All-American Fernandez Lacort Won Big Ten Medal of Honor, Found a Second Home
6/11/2020 1:00:00 PM | Field Hockey, Features
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Guadalupe Fernandez Lacort didn't know exactly what to expect upon arriving at the University of Michigan from her hometown of Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina with nearly 3 million residents.
Fernandez Lacort read all she could about the school and the field hockey program she was joining, and spoke on the phone with Wolverine coach Marcia Pankratz and others. But being more than 5,500 miles from her family and a Spanish-speaking culture in a Midwestern college town caused some uncertainty.
"The day I landed there for preseason (in 2017) was the first time I ever stepped foot in Michigan," she said. "It was a crazy decision because I didn't know much about how things worked in the U.S. Before coming to Michigan I had options that were nowhere near as good as Michigan. But for me, I did not know much. It was all the same. I knew Michigan was a really big school and I knew about the field hockey program from the research that I did. But that was it for me.
"But Michigan was just the right fit for me. I had that feeling from the beginning. I had a question and they directed me to (then assistant coach) Lucia (Belassi White from Uruguay). 'Oh, she speaks Spanish?' I was afraid I would have trouble with the (English) language, and I thought it would be hard. But in the end, it turned out that everyone was pretty clear when they talked, and I could figure it out."
Fernandez Lacort made a very quick and successful transition thanks to the "family atmosphere" she found with the Wolverines. She recently won the Big Ten's Medal of Honor -- awarded to one female and one male in every senior class at each conference school. Winners are selected for displaying the greatest proficiency and excellence in athletics and academics, and she was joined by Michigan men's swimming All-American Tommy Cope.
"I was shocked when I got the email telling me I had won," Fernandez Lacort said in a Zoom meeting with MGoBlue.com. "I did not expect it. I was sitting here in our house (in Buenos Aires), dealing with this quarantine. And I was like, 'Wow.' I was really happy about it, having finished the school year from afar (with online courses). Getting that kind of information was really, really nice.
"You see how many amazing people have won this, and it's just amazing. I'm supposed to be up at their level? So, it's crazy."
Fernandez Lacort was a first team All-America selection as a midfielder, while winning Big Ten Athlete of the Year and becoming a unanimous All-Big Ten first team pick. The economics major also made the Collegiate National Academic Team, and has been Academic All-Big Ten in addition to winning a Michigan Athletic Academic Achievement Award. She played three seasons after attending Universidad Di Tella in Buenes Aires for one year.
What is she proudest about?
"That's a great question," she said, pausing briefly and smiling. "From my perspective, I think I was able to learn a lot. I did not come out of Michigan the player I was coming into Michigan. In three years, I learned so, so much.
"When I played in Argentina (for Colegio Piaget), I did not look at myself as a highly-skilled player. I didn't use my skill set as much as I do now. Michigan pushed me to use those skills so much more. I had the skills, but just hadn't used them."
She developed into a highly-decorated player.
"It was crazy for me to hear about all of that," said Fernandez Lacort. "It's nice to see that, and to see that hard work that you have done pay off. But I think I would not have gotten all that if not for our team. Me getting all of that is a result of the team that we had, and the support that I had.
"They would all push me to my best level. If they didn't train the way they did and make me do things, teach me stuff to get there. It's funny, but they know I would get mad and knew how to deal with that. They would tell me, 'You have to get your head into the game.' They helped me grow. It was them holding me accountable as well and practicing really hard.
"Like when you get mad at someone and they would play too rough, you would think that's something bad. But it's really quite the opposite. I would play against Fay Keijer, she's from the Netherlands, and we would get mad at each other so many times. But after, we would be fine. I'd put all my heart into it and she would do the same, and she would push me to play harder, be tougher. That pays off."
Her teammates elected her a two-time captain, and Fernandez Lacort led by example.
"I would never tell anyone to do something that I wouldn't do myself," she said. "The idea was for them to do something alongside me."
Pankratz, who has coached Michigan to nine Big Ten regular-season championships and one NCAA title (2001) in 21 seasons, was central to her development.
While Fernandez Lacort joins Shannon Scavelli (2016) as the second Wolverine field hockey player to win the Big Ten Medal of Honor, Pankratz also is a Big Ten Medal of Honor winner, garnering the award as an Iowa field hockey player in 1986.
"A lot of people have had a huge impact on me," said Fernandez Lacort. "But the first person I think of is Marcia. The culture she taught as soon as I got here -- the rules and what was expected of us were clear -- was something we were held accountable for every day.
"Not only did that translate into field hockey, but also in school. That had a big impact on me, and she was a figure that I really looked up to -- not only for teaching me those kinds of things but if there was a day when I was having a tough day, she would calmly sit down with me and talk it out. She was someone who would always listen and help me deal with anything. That was really, really big for me."
Fernandez Lacort played on Big Ten regular-season championship teams in 2017 and 2018, when she also was All-Big Ten first team. She led Michigan with 12 assists in 2019 and was second with 18 points. Setting up teammates was her forte, but two of her three goals were game-winners -- including the only goal in a shutout win over No. 2 Maryland.
"Yeah, that was crazy," said Fernandez Lacort, who had three game-winners among seven career goals. "They would always make fun of me because I'm not a big goal scorer. They would score a lot of goals, and I would say, 'Yeah, I'm not that.' But I'd get in there and shoot, and see what happens.
"Midfield is an interesting position. You get to be all over the place. You're into the defense but also have attacking chances. I loved that spot. You are never out of the play, and I had a whole view of everything."
From left: brother Gaston, brother Juan Martin, sister Micaela, father Claudio, mother Debora Ciaccia and Guadalupe.
She sought Pankratz's input on future aspirations before returning to Argentina in March after the COVID-19 pandemic closed down sports in the U.S. Fernandez Lacort, a member of Argentina's U-21 team, now aspires get a shot at making her nation's Olympic team. She plans to delay pursuing a master's degree to play with a club team in Buenos Aires.
"And also everyone who I lived with, the roommates that I had were a big, big help," Fernandez Lacort said. "Maya Gompper, Abbey Hutton, Kate Burney and Kragen Metz -- we all lived together for a few years. It's funny because I have three siblings here at home (older sister Micaela and brothers Gaston and Juan Martin, and her parents, Claudio Fernandez Lacort and Debora Ciaccia), but in Ann Arbor, they were my siblings. At the end of the day, we were there for each other every day.
"One of the biggest parts for me in leaving my family was knowing I had these friendships here, and also every single member of the team. From day one, I had a family at Michigan. My experience wouldn't have been the same if I hadn't had the team that I had."
She also credited Alan Deardorff, an international economics professor, with making her feel comfortable in a new country.
"When I went to see him during office hours," said Lacort, "he said, 'Oh, my gosh, you are from Argentina?' He had been there, and he knew so much about my country. We talked about Argentina and that was so nice to connect in that way with a teacher."
Ann Arbor became her second home.
"I'm in Argentina right now, and it's home," said Fernandez Lacort, "but I miss Michigan. I miss my Michigan family. It's amazing to have two homes."
• Michigan Big Ten Medal of Honor Recipients
• Cope Reflects on B1G Medal of Honor, Stepping Up to Continue U-M Swimming Legacy (6/10/2020)
