Lisa Fernandez
May 2006
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| Born |
February 22, 1971 Lakewood, California |
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| Residence | Long Beach, California | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | UCLA ('95) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Lisa Fernandez (born February 22, 1971) is a right-handed softball pitcher of Cuban-Puerto Rican descent who established an Olympic record in softball with 21 strikeouts in a game and was as a member of the United States Women's team.
Fernandez was born in Long Beach. Her father emigrated from Cuba, where he played baseball. In New York, he met and married, a young girl from Puerto Rico who was destined to become Fernandez's mother. 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. In 1986, Fernandez and her family moved to Lakewood, California, where she attended St. Joseph High School. She joined her school's girls' softball team and together with her teammates won the CIF Championship.
Upon graduating from high school, she was accepted to the (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 sport's Honda Award, Fernandez became the first softball player to win the Honda-Broderick Cup in 1993, given to the outstanding collegiate female athlete in all sports. A four-time, first-team All-American, Fernandez led UCLA to two national championships (1990 & 1992) and two runner-up finishes (1991 & 1993).
In 1990, Fernandez won a gold medal at the ISF (International Softball Federation) World Championship. Among her accomplishments are:
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.
Fernandez is currently an assistant coach for the women's softball team at UCLA. She married Michael Lujan in 2002 and gave birth to their son Antonio in 2005. Fernandez and her family reside in Long Beach, California.
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