Lisa Fernandez

{{Infobox sportsperson

| image = LisaFernandezGoldMedal.jpg

| caption = Fernandez in 2006

| full_name = Lisa Maria Fernandez

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1971|02|22}}

| birth_place = Long Beach, California, U.S.

| education = UCLA ('95)

| height = 5 ft 6 in

| headercolor = lightsteelblue

| show-medals = yes

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry |the {{USA}} }}

}}

Lisa Maria Fernandez{{Cite web |url=http://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/2015/university-of-california/lisa-maria-fernandez/ |title=Salary information for Lisa Maria Fernandez |website=TransparentCalifornia.com}} (born February 22, 1971) is an American former softball player and current associate head coach at UCLA. She is also the general manager of the Talons for the inaugural 2025 season of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL). 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.{{Cite web |url=http://www.softballperformance.com/famous-softball-players/lisa-fernandez.html |title=Lisa Fernandez - Famous Softball Player |website=SoftballPerformance.com |access-date=2009-01-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625104104/http://www.softballperformance.com/famous-softball-players/lisa-fernandez.html |archive-date=2018-06-25 |url-status=dead}} Fernandez was named the #1 Greatest College Softball Player and is a USA Softball Hall of Fame honoree.{{cite web |url=https://www.ncaa.com/video/softball/2017-05-31/high-five-greatest-softball-players-lisa-fernandez-jennie-finch |title=DI Softball: Greatest Players |website=NCAA.com |publisher=National Collegiate Athletic Association |date=2017-05-31 |access-date=2018-06-25}}

Early years

Fernandez was born and raised in Long Beach, California.{{citation |author=Olmsted, Frank J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0LSZX4z6WZAC&q=%22lisa+fernandez%22+lakewood+%22Long+beach%22&pg=PA105 |title=Lisa Fernandez |work=Latino and African American Athletes Today: A Biographical Dictionary |editor=Porter, David L. |place=Westport, Connecticut |publisher=Greenwood Press |via=Google Books |year=2004 |pages=105–107 |isbn=0313320489}}{{Cite web |last=Hendrickson |first=Tyler |date=2024-03-21 |title=Softball: Long Beach Poly Stuns Lakewood With Late Comeback |url=https://www.the562.org/2024/03/21/softball-long-beach-poly-stuns-lakewood-with-late-comeback/ |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=The562.org |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Guardabascio |first=Mike |date=2025-01-28 |title=Long Beach Poly’s Ki’ele Ho-Ching Named to USA Softball U18 Team |url=https://www.the562.org/2025/01/28/long-beach-polys-kiele-ho-ching-named-to-usa-softball-u18-team/ |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=The562.org |language=en-US}} 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.

College career

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.{{Cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-01-11-sp-10630-story.html |title=Fernandez Is College Female Athlete of Year |date=1994-01-11 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US |access-date=2020-03-23}}{{Cite journal |url=https://www.collegiatewomensportsawards.com/archives/softball |title=Softball |website=CollegiateWomenSportsAwards.com |language=en |access-date=2020-03-23}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.collegiatewomensportsawards.com/archives/cupwinner_bios/index |title=Past Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year Winners (Honda Cup) |website=CollegiateWomenSportsAwards.com |language=en |access-date=2020-03-23}} A four-time, first-team All-American, Fernandez led UCLA to two national championships (1990 & 1992) and two runner-up finishes (1991 & 1993).{{cite web |url=http://www.usolympicteam.com/26_1158.htm |title=Lisa Fernandez |website=U.S. Olympic Team |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060113202748/http://www.usolympicteam.com/26_1158.htm |archive-date=2006-01-13}}

U.S. Women's Olympic Softball Team

In 1990, Fernandez won a gold medal at the ISF (International Softball Federation) World Championship. Among her accomplishments are:

