By CASEY OLSON, The Mirror
Lindsey Bright and Amy Friedhoff officially know where they will be spending the next four years. Bright, a Decatur senior, and Friedhoff, a senior at Thomas Jefferson, signed national letters of intent earlier this week. Bright will play softball next year at Fordham University in the Bronx, N.Y., and Friedhoff will swim at San Jose State University. Both inked full-ride scholarships.
Wednesday was the first day of the week-long early signing period for basketball, baseball and fastpitch athletes, among others.
Bright, a center fielder, also took a recruiting visit to Long Island University in New York before deciding on Fordham.
“They have a really nice campus,” Bright said. “And the softball team is pretty good. It was pretty much a given that I was going to the East Coast. It just kind of ended up like that. They were recruiting me more than any other schools.”
Fordham plays in the Atlantic-10 Conference with schools like Temple, George Washington, Saint Louis and Massachusetts. The Rams finished 39-20 last season and 16-4 in the Atlantic-10, which was good for second place behind Massachusetts.
Bright was a first-team, All-SPSL North selection after hitting .425 with nine runs scored, two doubles, three triples, three home runs and an .850 slugging percentage, which was good for fourth in the North Division, during her junior season. She has been on the Mirror’s All-City Softball Team after all three of her seasons at Decatur.
Bright plays for the prestigious Washington Ladyhawks during the summer. The Ladyhawks finished in ninth place at the Gold National Tournament this summer in Oklahoma City, which is the highest any Washington team has ever placed.
Friedhoff recently finished a very successful prep swimming career at Jefferson. The senior won a total of seven individual West Central District titles, four in the 500-yard freestyle and three in the 200 free. Friedhoff also has a pair of silver medals and four third-place finishes at the Class 4A State Swimming and Diving Meet. Last weekend, she finished third in the 500 free.
San Jose State swims in the Western Athletic Conference against schools like Hawaii, Northern Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico State and Boise State. San Jose State finished fourth as a team at last year’s WAC Championships.
Sports editor Casey Olson: 925-5565, sports@fedwaymirror.com
