Lake Forest College Sports Information
Contact: Mike Wajerski, SID

2002-03 Preview: Foresters Ready For Impact Season
  

Robyn Slater (C) will face off this season and lead her team against the rest of the NCHA.
LAKE FOREST, IL - The Forester women's hockey team has shown continuous development over its two years as a varsity program. Second year head coach, Susie Bellizzi, has emphasized skill development, mental preparation, and team cohesiveness as the means through which the program will be successful. During the 2001-02 season, a strong core of young players set a serious tone through their diligence, which helped overcome the challenge of a small squad.

Among this core of returning players are Robyn Slater, Lydia Groskin and Lindsey Wild. For the second season, Slater will be the team's captain. This past year, she was LFC's leading scorer and was 14th in the nation with 22 goals, breaking her own school record. For the second year in a row, she was named First Team All-NCHA and last year she also earned NCHA all-academic honors. According to Bellizzi, "Slater's enthusiasm for hockey is contagious; her teammates can always rely on her to set the tone in practices and in games. Her charismatic personality allows her to unite the team while demanding a lot from herself as player."  

Also a captain for the second year is junior Lydia Groskin. She and sophomore Lindsey Wild were both named All-NCHA Honorable Mention in 2001-02. Groskin was honored as one of the league's top defenders after converting early in the season from wing. Wild made her mark as a freshman, as she set a new season assists record, which had been established by Slater in the program's inaugural season.

Coach Bellizzi anticipates a successful 2002-03 season: "As captains, [Robyn] Slater, Lydia [Groskin], and Lara [Scheibner] will undoubtedly be successful bringing together the returning players and a solid class of new student-athletes. I am excited to see how far this year's team will go under their leadership." Bellizzi also expects that the 2002-03 squad will move quickly toward achieving her goal of making this new team a nationally renowned program.