Lisa Maria Fernandez[1] (born February 22, 1971) is an American former softball player and current associate head coach at UCLA. She played college softball at UCLA as a pitcher and third baseman, and is a three-time medal winning Olympian with Team USA.
Fernandez starred on both sides of the plate for the UCLA Bruins from 1990 to 1993, and was two-time national champion and four-time first team All-American. She continues to hold the UCLA records for career shutouts, WHIP and winning percentage. She also established an Olympic record in softball with 25 strikeouts in a game as a member of the United States women's national softball team. Additionally, she is noted for having pitched in three consecutive gold medal games, getting a save in 1996, an extra-inning shutout in 2000 before concluding the run by cinching the 2004 medal in a 5–1 victory.[2] Fernandez was named the #1 Greatest College Softball Player and is a USA Softball Hall of Fame honoree.[3]
Fernandez was born and raised in Long Beach, California.[4] Her father emigrated from Cuba, where he played baseball, and her mother was of Puerto Rican descent. Fernandez's mother played, with her brother (Lisa's uncle) stickball, a street game similar to baseball played with a broom stick and a rubber ball. Fernandez began playing softball at the age of eight. When she was twelve, she played in a local children's league. She tried out as a pitcher, however, her coach told her that she would never make it because she didn't have the right size and build. At St. Joseph High School, Fernandez joined her school's girls' softball team and together with her teammates won the CIF Championship.[2]
College careeredit
Upon graduating from high school, she was accepted to UCLA, where she played softball and earned a degree in psychology. Fernandez played at UCLA from 1990 to 1993. She was a three-time winner of the Pac-12 Player of the Year award, and four-time winner of the Honda Sports Award for softball, and became the first softball player to win the Honda-Broderick Cup in 1993, given to the outstanding collegiate female athlete in all sports.[5][6][7] A four-time, first-team All-American, Fernandez led UCLA to two national championships (1990 & 1992) and two runner-up finishes (1991 & 1993).[2][8]
U.S. Women's Olympic Softball Teamedit
In 1990, Fernandez won a gold medal at the ISF (International Softball Federation) World Championship. Among her accomplishments are:[2][8]
On April 24, 2001, the Lakewood City Council recognized Fernandez as one of the most remarkable athletes ever to come from the playgrounds and ball diamonds of Lakewood. The city council named the ball field at Mayfair Park in her honor, as the Lakewood Sports Hall of Fame Athlete of the Year.[2]
She married Michael Lujan in 2002 and gave birth to their sons Antonio in 2005, and Cruz in 2008.[12] Fernandez and her family reside in Long Beach, California. Fernandez is currently an assistant coach for the women's softball team at UCLA. In 2017, she was suspended two games for bumping an umpire after being ejected from a Bruins' Women's College World Series game.[13] On August 10, 2022, Fernandez was promoted to associate head coach for the Bruins.[14]
^Olmsted, Frank J. (2004), Porter, David L. (ed.), "Lisa Fernandez", Latino and African American Athletes Today: A Biographical Dictionary, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, pp. 105–107, ISBN0313320489 – via Google Books
^"Fernandez Is College Female Athlete of Year". Los Angeles Times. January 11, 1994. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
^"Softball". CollegiateWomenSportsAwards.com. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
^"Past Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year Winners (Honda Cup)". CollegiateWomenSportsAwards.com. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
^ ab. U.S. Olympic Team. Archived from the original on January 13, 2006.
^. WomensSportsFoundation.org. Archived from the original on July 22, 2009. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
^"Shrine of the Eternals – Inductees" September 19, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. Baseball Reliquary. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
^"Fernandez adds to lineup", Long Beach Press-Telegram, January 10, 2006; "Son Gives Much Joy to Busy Fernandez", Long Beach Press-Telegram, April 1, 2007.
^"UCLA assistant softball coach Lisa Fernandez suspended 2 games". ESPN.com. June 3, 2017.
