May 18, 2009
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- Iowasoccer.com
IOWA CITY, IA – On the soccer field, defenders don’t get the credit they deserve. They usually aren’t the ones scoring the goals, but they relish opportunities to squash the opposing team’s scoring chances. Future Hawkeye Katherine “Kat” Lewis can do both.
Lewis is part of the Kennedy H.S. (Cedar Rapids) trio that will join the Hawkeyes this fall, along with teammates Jade Grimm and Rachel Spellerberg. Standing at 5’8″, her size allows her to play at both defender and in the midfield, positions she has excelled at on the high school level.
Iowa head coach Ron Rainey isn’t sure what position Lewis will be slotted into come the fall, but seemingly like the rest of his nine-member recruiting class, Lewis’ versatility and work ethic are added bonuses.
“Kat has gotten better each year I have seen her play,” Rainey said. “She has quickened her speed of play in the middle of the field and has done quite well with her club team and her high school team. She is tall and strong and we want her to be a ball winner for us in the middle of the field.”
Rainey likes his midfielders to have some size. Former Hawkeye Kelsey Shaw (6’0″) and sophomore-to-be Sarah Langlas (5’10”) both excelled at the position last year and Lewis could be the next, should she find herself as a permanent midfielder.
After sitting her freshman season at Kennedy out with an injury, Lewis helped Kennedy to back-to-back conference championships (2007, 2008). As a sophomore, Lewis was a second team all-state selection, as well as a first team all-conference and all-metro pick. Last year as a junior, Lewis was one of the best players in the state of Iowa, as she was a first team all-state selection and a member of the all-tournament team.
In each of Lewis’ first three years, Kennedy was state runner-up. This year, though, Lewis and the rest of her teammates at Kennedy looked poised to make a state title run once again.
Lewis plans on joining up with the program later this summer. She is undecided on a major.