Lake Forest College Sports Information
February 12, 2003
Contact: Mike Wajerski, SID

Preseason Poll Ranks Foresters Second in the Nation
Ithaca holds #1 spot
  

 The 2002 Foresters celebrated a runner-up national finish.
LAKE FOREST, IL - The USA Today and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association released it NCAA Division III Top 25 Rankings Wednesday (February 12) and Lake Forest College was listed second. Defending NCAA Champion Ithaca College is ranked #1 and Emory University is #3.

The 2002 Foresters, led by Head Coach Diane Kanney and the rest of the 2002 NFCA National Coaching Staff of the Year, finished the season ranked #2 after falling to Ithaca 1-0 in the National Championship Game. The team won a school-record 34 games against only 12 losses, claimed its first Midwest Conference title since 1988, and made its first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.

All but four players from the 2002 squad are returning for the 2003 season, including one of the best pitching staffs in the country. Third Team All-American selection Nancy Findeisen (Beecher, IL/ Beecher) set school records with 19 victories (against just six losses), 10 shutouts, 156 strikeouts, and a 0.75 earned run average as a sophomore last season. Classmate and Third Team All-Great Lakes Region selection Leigh Anne Furgerson (Carmel, IN/Westfield) finished the year with a 13-5 record and 1.27 ERA. She also set a school record with nine consecutive victories.

The top two hitters from the 2002 season are also back for Lake Forest. Midwest Conference South Division Player of the Year and Second Team All-Region second baseman Alissa Mildebrath (Carol Stream, IL/West Chicago) hit a school-record eight home runs and batted .311 as a freshman in 2002. The team's leading hitter, shortstop Tina Koludrovic (Darien, IL/Downers Grove South), was also a freshman. Koludrovic batted .395 and set a school record with 51 base hits while earning Third Team All-Region honors.

Furgerson and senior third baseman Robyn Slater (Granite City, IL/Granite City) will captain the 2003 squad. Slater belted six home runs in 2002 and is the program's all-time leader in career round-trippers. First baseman Shanon Joselane (Glendale Heights, IL/Glenbard East) and second baseman/designated hitter Megan Gibson (Brown Deer, WI/Brown Deer) are also returning for their senior season.

Complete USA Today/NFCA National Division III Preseason National Ranking