^"Lisa Fernandez Promoted to Associate Head Coach". uclabruins.com. August 10, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
lisa, fernandez, politician, liza, fernandez, rodriguez, lisa, maria, fernandez, born, february, 1971, american, former, softball, player, current, associate, head, coach, ucla, played, college, softball, ucla, pitcher, third, baseman, three, time, medal, winn. For the politician see Liza Fernandez Rodriguez Lisa Maria Fernandez 1 born February 22 1971 is an American former softball player and current associate head coach at UCLA She played college softball at UCLA as a pitcher and third baseman and is a three time medal winning Olympian with Team USA Lisa FernandezFernandez in 2006Personal informationFull nameLisa Maria FernandezBorn 1971 02 22 February 22 1971 age 53 Long Beach California U S EducationUCLA 95 Height5 ft 6 in 168 cm Medal record Women s softball Representing the United States Olympic Games 1996 Atlanta Team competition 2000 Sydney Team competition 2004 Athens Team competition 2008 Beijing Team competition alternate Fernandez starred on both sides of the plate for the UCLA Bruins from 1990 to 1993 and was two time national champion and four time first team All American She continues to hold the UCLA records for career shutouts WHIP and winning percentage She also established an Olympic record in softball with 25 strikeouts in a game as a member of the United States women s national softball team Additionally she is noted for having pitched in three consecutive gold medal games getting a save in 1996 an extra inning shutout in 2000 before concluding the run by cinching the 2004 medal in a 5 1 victory 2 Fernandez was named the 1 Greatest College Softball Player and is a USA Softball Hall of Fame honoree 3 Contents 1 Early years 2 College career 3 U S Women s Olympic Softball Team 4 Honors 5 Later years 6 Statistics 7 See also 8 References 9 External linksEarly years editFernandez was born and raised in Long Beach California 4 Her father emigrated from Cuba where he played baseball and her mother was of Puerto Rican descent Fernandez s mother played with her brother Lisa s uncle stickball a street game similar to baseball played with a broom stick and a rubber ball Fernandez began playing softball at the age of eight When she was twelve she played in a local children s league She tried out as a pitcher however her coach told her that she would never make it because she didn t have the right size and build At St Joseph High School Fernandez joined her school s girls softball team and together with her teammates won the CIF Championship 2 College career editUpon graduating from high school she was accepted to UCLA where she played softball and earned a degree in psychology Fernandez played at UCLA from 1990 to 1993 She was a three time winner of the Pac 12 Player of the Year award and four time winner of the Honda Sports Award for softball and became the first softball player to win the Honda Broderick Cup in 1993 given to the outstanding collegiate female athlete in all sports 5 6 7 A four time first team All American Fernandez led UCLA to two national championships 1990 amp 1992 and two runner up finishes 1991 amp 1993 2 8 U S Women s Olympic Softball Team editIn 1990 Fernandez won a gold medal at the ISF International Softball Federation World Championship Among her accomplishments are 2 8 1991 gold medal at the Pan American Games 1994 gold medals at ISF World Championships and Pan Am Qualifier 1991 and 1992 Sportswoman of the Year Award 9 Led UCLA to two NCAA Women s College World Series Titles Four time NFCA First Team All American NCAA Top VI Award presented to the top six senior student athletes in all divisions 1993 Honda Broderick Cup winner country s most outstanding collegiate female athlete 10 1991 93 Four time Honda Sports Award winner for softball presented to the nation s best softball player 10 1996 Olympic gold medal in the 1996 Olympics celebrated in Atlanta Georgia 1998 gold medal at Pan American Games 2000 Olympic gold medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympics celebrated in Australia where she established a 25 strikeout record in women s softball 2002 gold medal at the ISF World Championships 2003 gold medal at the Pan American Games 2004 Olympic gold medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics celebrated in Greece Honors edit nbsp Lisa Fernandez in 2016 On April 24 2001 the Lakewood City Council recognized Fernandez as one of the most remarkable athletes ever to come from the playgrounds and ball diamonds of Lakewood The city council named the ball field at Mayfair Park in her honor as the Lakewood Sports Hall of Fame Athlete of the Year 2 Fernandez was inducted into the Baseball Reliquary s Shrine of the