Five years ago, Southwestern University Pirates Tennis Head Coach Billy Porter delivered a bold statement to then Athletics Director Glada Munt about an incoming two-sport recruit.

"I'm not sure if she believed me, but I told Dr. Munt that Mary Cardone was going to be the greatest athlete in our program's history," Porter said. "Dr. Munt is pretty stoic, so she gave me a let's wait and see look. But I think if you talked to Dr. Munt now, she'd give a smile and nod her head."

"I essentially started women's athletics at Southwestern, and we've had some phenomenal athletes come through here," Dr. Munt said when reminded of Porter's declaration. "With her two-sport ability and all of her accolades, Mary Cardone is definitely one of the top five female athletes in Southwestern history. Not only was she a force to be reckoned with nationally in both soccer and tennis; she was an amazing student."

"There was no doubt in my mind upon her arrival that she was going to be the best athlete on campus for the next four years," Women's Soccer Head Coach Linda Hamilton said. "For soccer, she was an absolute factor in every single game we played, leading us to the SCAC finals for three of her four years."

In her senior season, Cardone showcased her program-changing talent in both sports. As the goalkeeper for the women's soccer team, Cardone ended Trinity's reign atop the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) with a game-winning save in penalty kicks to deliver the first conference championship and NCAA Tournament berth in program history.

In tennis, she was on her way to doing the same before the season was cut short, leading the Pirates to the highest national ranking in program history and finishing nationally ranked individually for a fourth consecutive year.

Individually, Cardone's soccer and tennis season were strong enough to merit a bid for both the 2020 Dr. Carla Lowry Southwestern University Women's Athlete of the Year. Taking both into consideration together, she was the undisputed choice.

"I'm proud to announce Mary Cardone as this year's Dr. Carla Lowry Women's Athlete of the Year," Athletics Director Glenn Schwab said. "She's a great competitor, a remarkable student, and the epitome of what a Division III student-athlete is supposed to be."

With her second consecutive Lowry Award, Cardone becomes only the second multiple Lowry Award winner after golf's Maris Mauldin, who accomplished the feat three times from 2007 to 2009.

"I think it's fitting for [Cardone] to end with this award," Hamilton said. "She's proven it with her consistency and dedication in both sports."

That dedication paid off this season with one of the most iconic moments in recent Southwestern University sports history, when the women's soccer team hosted the SCAC Championship Tournament.

The championship match against Trinity had gone past overtime and into penalty kicks to decide the outcome. With family, faculty, students, staff, and other members of the Southwestern community lining the field, Cardone stood alone in the net, staring down Trinity's Molly Sheridan.

"When I looked at [Cardone], I knew she was going to save it," Hamilton said. "You could just tell by her composure, her body language, her setup. You could see she knew she was going to save it."

Sheridan's shot settled safely into Cardone's sure hands, and the crowd rushed the field, shouting Cardone's name as they embraced their new hero.

In the moment, no one doubted Cardone would come through.

"The thing I'll always admire and be grateful for is that she always knew the game was going to rest on her shoulders in some capacity," Hamilton said. "I actually think that's one of the reasons she chose us: when we recruited her, she knew we weren't ready, but she knew she could help us get there."

Different motivations drive different athletes, and for Cardone, it was always about the challenge, whether it was on the field, on the court, or in the classroom.

"When I was looking at other schools, there were good athletics programs, but I wanted to be challenged and for my degree to really mean something," Cardone said. "The opportunity to play two sports and have such a rigorous course load drew me in, and when I stepped on campus, I knew this was the place for me."

In her time at Southwestern, Cardone has won almost every individual award imaginable. In the two years the SCAC has given out its Elite 19 award, which recognizes the conference's student–athlete with the best combination of academic and athletic achievement for each sport, Cardone has swept the award in both sports.

She did it all with confidence in her abilities but without assumption or arrogance.

"The way Mary is built, I remember overhearing her talking to a teammate about packing for an upcoming road trip," Hamilton said. "Mary was like, 'We'll see how practice goes this week first and see if I make the travel roster.' Can you imagine the humility? She knew she was good, but she also felt every day she had to work at it to earn it. The fact is, she was the best goalkeeper in Division III, and she never for one second took it for granted. That's just how she's made up."

Porter shared a similar story about Cardone in tennis.

"Every match, Mary would be like, 'This girl is really good; I'm going to have to step it up to win,'" Porter said. "Then I'd look at her opponent's record and tell her, 'Mary, you're going to beat this girl in less than an hour.'"

Cardone's unassuming nature supported an unparalleled work ethic. It also allowed her to extract the most joy from each moment, whether it was leading a dance-off on the women's soccer bus or crying tears of happiness over seeing a panda during a women's tennis trip.

It was a joy that best expressed itself at the end of Cardone's tennis season in her junior year, while she was competing in her third consecutive NCAA Tournament.

"Mary gave up four or five opportunities to be an All-American by playing soccer in the fall and had some tough breaks the previous two years," Porter said. "In her junior year, she drew a tricky player from Sewanee and fell behind 2-4 in the first-set tiebreak. I remember seeing her during the minibreak and telling her she wasn't losing this."

Cardone rallied with five consecutive points and went on to win her first-round match, earning All-American status.

Then, in the second round, Cardone fell behind 5-0 in the second set after dropping the first against an opponent from John Carroll.

"This time, I looked at Mary and said, 'I don't know what to tell you; I'm out of coaching options. This girl's just really good,'" Porter recalled. "And Mary, who absolutely hates losing, looked at me with a huge smile and said, 'Who gives a shit? I'm finally an All-American.'"

"It was funny because the line judge was right above us and laughing with us," Cardone said with a chuckle. "And I was like, 'I promise I'm trying my best,' but it was obvious I was just happy to be there. Honestly, I think that was one of my favorite moments."

Five years ago, Porter delivered a bold proclamation. Somehow, Cardone more than lived up to it.

"She helped change the trajectory of our program forever," Hamilton said. "When it came to the big moments, she didn't just shine once. She shined over and over again."

"Very rarely in my 10 years of coaching Division III tennis have I used the word irreplaceable, but that's what she is," Porter said. "She's irreplaceable on and off the court. Not only is she a great athlete; she's a great human being."