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{{cite web |url=http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/News-And-Events/Awards/Sportswoman-of-the-Year-Award.aspx |title=Sportswoman of the Year Award |website=WomensSportsFoundation.org |access-date=2009-08-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090722204407/http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/News-And-Events/Awards/Sportswoman-of-the-Year-Award.aspx |archive-date=2009-07-22}}
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{{Cite web |url=https://uclabruins.com/sports/softball/roster/coaches/lisa-fernandez/3479 |title=Lisa Fernandez - Softball Coach |website=UCLA Bruins |language=en |access-date=2020-03-23}}
1991-93, Four-time Honda Sports Award winner for softball presented to the nation's best softball player
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

File:Lisa Fernandez 2016.jpg

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 was inducted into the Baseball Reliquary's Shrine of the Eternals in 2019.[http://www.baseballreliquary.org/awards/shrine-of-the-eternals/shrine-of-the-eternals-electees "Shrine of the Eternals – Inductees"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919092503/http://www.baseballreliquary.org/awards/shrine-of-the-eternals/shrine-of-the-eternals-electees |date=September 19, 2020 }}. Baseball Reliquary. Retrieved 2019-08-14.

Later years

She married Michael Lujan in 2002 and gave birth to their sons Antonio in 2005, and Cruz in 2008."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. 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.{{cite web |title=UCLA assistant softball coach Lisa Fernandez suspended 2 games |url=https://www.espn.com/espnw/college-sports/story/_/id/19528761/ucla-softball-assistant-coach-lisa-fernandez-suspended-two-games-bumping-umpire |website=ESPN.com |date=June 3, 2017}} On August 10, 2022, Fernandez was promoted to associate head coach for the Bruins.{{cite web|url=https://uclabruins.com/news/2022/8/10/softball-lisa-fernandez-promoted-to-associate-head-coach.aspx |title=Lisa Fernandez Promoted to Associate Head Coach |website=uclabruins.com |date=August 10, 2022 |access-date=August 10, 2022}}

In November 2024, Athletes Unlimited hired Fernandez as the general manager for team Talons in their inaugural season of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL).{{cite news |title=AUSL Unveils General Managers, Head Coaches for 2025 Season |url=https://theausl.com/news/ausl-unveils-all-star-lineup-of-general-managers-head-coaches-ahead-of-2025-inaugural-season |access-date=March 1, 2025 |work=auslcms.wpenginepowered.com |date=November 25, 2024 |language=en}}{{Cite web |last= |date=December 4, 2024 |title=AUSL Reveals Team Identities |url=https://auprosports.com/read/ausl-reveals-team-identities/ |access-date=December 28, 2024 |website=Athletes Unlimited |language=en-US}}

Statistics

{{cite web |url=http://web1.ncaa.org/app_data/statsPDFArchive/WSB/Softball_Women's_Division%20I_1990_110_University%20of%20California,%20Los%20Angeles.pdf |title=Final 1990 Women's Softball Statistics Report |website=NCAA.org |publisher=National Collegiate Athletic Association |access-date=2018-06-24}}{{cite web |url=http://web1.ncaa.org/app_data/statsPDFArchive/WSB/Softball_Women's_Division%20I_1991_110_University%20of%20California,%20Los%20Angeles.pdf |title=Final 1991 Women's Softball Statistics Report |website=NCAA.org |publisher=National Collegiate Athletic Association |access-date=2018-06-24}}{{cite web |url=http://web1.ncaa.org/app_data/statsPDFArchive/WSB/Softball_Women's_Division%20I_1992_110_University%20of%20California,%20Los%20Angeles.pdf |title=Final 1992 Women's Softball Statistics Report |website=NCAA.org |publisher=National Collegiate Athletic Association |access-date=2018-06-24}}{{cite web |url=http://web1.ncaa.org/app_data/statsPDFArchive/WSB/Softball_Women's_Division%20I_1993_110_University%20of%20California,%20Los%20Angeles.pdf |title=Final 1993 Women's Softball Statistics Report |publisher=National Collegiate Athletic Association |website=NCAA.org |access-date=2018-06-24}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+UCLA Bruins

