Carrying Millersville forward: Dr. Lauren Witmer named NCAA Silver Anniversary Award winner

Lauren Witmer carried a lot out of Millersville. 

The long practices. The long drives to tennis matches. The wins that felt easy and the losses that taught her how to adjust. But more than anything, she carried habits and values that became the backbone of her life in medicine.

"Millersville and the NCAA were the springboard and the foundation of my career," she said.

Now, 25 years later, that foundation still guides the surgeon, leader and mentor she has become. And this year, they place her among four national recipients of the 2026 NCAA Silver Anniversary Award, alongside Drew Brees (Purdue football), Tamika Catchings (Tennessee women's basketball) and Nick Ackerman (Simpson men's wrestling). The award celebrates the achievements and contributions of former student-athletes who, 25 years after exhausting eligibility, have excelled in their professional lives and continue to exemplify the values of college sports.

Where It Started

Millersville was woven into Witmer's life long before she moved into a residence hall. 

Her father, Jay, ran the university's student center, so she grew up on campus — tagging along with his staff, sitting courtside and in the bleachers at most men's and women's basketball games, and even running out with the women's basketball team as a young girl. 

"I was raised a Marauder and always will be one," she said.

Those games became her "happy place," a tradition she now shares with her parents and her kids. And when it came time to weigh college options, her loyalty to Millersville showed itself.

"When I went on tennis recruiting trips with teams at other schools, I felt a sense of betrayal to Millersville, and I didn't feel like the other places measured up," she said. "That's how I knew that MU was where I always belonged."

It also helped that the university had the "strongest academic and tennis" combination that Witmer could find. 

Within days on campus, she met the person who would help define her experience: Abbey Neff Anderson.

"When I got to Millersville, … I met one of my future best friends, who ended up being my doubles partner for all four years," she said. "To this day, we're still great friends."

The two clicked instantly. Together, Witmer and Anderson became one of the most dependable pairs in program history. They won four conference doubles titles and helped Millersville reach the NCAA Division II championship round of 16 every season they played.

"She is smart, athletic, so well-rounded. It's not a surprise really to any of us that she's had so much success," Anderson said of Witmer. "She's very driven. I feel like you can figure that all out in the first few minutes after talking to her."

Witmer's individual career was just as strong. She became a two-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Athlete of the Year, a four-time PSAC singles champion and the 2001 ITA Division II East Region Player of the Year. She set the Millersville record for career doubles wins with 107 and added 90 singles victories, all while guiding the Marauders to four PSAC and four NCAA regional championships.

Her teammates saw the determination behind those numbers. 

Ryan Mellinger, who played on the men's team and considers Witmer one of his closest friends from Millersville, remembers her as a hard worker with a quiet competitive fire.

"She was a very, very hard worker on the court. She was one of the people that would stay late after practice and just loved to be on the court," Mellinger said. "Tennis is a common burnout sport. But Lauren had the opposite reaction. She was the type that the more time on the tennis court, not only did she love it out there, but she was clearly going to keep getting better."

Those qualities carried her through a college career defined by steady growth, more challenging classes and tough matches.

A Team, a Coach and the Lessons That Lasted

At Millersville, the work never slowed. Fall season ran into spring. Classes only became more challenging as matches stacked up. The wins felt great, but in some ways the losses did more for Witmer.

"We probably learn more in our losses," Witmer said. "We learn how to adjust, how to grow, how to change what we're doing."

Her coach, DeWitt Boyd, helped her build that mindset.

"He gave us space to make mistakes, and he believed in us," she said. "He challenged us to keep moving ahead. He let us spread our wings and grow as athletes."

His style, which she described as equal parts dry humor and steady confidence, helped her learn how to take feedback and keep moving, even on the hard days. That ability would become one of her most important skills in surgical training.

"I don't know if anything truly prepares you for residency, but if anything would, it would definitely be college sports. There's a lot of grit required for medical training, just like all sports," Witmer said. "My residency was a lot of surgical training. As a learner in the operating room, I would get a lot of feedback that I was very coachable. I take that as my lifetime of being coached, whether it's my coaches when I was younger or my college coaches. I'm used to being told how to do things differently, possibly better. 

"When you're in the operating room as a learner, it's important to be able to take that information and not take it too personally and be able to learn and grow from that."

Off the court, Witmer volunteered in several hospital departments and served as vice president of the Millersville Athletic Health Alliance, a group of student-athletes involved in community service. Those early experiences helped cement her desire to pursue a career built on service.

And when an advisor told her she couldn't pursue a premedical program and still play college tennis, she switched advisors and rode the confidence of her teammates to take on both worlds.

"We all thought, if this is something that we want to do, there's no reason we can't do it," Witmer said. "We just have to work a little harder than we might have had to otherwise. We have to put in the hours on the court. We have to put in the hours in the classroom, and anything's possible."

What She Carries Into Medicine

After graduating from Millersville, Witmer completed the University of Pennsylvania's postbaccalaureate premed program, earned her doctorate from the University of New England, finished her residency at Reading Hospital, and was chosen for a competitive fellowship in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery at Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati.

Since then, her accomplishments have mirrored the impact she made as a student-athlete. She was inducted into the Millersville University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010 and later into the Lancaster County Tennis Hall of Fame. 

Her family's impact on the sport was recognized by the U.S. Tennis Association, and her commitment to service carried her to Guatemala for several medical mission trips. Professionally, 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. 

To Mellinger, her accomplishments boil down to a unique combination of traits. 

"I can't think of anybody ever that has said a mean word about Lauren," he said. "She's that type of a girl. Everyone likes her. So I'm not surprised that somebody like that would be moving up through the ranks of their profession because she's a really dedicated, hard worker who people just really like." 

Her colleague Dr. Catrina Crisp, a former college softball player at Queen's (North Carolina), said student-athletes carry distinct advantages into medicine, and Witmer is a prime example.

Crisp said former student-athletes understand how to prioritize, pivot and stay composed when circumstances shift.

"When things come along that might change their normal schedule, that throw a wrench in how things might normally be done, they can easily pivot and find another plan, find another way to get the work done and to take care of the patients," Crisp said. "And they do it with a gracious attitude of, this is part of my job as a team player.

"Lauren was probably one of the best fellows at doing that and doing it with such a professional and gracious attitude. I really think that comes from her being a college athlete."

For Witmer, the parallels between surgery and tennis are clear. It's a combination of individual work and a team mentality.

"As a tennis player, one needs to practice, hone their skills to compete at a high level. What an individual is able to accomplish doesn't mean as much without the team being there to accomplish everything together, exactly like medicine," she said. 
"In the operating room, I have to be a skilled surgeon. I have to hone my skills. But to be able to take the best care of a patient, we need an entire team. 

"I could never do anything by myself. It requires a team in the operating room, it requires a team in the office, and they're completely parallel." 

A Full-Circle Moment

Witmer's life has been shaped by teams. Her family team — the parents who raised her on Millersville's campus and now sit beside her at games. Her tennis team — the teammates who pushed her, supported her and remain part of her life decades later. And now her medical team — the nurses, techs, residents and surgeons who rely on her leadership every day.

Those teams share the same thread: trust, hard work and showing up for one another. Witmer strengthened all three traits at Millersville, and she carries that impact into every patient conversation and operation.

That's why, to Witmer, this award feels like more than a career milestone. It honors the people and experiences that shaped her from childhood through today.

"Receiving this award is incredible," she said. "I absolutely share this award with my teammates and my coaches."