Oct. 9, 2012
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By Jenna Marina
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - UCF women's soccer assistant coach Donna Fishter has many memories of her time as a softball and soccer athlete at Anderson University in Indiana.
She recalls the time she refused to let a severely sprained ankle keep her from playing soccer games with her parents watching in the stands.
She recalls the time she belted a ball over the right-center field wall with two outs and a full count to win a conference championship.
And after this past weekend she can add one more memory to the list - being inducted into the Anderson Hall of Fame.
Fishter traveled to Indiana on Saturday as one of the four former Ravens who comprised this year's Hall of Fame class. She was recognized at halftime of the homecoming football game in the afternoon before enjoying the awards ceremony in the evening.
"I'm a country girl at heart so being back in the Midwest was taking me back to my roots," Fishter said. "It's been 22 years since I first stepped foot on that campus. I told the athletic director that I felt energized because it reminded me of all the hard work that I put in. And to see the people that believed in me -- I can see the direct connection between my coaches influencing and investing in me to my job now. I have a chance to do that here."
Fishter competed for the soccer and softball teams at Anderson University from 1990-94. She was a member of Anderson's inaugural women's soccer team and still holds the record for saves per game.
"No one worked harder, or more often, nor was more coachable than Donna," said former women's soccer head coach Art Leak. "She was a very good leader on and off the field, someone both players and the coaches could look up to."
Fishter was just as successful on the diamond where she earned all-conference recognition twice and was named the ICAC most valuable player in 1994. She served as captain for both sports and was named the Outstanding Female Senior Athlete.
"She was one of the most dedicated players during her time in our program," softball head coach Tony Holloway said. "Through her hard work she became one of our top players, and in 1994 she was named the conference MVP. She became one of our strongest leaders on and off the field during her career."
Fishter has spent 12 seasons with the Knights and has mentored some of the top keepers in school history, including Jessica Kuhlman, Jennifer Manis and All-American Aline Reis.
"I'm an educator, I'm a motivator and I'm a mentor. The foundation started at AU," Fishter said. "Those are the three things that I focus on being every day to the players that I have a chance to influence."