Women's History Wednesday Profile: Lisa Fernandez

Lisa Fernandez in 2004 Olympics (Omar Torres/AFP/Getty Images)

“Never Be Satisfied”

Lisa Fernandez is the youngest daughter of a Cuban semi-pro baseball player and a Puerto Rican slow pitch softball player, the game is in her blood, “I was always around the game, so [my parents] started me loving the sport.” Despite that fact, Fernandez still embarked on quite the journey to become the 3-time Olympic Gold Medalists we know and adore. However, Fernandez often classifies adversity, failure and doubters as her most memorable moments. It is her commitment to being better than the day before that has paved the way for her success. This is a lesson Lisa learned in her pitching debut.

In her first recorded game at the age of seven, Fernandez lost 28-0. "I mean, I walked the bases loaded. I was hitting people … I'd never pitched to a batter, never pitched to an umpire, I'd only pitched to my mom in the back yard.” However, this was just the beginning of her story, “I walked 20 in that game. But in the next game I made sure I only walked 18 … even someone like myself, who people claim always wins, can lose." Failure, Fernandez says, is simply a way to inspire her to get better. Fernandez improved her control, but had to learn a different kind of control, a mental toughness.

She recalls being told at 13 that she would never make it as a pitcher, “I was told I would never be able to pitch because my arms weren’t long enough that I wasn’t built for it. Yet once again my parents were very instrumental in teaching me work ethic and that I better make up for those differences in my mental toughness.” By the time she reached high school was considered elite. She recorded 37 no-hitters, 12 perfect games (three consecutive), 1,503 strikeouts and an ERA of 0.07.

Fernandez claimed four All-American honors

College Career

Lisa attended UCLA and continued to elevate her game. Fernandez batted .310 in her freshman year, second overall. She would claim the first of four All-American honors in her rookie season with the Bruins, as well as her first NCAA National Championship.

Fernandez reached the NCAA final each of her four years with UCLA, picking up her second win in 1992. By the time Fernandez graduated, she had broken 7 UCLA records, was an All-Women’s College World Series Selection four times (one of two Bruins all-time to do so), and had a career record of 93-7. Her career ERA was 0.22, second all-time only to Tracy Compton. By her senior season, her batting average was .510, a NCAA record.

Team USA

Fernandez was a member of the U.S. National Team from 1990-2008 and won Olympic gold medals with Team USA (1996, 2000, 2004). She continued to elevate her game and break records as a member of Team USA. The 1996 Atlanta Olympic games was the first to include softball. Fernandez went 1-1 with a 0.33 ERA in softball's inaugural appearance in the Olympics in Atlanta, earning a save in the 3-1 gold-medal victory over China.

In the 2000 Sydney Games, Fernandez lead Team USA to victory in the semifinal win over Australia and the gold-medal game against Japan. Fernandez again made history, tallying 25 strikeouts in a single-game against Australia.

Fernandez was Team USA's top hitter and pitcher, with a .545 batting (Olympic Tournament record). Again, it was Fernandez who recorded the final out of the gold-medal match, shutting the door on a5-1 victory over Australia. Fernandez was selected as an alternate to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the team went on to win Silver in China.

Senior Day at UCLA (DailyBruin/Scott Dee)

Back To UCLA

Lisa returned to her alma mater as an Assistant Coach for the first time in 1997. Lisa felt returning to UCLA was an easy decision, “Well, that’s everybody’s dream. There is a reason I chose UCLA as a recruit. To me it’s the greatest institution that provides both academic excellence, and also be able to take you physically to the next level with athletic excellence. So, you know, it was an easy sell for me.” This is Lisa’s 18th season on the Bruins coaching staff, she has served as a volunteer coach and an Assistant Coach over that span. Her strive for excellence has continued as a coach. The program has posted a 792-218-1 (.784) record and have claimed four NCAA Championships (1999, 2003, 2004, 2010) and three PAC-10 titles (1999, 2002, 2009) in the 17 season with Fernandez on the coaching staff. The program has been honored as the NFCA National Coaching Staff of the Year twice (2004, 2010) and NFCA Regional CSOY four times (2000, 2010, 2014, 2015). Additionally, eight Bruin pitchers have been named to 15 All-American awards.

Leaving A Legacy

Despite once losing a game 28-0, or being told that her arms and legs were too short to be an elite pitcher, Lisa Fernandez has met success at every level. In 1995, Lisa Fernandez was the first member of the Bruins softball team to have her number retired. Fernandez was also inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame in 2003 and the ASA/USA National Hall of Fame in 2013. She is an eight-time ASA All-American. Fernandez was the first softball player to ever win the Honda-Broderick Cup (1993), awarded annually to the country’s most outstanding collegiate female athlete.

In 2001, Lisa was named the Lakewood Sports Hall of Fame Athlete of the Year. Additionally, the Lakewood City Council named a softball field in her honor.