Lake Forest College Sports Information
Contact: Mike Wajerski, SID

2003 Preview: Let's Do it Again
  

 No Forester pitcher has ever had a season as successful as both Leigh Anne Furgerson (left) and Nancy Findeisen did in 2002.
LAKE FOREST, IL - The 2002 Forester softball season was certainly a remarkable one. The team won its second-ever Midwest Conference Championship and first since 1988. In its first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament, Lake Forest swept through the regional and came a single run away from the national title. No less than 15 team and individual school records were broken and various end-of-season awards were received.

How can the 2003 team beat that? According to head coach Diane Kanney, topping 2002 is not necessarily the goal. "We finished second in the nation because we had fantastic pitching, sound defense, and timely hitting. If we continue to improve in each of those phases, the victories and championships will take care of themselves. It would be difficult, though not impossible, to finish higher than we did last year. Our goals, however, are simply to work hard, have fun, and keep getting better every day."

Getting better is nothing new to the program, as its record has improved each of the last four seasons. After matching a school record with 18 victories in 2001, the Foresters shattered the mark with 34 in 2002, including 11 in post-season play.

The post-season was where a few team members really excelled last season. Senior Robyn Slater hit .300 during the MWC and NCAA Tournament. She hit five doubles and a pair of home runs, including a dramatic bottom-of-the-ninth-inning shot that eliminated the country's top-ranked team from the NCAA Tourney. She also drove in 12 runs in 13 playoff games, giving her a school-record 30 for the year.

While junior All-Great Lakes Region pitchers Nancy Findeisen and Leigh Anne Furgerson had stellar regular seasons, the duo really dominated in tournament play with a combined 11-2 record and 0.72 ERA. Both were named to the NCAA National All-Tournament Team. For the year, the pair of aces went 32-11 with an ERA of 0.98 while striking out 222 batters and walking just 25.

With Findeisen and Furgerson on the mound and returning hitters that combined for 19 of the team's school-record 23 home runs in 2002, the Foresters are certainly well-equipped for another storybook season.