Eternals in 2019 11 Later years editShe married Michael Lujan in 2002 and gave birth to their sons Antonio in 2005 and Cruz in 2008 12 Fernandez and her family reside in Long Beach California Fernandez is currently an assistant coach for the women s softball team at UCLA In 2017 she was suspended two games for bumping an umpire after being ejected from a Bruins Women s College World Series game 13 On August 10 2022 Fernandez was promoted to associate head coach for the Bruins 14 Statistics edit 15 16 17 18 UCLA Bruins YEAR W L GP GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER BB SO ERA WHIP 1990 11 1 15 12 12 8 0 83 0 33 6 3 10 51 0 25 0 52 1991 20 3 26 24 23 16 1 165 2 68 9 6 22 165 0 25 0 54 1992 29 0 30 27 27 22 0 196 1 77 7 4 25 220 0 14 0 52 1993 33 3 36 33 33 28 0 249 2 80 10 9 46 348 0 25 0 50 TOTALS 93 7 107 96 95 74 1 694 2 258 32 22 103 784 0 22 0 52 YEAR G AB R H BA RBI HR 3B 2B TB SLG BB SO SB SBA 1990 67 213 27 66 310 22 1 2 7 80 375 12 6 1 1 1991 63 205 25 70 341 32 2 1 9 87 424 17 2 0 0 1992 56 177 47 71 401 29 1 4 10 92 520 21 5 2 2 1993 54 157 43 80 509 45 11 2 12 129 821 35 3 0 0 TOTALS 240 752 142 287 381 128 15 9 38 388 516 85 16 3 3 19 20 21 Team USA YEAR W L GP GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER BB SO ERA WHIP 1996 1 0 3 2 1 1 1 21 0 4 2 1 0 31 0 33 0 19 2000 2 1 4 4 2 1 0 29 2 7 3 2 4 52 0 48 0 37 2004 4 0 4 4 4 3 0 24 0 9 1 1 3 10 0 29 0 50 TOTALS 7 1 11 10 7 5 1 74 2 20 6 4 7 93 0 37 0 36 YEAR G AB R H BA RBI HR 3B 2B TB SLG BB SO SB SBA 1996 9 23 5 8 348 5 1 0 0 11 478 5 2 1 1 2000 9 31 2 3 097 2 1 0 0 6 193 3 4 0 0 2004 9 22 3 12 545 8 1 0 3 18 818 4 0 0 0 TOTALS 27 76 10 23 302 15 3 0 3 35 460 12 6 1 1See also edit nbsp Puerto Rico portal nbsp Biography portal List of people of Puerto Rican descent in Sports Sports in Puerto Rico Lakewood California List of people from Long Beach CaliforniaReferences edit Salary information for Lisa Maria Fernandez TransparentCalifornia com a b c d e Lisa Fernandez Famous Softball Player SoftballPerformance com Archived from the original on June 25 2018 Retrieved January 26 2009 DI Softball Greatest Players NCAA com National Collegiate Athletic Association May 31 2017 Retrieved June 25 2018 Olmsted Frank J 2004 Porter David L ed Lisa Fernandez Latino and African American Athletes Today A Biographical Dictionary Westport Connecticut Greenwood Press pp 105 107 ISBN 0313320489 via Google Books Fernandez Is College Female Athlete of Year Los Angeles Times January 11 1994 Retrieved March 23 2020 Softball CollegiateWomenSportsAwards com Retrieved March 23 2020 Past Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year Winners Honda Cup CollegiateWomenSportsAwards com Retrieved March 23 2020 a b Lisa Fernandez U S Olympic Team Archived from the original on January 13 2006 Sportswoman of the Year Award WomensSportsFoundation org Archived from the original on July 22 2009 Retrieved August 3 2009 a b Lisa Fernandez Softball Coach UCLA Bruins Retrieved March 23 2020 Shrine of the Eternals Inductees Archived September 19 2020 at the Wayback Machine Baseball Reliquary Retrieved 2019 08 14 Fernandez adds to lineup Long Beach Press Telegram January 10 2006 Son Gives Much Joy to Busy Fernandez Long Beach Press Telegram April 1 2007 UCLA assistant softball coach Lisa Fernandez suspended 2 games ESPN com June 3 2017 Lisa Fernandez Promoted to Associate Head Coach uclabruins com August 10 2022 Retrieved August 10 2022 Final 1990 Women s Softball Statistics Report PDF NCAA org National Collegiate Athletic Association Retrieved June 24 2018 Final 1991 Women s Softball Statistics Report PDF NCAA org National Collegiate Athletic Association Retrieved June 24 2018 Final 1992 Women s Softball Statistics Report PDF NCAA org National Collegiate Athletic Association Retrieved June 24 2018 Final 1993 Women s Softball Statistics Report PDF NCAA org National Collegiate Athletic Association Retrieved June 24 2018 Olympic Games Atlanta Georgia TeamUSA org United States Olympic amp Paralympic Committee Archived from the original on December 29 2015 Retrieved June 24 2018 Olympic Games Sydney Australia TeamUSA org United States Olympic amp Paralympic Committee Archived from the original on December 29 2015 Retrieved June 24 2018 Olympic Games Athens Greece TeamUSA org United States Olympic amp Paralympic Committee Archived from the original on December 29 2015 Retrieved June 24 2018 External links editLisa Fernandez at the Team USA Hall of Fame archive July 20 2023 Lisa Fernandez at Team USA archive March 18 2023 Lisa Fernandez at Olympics comLisa Fernandez at Olympic org archived Lisa Fernandez at Olympedia Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lisa Fernandez amp oldid 1222336405, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
