Tina Johnson is set to begin her third season at the helm of the Forester softball program after leading the team to its fourth consecutive Midwest Conference championship in her second year at the school. The 2005 Foresters posted an overall record of 25-15-1 and a Midwest Conference mark of 9-4. The team also reached the championship game at the NCAA Division III Regional Tournament. Last year's team set single-season school records for runs, hits, RBI, doubles (tied), total bases, stolen bases, and saves (tied). The squad also ranks among the top five in the program's history in slugging percentage, triples, home runs, victories, and strikeouts. For the second straight season, five Lake Forest players earned All-MWC honors, including South Division Position Player of the Year Erin Watts and Co_pitcher of the Year Ashley Closson. Watts also earned First Team All-Great Lakes Region honors from Louisville Slugger and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, Closson was named to the Second Team, and both Alissa Mildebrath and Melissa Wegner were Third Team selections. The 2005 team also continued the program's tradition of success in the classroom with three Academic All-MWC selections, the squad's average over the last five seasons. Coach Johnson came to Lake Forest from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she directed the Scots' softball program for five years. She also served a number of other roles at Macalester, including assistant volleyball coach, instructor, chair of the Physical Education Department, and liaison for the college's athletic alumni association. Prior to her time at Macalester, Johnson was an assistant coach at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, where she worked directly with the team's pitchers and catchers. Coach Johnson was also a teacher and head softball coach at Lafayette High School in Wildwood, Missouri from 1991-98. She led Lafayette to the 1997 Missouri 4A State Championship and was chosen as the state's Coach of the Year. Johnson was also selected as the Suburban West Softball Coach of the Year three times (1995-97). In addition to coaching at the college and high school levels, Johnson has given clinics in Morocco, coached an all-star collegiate team that played in Australia, and is an instructor for Nike Softball Camps. Johnson earned her bachelor's degree in biological sciences from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and completed her graduate studies in educational administration at the University of Missouri, St. Louis. She was a scholarship athlete at both SIU-Edwardsville and Culver-Stockton College, where she began her collegiate career.
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