Lake Forest College Sports Information
April 16, 2002
Contact: Mike Wajerski, SID

2003-04 Preview: Reclaim The Title
  

Co-captain Shannon Clerkin plans to lead her Forester teammates back to a Conference Title.
LAKE FOREST, IL - With a 22-3 record, the best mark in school history, last year's Foresters raised the bar for future teams in a program that already has an established winning tradition. In 2003-04, the team would like to raise something else - its fourth Midwest Conference Championship banner in the last five years.

Despite coming up just short (a double-overtime loss on the road in the title game) of a fourth straight league championship in 2002-03, head coach Jackie Slaats views the season as one of the best in her 17 years directing the program. "The biggest disappointment I had last year was not that we didn't win the title," she begins, "but rather that the season had to end at all. The players worked extremely hard on a daily basis, overcame a few setbacks, and conducted themselves like champions."

Slaats lost only one of those players to graduation, so almost all the individuals that impressed her so much last year are back for a run at the 2003-04 conference championship. Along with the league title comes a trip to the national tournament, where Slaats really wants her team to succeed. "Our first goal every year is to qualify for the conference tournament," she explains. "Number two is to win the championship game. Finally, we have our sights set on advancing well into the NCAA Tourney and making a name for ourselves at the national level."

One name that has already drawn attention to the program is Shannon Clerkin, who came on strong toward the end of her sophomore season to lead the team in scoring and earn first team all-conference honors. Clerkin, a forward, along with senior guard Sherry Wagner, will captain the 2003-04 squad. Lake Forest has a 61-14 record in Wagner's career, the most victories of any three-year span in school history.

A pair of junior guards, Kandyce Green and Kristy Freeman, are also expected to make significant contributions. Green was the team's second-leading scorer before sustaining a season-ending injury after 14 games last year. Freeman led the team in three-point shooting, free throw shooting, and assists.

With the Foresters' leadership, talent, and depth, the school records set by the 2002-03 squad may last only a year.