doubles at No. 3 before COVID shut down play. Her first year at UofL, she posted second-most singles wins on team with 19-10 record and went 11-11 in doubles. She reached Round of 16 at ITA Ohio Valley Regionals. Jovic started her career at South Carolina where she was named to 2018 SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll and tallied an overall singles record of 10-3 and doubles record of 4-2. She claimed four consecutive victories at ITA Carolina Regional, advancing to Round of 16.

The following student-athletes will be recognized as 2021 ACC Postgraduate Scholars:
Name, Institution, Sport, Major
Zion Johnson, Boston College, Football, Computer Science
Clare Naughton, Boston College, Volleyball, Political Science
Lauren White, Boston College, Women's Track and Field, International Studies
Marissa Guimbarda, Clemson, Softball, Health Science
Courtney Jones, Clemson, Women's Soccer, Psychology
Grace Mattimore, Clemson, Softball, Criminal Justice
RaKavius Chambers, Duke, Football, Biology
Caroline Olsen, Duke, Rowing, IDM: Neuroscience & Public Policy
Meible Chi, Duke, Women's Tennis, Evolutionary Anthropology
Trey Cunningham, Florida State, Men's Track and Field, Communications - Public Relations
Joshua Kaindoh, Florida State, Football, Sociology
Danielle Morgan, Florida State, Softball, Sport Management
Hugh Chapman, Georgia Tech, Baseball, Business Administration
Kierra Fletcher, Georgia Tech, Women's Basketball, History, Technology, and Society
Makenli Forrest, Louisville, Women's Track and Field, Health and Human Performance
Mercedes Pastor, Louisville, Field Hockey, Industrial Engineering
Piper Roe, Louisville, Volleyball, Business
Renate Grimstad, Miami, Women's Golf, Sports Administration
Sydney Knapp, Miami, Women's Swimming and Diving, Double Major in Communication Studies & International Studies
Christopher Gray, North Carolina, Men's Lacrosse, Management and Society
Rachel Jones, North Carolina, Women's Soccer, Public Policy
Ally Mastroianni, North Carolina, Women's Lacrosse, Media & Journalism: Advertising & Public Relations; Communication Studies
Kathleen Moore, NC State, Women's Swimming and Diving, Industrial Engineering
Makayla Sargent, NC State, Women's Swimming and Diving, Psychology
Stefani Deschner, Notre Dame, Women's Fencing, Pre-professional Studies
Yared Nuguse, Notre Dame, Men's Track and Field, Biochemistry
Kelly Straub, Notre Dame, Women's Swimming and Diving, Pre-professional studies
Kayla Lund, Pittsburgh, Volleyball, Psychology and Communication
Chinaza Ndee, Pittsburgh, Volleyball, Natural Sciences
Josephine Kiesel, Syracuse, Rowing, Sport Management
Stephen Rehfuss, Syracuse, Men's Lacrosse, Communication and Rhetorical Studies
Kristen Siermachesky, Syracuse, Women's Ice Hockey, Sport Management
Paige Madden, Virginia, Women's Swimming and Diving, Kinesiology
Rachel Robinson, Virginia, Field Hockey, Kinesiology
Nika Kozar, Virginia Tech, Women's Tennis, Criminology/ Sociology (Double Major)
Darby Trull, Virginia Tech, Softball, Consumer Studies
Regan Westwood, Virginia Tech, Women's Swimming and Diving, Smart and Sustainable Cities/ Environmental Policy and Planning
Hannah Betfort, Wake Forest, Women's Soccer, Health and Exercise Science
Bar Tzuf Botzer, Wake Forest, Men's Tennis, Finance
Zachary Tom, Wake Forest, Football, Business Enterprise Management

Jim & Pat Thacker Scholarship Recipients
Name, Institution, Sport, Major
Catriona MacGregor, Georgia Tech, Women's Swimming and Diving, Mechanical Engineering
Debbie Ajagbe, Miami, Women's Track and Field, Engineering
Leon Krapf, NC State, Men's Soccer, Business Administration

Honorary Postgraduate Scholarship Nominees
Name, Institution, Sport, Major
William Nottingham, Clemson, Men's Golf, Management
Michael Rothenberg, Duke, Baseball, Political Science
Luke Waddell, Georgia Tech, Baseball, Business Administration
Nikolina Jovic, Louisville, Women's Tennis, Business Marketing
Elizaveta Lukianova, Miami, Volleyball, Management and Marketing
Maddie Howe, Notre Dame, Women's Lacrosse, Finance
Kirk Christodoulou, Pittsburgh, Football, Finance
Wabissa Bede, Virginia Tech, Men's Basketball, Leadership Studies
Emilia Migliaccio, Wake Forest, Women's Golf, Communication

About the Weaver-James-Corrigan Award
The Weaver-James-Corrigan Award is named in honor of the late Jim Weaver, Bob James, and Gene Corrigan, the first three ACC commissioners. The league's first commissioner, James H. Weaver, served the conference from 1954-70 after a stint as the Director of Athletics at Wake Forest. His early leadership and uncompromising integrity are largely responsible for the excellent reputation enjoyed by the ACC today.

Robert C. James, a former Maryland football player, was named commissioner in 1971 and served in that capacity for 16 years. During his tenure, the league continued to grow in stature and became recognized as a national leader in athletics and academics, winning 23 national championships and maintaining standards of excellence in the classroom.

Eugene F. Corrigan assumed his role as the third full-time commissioner on September 1, 1987 and served until August of 1997. During Corrigan's tenure, ACC schools captured 30 NCAA championships and two national football titles.

Prior to 1994, the Weaver-James postgraduate scholarships were awarded as separate honors, including the Jim Weaver Award, the Marie James Award and the Bob James Award.

University of Louisville Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Makenli Forrest

Nikolina Jovic

Mercedes Pastor

Piper Roe

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