By Caroline Gentile ’13, Sports Editor
When one thinks about the Country Day softball program, senior Anna Lemen immediately comes to mind. The Most Valuable Player for three years in a row, Lemen has become the face of Country Day softball, and plans to continue playing at the collegiate level at Knox College.
In addition to being named MVP during her sophomore, junior, and senior seasons, Lemen has also garnered the Scholar Athlete Award for her junior and senior year efforts, and has been named second team Southwest District All-Metro and First Team Scarlet Division. Over the years, she has enjoyed playing softball for Country Day, remembering one game from her sophomore year in particular. “We had to play New Miami for the first round of the tournament. They were tough competition, we were playing on prom, and the weather was not very good,” recalls the senior. “We ended up beating them in the last inning by one run and it was one of the most memorable games I have ever played. We got together as a team and did what we had to do to win.”
Games such as that are what make practicing worth all the time and commitment, concepts with which Lemen is very familiar. When she was just four years old she began playing t-ball, and has played every summer on recreational and traveling select teams since age 13. During high school, in addition to playing for Country Day, Lemen has also played in a fall league and a summer league, which compete every weekend all over Ohio. She also takes pitching and hitting lessons at least once a week from the pitching coach at Miami University.
In addition, Anna also played volleyball and swam for Country Day. The senior compares her high school experience to Knox, explaining how they both “focus on the balance of athletics and academics. More importantly, CCDS allowed me to play three sports for all four years of high school,” Lemen continued. “Learning how to manage my time so I could get my homework done and still go to practice has prepared me for what I will face at Knox.”
Of course, playing a sport at the collegiate level and achieving academic success is a challenge for anyone. However, at Knox, “they were very adamant about the balance between academic life, athletic life, and social life. They believe that all three are critical to the education of a student,” elaborates Lemen. In selecting the college, “the [softball] coach was very helpful and really helped me to see that Knox was the place for me.” As for academics, she is “on-the-fence between education, law, and psychology.”
Though this was Lemen’s last year playing softball for CCDS, her talent will not be forgotten by her coaches and teammates, and she will strive to continue her success at the next level at Knox.
