INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Dr. Lauren Witmer '01 followed a brilliant and record-setting career on the tennis court with a renowned and life-changing career as a physician and surgeon. On Wednesday, Witmer, along with Drew Brees, Tamika Catchings, and Nick Ackerman, was announced as a recipient of the prestigious NCAA Silver Anniversary Award. Witmer will be recognized at the NCAA Honors Celebration on January 14 in Washington, D.C. 

The Silver Anniversary Award recognizes individuals on the 25th anniversary of the conclusion of their college athletics career, celebrating the achievements and contributions of former student-athletes who have excelled in their professional lives and continue to exemplify the values of collegiate athletics. First presented in 1973, the award has been presented to just 311 individuals, a list that includes star professional athletes, Olympians, statesmen and stateswomen, and others who have excelled in difference-making professions. 

Witmer is one of only five graduates of a Division II institution and joins Cheyney's Ed Bradley (1989) as the only PSAC alumni to receive the award. Additionally, Witmer joins astronaut Sally Ride (1998), public servant and businesswoman Lisa Rosenblum (2000), educator and rights advocate Alpha Alexander (2001), and softball coach Diane Baker (2000) as the only former women's tennis players recognized.

As a student-athlete at Millersville, Witmer was a two-time PSAC Athlete of the Year and four-time conference singles and doubles champion. She led her team to four PSAC titles and four NCAA championship appearances, setting a school record with 107 doubles wins. She was inducted into the Millersville University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010. After earning her medical degree, she became a board-certified urogynecologist and now serves as division chief and managing physician at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health, where she was named a 2024 Physician of the Year. Her commitment to global health is evident in her medical mission work in Guatemala, and her legacy in tennis continues through her induction into the Lancaster County Tennis Hall of Fame and recognition by the U.S. Tennis Association.

"We are honored to see Dr. Lauren Witmer recognized with the Silver Anniversary Award by the NCAA," said Millersville University Director of Athletics Kate Corcoran. "This award acknowledges the incredible player that Lauren was for Millersville and celebrates the professional achievements in medicine throughout her career. Her dedication and commitment to her community are evident through her medical missionary work and the recognition she has received in the Lancaster community. We look forward to celebrating this recognition at the ceremony in January."

Witmer's fellow Silver Anniversary Award recipients include Drew Brees (Purdue, football), a Super Bowl MVP and Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year; Tamika Catchings (Tennessee, women's basketball), a four-time Olympic gold medal winner and record-setting WNBA star; and Nick Ackerman (Simpson, wrestling), who won an NCAA Championship without the use of his legs and has led a career as a prosthetist. Additional award winners to be recognized at the ceremony are NBA star and ambassador Dikembe Motumbo (Theodore Roosevelt Award), University of Texas at Tyler student-athlete Samantha Schott (Woman of the Year), Radford women's basketball coach Charlene Curtis (Gerald R. Ford Award), Temple fencing coach Nikki Franke (Pat Summitt Award), Marymount student-athlete Frankie Loiseau (Inspiration Award), Radford baseball coach Alex Guerra (Award of Valor).