YEAR

| W

| L

| GP

| GS

| CG

| SHO

| SV

| IP

| H

| R

| ER

| BB

| SO

| ERA

| WHIP

1990

| 11

| 1

| 15

| 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

| 22

| 0

| 196.1

| 77

| 7

| 4

| 25

| 220

| 0.14

| 0.52

1993

| 33

| 3

| 36

| 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

class="wikitable"

align=center

| YEAR

| G

| AB

| R

| H

| BA

| RBI

| HR

| 3B

| 2B

| TB

| SLG

| BB

| SO

| SB

| SBA

align=center

| 1990

| 67

| 213

| 27

| 66

| .310

| 22

| 1

| 2

| 7

| 80

| .375%

| 12

| 6

| 1

align=center

| 1991

| 63

| 205

| 25

| 70

| .341

| 32

| 2

| 1

| 9

| 87

| .424%

| 17

| 2

| 0

align=center

| 1992

| 56

| 177

| 47

| 71

| .401

| 29

| 1

| 4

| 10

| 92

| .520%

| 21

| 5

| 2

align=center

| 1993

| 54

| 157

| 43

| 80

| .509

| 45

| 11

| 2

| 12

| 129

| .821%

| 35

| 3

| 0

align=center

| TOTALS

| 240

| 752

| 142

| 287

| .381

| 128

| 15

| 9

| 38

| 388

| .516%

| 85

| 16

| 3

{{cite web |url=https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/Events/1996/July/21/Olympic-Games |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151229114728/http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/Events/1996/July/21/Olympic-Games |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 29, 2015 |title=Olympic Games Atlanta, Georgia |website=TeamUSA.org |publisher=United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee |access-date=2018-06-24}}{{cite web |url=https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/Events/2000/September/17/Olympic-Games |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151229114419/http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/Events/2000/September/17/Olympic-Games |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 29, 2015 |title=Olympic Games Sydney, Australia |website=TeamUSA.org |publisher=United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee |access-date=2018-06-24}}{{cite web |url=https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/Events/2004/August/14/Olympic-Games |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151229114239/http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/Events/2004/August/14/Olympic-Games |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 29, 2015 |title=Olympic Games Athens, Greece |website=TeamUSA.org |publisher=United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee |access-date=2018-06-24}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Team USA

YEAR

| W

| L

| GP

| GS

| CG

| SHO

| SV

| IP

| H

| R

| ER

| BB

| SO

| ERA

| WHIP

1996

| 1

| 0

| 3

| 2

| 1

| 21.0

| 4

| 2

| 1

| 0

| 31

| 0.33

| 0.19

2000

| 2

| 1

| 4

| 2

| 1

| 0

| 29.2

| 7

| 3

| 2

| 4

| 52

| 0.48

| 0.37

2004

| 4

| 0

| 4

| 3

| 0

| 24.0

| 9

| 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

class="wikitable"

align=center

| YEAR

| G

| AB

| R

| H

| BA

| RBI

| HR

| 3B

| 2B

| TB

| SLG

| BB

| SO

| SB

| SBA

align=center

| 1996

| 9

| 23

| 5

| 8

| .348

| 5

| 1

| 0

| 11

| .478%

| 5

| 2

| 1

align=center

| 2000

| 9

| 31

| 2

| 3

| .097

| 2

| 1

| 0

| 6

| .193%

| 3

| 4

| 0

align=center

| 2004

| 9

| 22

| 3

| 12

| .545

| 8

| 1

| 0

| 3

| 18

| .818%

| 4

| 0

align=center

| TOTALS

| 27

| 76

| 10

| 23

| .302

| 15

| 3

| 0

| 3

| 35

| .460%

| 12

| 6

| 1

References

External links

{{Team USA Hall of Fame|new_id=lisa-fernandez|old_id=Lisa-Fernandez|archive=20230720071700}}
{{Team USA|new_id=lisa-fernandez-913356|old_id=FE/Lisa-Fernandez|archive=20230318124923}}
{{Olympics.com profile|lisa-fernandez|org_archive=20160409051749}}
{{Olympedia|1372}}

{{Navboxes

| title = Lisa Fernandez—awards, championships and honors

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Category:1971 births

Category:Living people

Category:American softball players

Category:Puerto Rican softball players

Category:Softball players from California

Category:Olympic softball players for the United States

Category:Softball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics

Category:Softball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics