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The college search list was all but final and the letters ready to hit the mail when Cristine Fischer told her daughter about a school she had heard about in St. Louis.
Alia Fischer had no knowledge of Washington University and its women's basketball program. In turn, Washington U. coach Nancy Fahey never had heard of the 6-foot-2 center from Rochester, Minn.
In fact, few college coaches showed interest in Fischer out of high school, so she set out to find a college on her own. She sent letters to institutions she hoped would offer a mix of good basketball and academics.
"I pretty much had all the letters ready to go, and my mom said 'Do you want to throw Washington University on the list?' " Fischer said. "I said, 'Sure, put them on.' It was just a matter of filling out another form letter and sending another stat sheet."
That letter helped alter the path of Fischer's career and Washington University's fortunes as her arrival in St. Louis marked the beginning of the Bears' greatest success.
When they open the 1999-2000 season Friday at home against Beloit College, the Bears and Fischer will begin bids for unprecedented three-peats. Washington U....