Walking around the campus of Notre Dame Tuesday afternoon, Christine Lux was struck by how fast time has gone by.

“It seems like yesterday I was a little lost freshman, freaking out,” Lux said. “Now, knowing I am a senior, it’s a weird thought. But I like it.”

There’s been a lot to like about the 2006 Glenbard West graduate’s first three years in South Bend, Ind.

This past season, the first baseman helped the Fighting Irish take second in the Big East, then win the conference tournament (she made the all-tournament team). The team eventually finished 43-17 overall and qualified for its 11th straight NCAA tournament.

Lux has been putting up impressive offensive numbers, belting 30 home runs the past two seasons (her 33 career homers is just three away from the all-time record) and collecting 54 RBIs this year.

Lux by numbers
.329 Batting average in 2009
15 Home runs, matching school record Lux set in 2008
51 RBIs, third-best season total at ND
2 Rank among Fighting Irish’s career home run leaders
3.42 GPA for accounting major

Against DePaul this past April, Lux crushed a home run 334 feet, by far a school record.

Those kinds of stats, plus solid defense at first base, helped Lux gain national notoriety, as she was named a third-team All-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

“That was a very prestigious honor I never thought I would get,” Lux said. “I just want to build off of everything I’ve learned the past three years, both on and off the field, and maybe go for first team (All-American).”

Learning off the field has not been a problem for Lux, who carries a 3.42 GPA as an accounting major. Even though she was already on pace to graduate after this coming fall, she’s taking two summer classes (African-American history and managerial economics) that will help her attain enough credit hours so she can take the CPA exam right after graduation.

She’s also been lifting and conditioning with teammates and coaches this summer.

“I’m also taking two full loads of classes both fall and spring semester — it’s not the most fun situation but it’s all to achieve the ends I want,” Lux said.

No more pain
Before she takes an internship or job with a major accounting firm next year, Lux is looking to get through her senior softball season pain free — something that has consistently eluded her.

At Glenbard West, the 2006 News/Leader/Press Player of the Year endured a couple of knee surgeries. During her sophomore year at Notre Dame, she broke her pinky diving for a ball and tore her MCL. Right before Christmas break this past December, Lux badly injured herself during weight-lifting testing.

“I pulled all my chest muscles right by my sternum and pulled the cartilage away from the rib cage,” Lux said. “It felt like lightning bolts were exploding through my chest. I rested all through break and it didn’t really get better. But I was not about to sit out once the season started.”

The physical abuse she has taken is one reason why Lux says even if she’s not mentally ready to do so, that her senior season with the Irish will likely be her last year of competitive softball.

She came to the school after also considering places like Illinois, St. Louis, Purdue and Wisconsin.

“Notre Dame is the perfect combination of academics and athletics,” Lux said. “Its reputation in both categories is top of the charts. I wanted to go to the best school and put myself in the best position to continue on the next steps of my life.”

Sisters unite
Before she takes the next step, she will be reunited once again with younger sister Kathryn, who just graduated from Glenbard West and is on the second half of a six-month rehab assignment after surgery for a torn labrum in her shoulder.

The sisters add to an already rich and lengthy family tradition. Their father went to Notre Dame, as did his sister and father. Their grandfather on their mother’s side adds a unique link. He was one of the workers who first gilded the famous Golden Dome.

“We grew up loving Notre Dame and having paraphernalia all over the house,” Lux said. “But I never felt pressured about coming here.”

Dealing with pressure is something Lux has improved upon, through both general maturation and at her coaches’ request.

“I’d always been a leader by example and even though I was performing well my first two seasons here, I was still relatively quiet and shy,” Lux said. “My coaches sat me down before this past season and asked me to go out of my comfort zone, become more of a vocal leader.”

Christine and Kathryn Lux have not spoken much about making the transition from high school to Division I softball, but Christine isn’t worried about her younger sister.

“I’m excited about being on the same team with her again — it was a shock when I realized my little sister was growing up and in college,” Lux said.

The two are close and display the same on-the-field traits of dependability, hard work and thriving in pressure situations.

However, things change away from the diamond.

“I’m still a little more quiet and she’s a little more outgoing and bold than I am,” Lux said. “She keeps everybody laughing, the life of the party. In two weeks, she probably already has more friends here than I do. She’ll do fine.”