Bio:
On August 7, 1979 a star was born, it just so happens that Lael was
born on that day too. She was a child of the water (actually she was
the child of Larry and Valerie Fisher) whose affinity for water polo
first rose to the surface in the bathtub when she was just 3 years old.
It wasn't like her parents put a polo ball in the tub with her or
anything, no, it was her stature that got her started. While being
short had its advantages at age 3, like being able to eat for free at
any diner that served complimentary meals for those two and under, a
seemingly major drawback was also experienced. A deep bathtub and a
short body (ok, no more short references from here on) presented the
perfect scenario for Lael to master the egg-beater treading style
necessary to build a water polo prodigy.
The
years passed and she eventually grew (oops!) causing her leg strength
relative to others her age to begin to level out. As an adolescent,
swimming was the sport of choice, since the cold water was the only way
to wake her up early in the morning. Upon realizing that swimming did
not take full advantage of her early childhood training, she had a
couple of options. Water polo quickly won out over synchronized
swimming due to the discomfort of nose-plugs (actually she never tried
it, but they probably are uncomfortable). Lael attended OPRF (Oak Park,
IL) and was part of the water polo team for four years. Known as the
Splendid Splinter, although not for the same reasons as Ted Williams,
she gained the knowledge and experience necessary to continue her
career in college.
As
a highly prized recruit, out of one of the nations most dominating high
school water polo programs, Lael stepped foot onto the campus of
Cornell University. She was billed as The Answer (not because she
looked like Allen Iverson, but because she had game). Her training
regiment was fierce and included implementing team-runs prior to
practices. She even climbed hills on her way to class; well actually
everyone has to do that at Cornell since there is a big slope on one
side of campus. By her senior year, even though her only knowledge of
the stern or bow was from her favorite movie Titanic, her leadership
earned her the title of captain. After four seasons playing the likes
of Colgate, and graduating with a degree in Mechanical Engineering with
a minor in Applied Mathematics, Lael's career went to the next level.
What next level, you ask, was the move to the Big Ten. When asked about
the move, Lael was quoted by ESPN as saying, "I was looking for a
unique combination that included: a well-known Applied Mathematics
Dept.
at which I can earn my Ph.D., a school without a good basketball team
that will steal the spotlight from the water polo team, the color
purple in their school colors, and most importantly it needs to be in a
BCS conference." With that being said, Lael held a press conference in
late April 2001 and much to the chagrin of the University of
Washington, which possessed all of the attributes she was looking for,
she selected Northwestern University. Now almost three and a half years
removed from that fateful afternoon announcement, Lael will play in her
fourth season with the Wildcats this year.