2005-06 Preview: Back on Top   

After earning Handball All-America honors as a newcomer last year, Carly Stickles will look to lead her team to another national title this year.

LAKE FOREST, IL- In 2001, the Foresters swept all three (men, women, combined) team titles at the United States Handball Association Collegiate National Championships. However, the men fell to second the following year and placed third the next two. Lake Forest held onto the combined title for two more seasons and the women’s crown for three, but graduated the most heralded female player in the event’s history in 2004. With Head Coach Mike Dau and his Foresters’ run of seven straight years with at least one national championship in jeopardy of ending in 2005, the squad came through with a remarkable performance and brought not one, not two, but all three titles back to Lake Forest.

“I really didn’t know what to expect going into the tournament,” recalls Dau. “While we had no dominant players, we did have a group of intense competitors that gave everything they had in the most important event of the season.”

Although a number of Dau’s players will graduate before the 2005-06 season, he will still welcome back a few whose performances were critical to the championship run. Carly Stickles reached the Women’s Open Singles quarterfinals and earned Handball All-America honors with a runner-up finish in doubles as a freshman. In addition, sophomore Lisa Jeziorny reached the round of 16 in singles and the quarterfinals in doubles with classmate Lindsay Ross.

On the men’s side, two-time All-America honoree Ivan Ruiz will return for his senior season after advancing to the Open Singles round of 16 and the Open Doubles semifinals in 2005. Classmate Derek Meiring won once in Open Singles and twice in the A-Singles bracket.

While the returning players are going to need to continue improving and have some talented newcomers join their ranks to defend all three titles, Dau will not rule out a back-to-back performance just yet. “If you would have told me before last season that we would go on to win all three titles like we did in 2001, I’m not sure I would have believed you,” he explains. “After seeing our team work hard and play as well as they did, I’m certainly not going to bet against them next year.”

“While we had no dominant players, we did have a group of intense competitors that gave everything they had in the most important event of the season.”