TCU Extends Contract of Prentice Lewis
7/20/2004 12:00:00 AM
July 20, 2004
FORT WORTH, Texas - TCU and head volleyball coach Prentice Lewis have agreed on a multi-year contract extension, Athletics Director Eric Hyman announced today. Specific terms were not released per university policy.
"We are very pleased with the direction of the volleyball program under Prentice Lewis," said Hyman. "She and her staff have worked hard to move the program forward. She has been part of several top-level programs, both as a player and as a coach, and has a burning desire to take TCU to that national level of play."
In two seasons at the helm of the TCU volleyball program, Lewis, a member of the 1983 national championship squad at Long Beach State University, owns a 32-34 record. The team has made back-to-back appearances in the Conference USA Tournament and, for the first time in school history, posted a 20-win season in 2003.
"I'm really excited about the extension," said Lewis. "A lot of volleyball coaches, even with the top programs, only have year-to-year contracts. I've looked forward to this for a while. (My husband) Lew and I are excited to stay in the Fort Worth area and look forward to being part of TCU Volleyball for years to come."
Lewis's first season featured a squad that posted the third-best all-time record in school history with a 12-18 finish, and competed in its first conference tournament since 1998. In addition, it logged its first members on an all-Conference USA team (Dominika Szabo) and on a Verizon Academic squad (Stephanie Watson).
The 2003 team ticked off its goals one by one as it reached for new heights in Lewis's second campaign. First the group earned the school's best record ever with a 20-16 mark, then the squad advanced into the second round of the C-USA Tournament, a first for any TCU volleyball team, and had a pair of players earn all-conference honors (Szabo and Anna Vaughn).
In addition, Lewis has overcome a series of personal challenges since her arrival at TCU. In early March of 2004, she became disoriented while on a recruiting trip and was rushed to the hospital upon her arrival in Fort Worth. Four days later, she had surgery for what appeared to be a brain tumor. What the doctors found was not a tumor, but rather an inflamed abscess pressing against her brain. Never one to be sidelined for long, Lewis was back in the office two weeks after her surgery. And armed with a helmet to protect her head, she was coaching again just a short month after brain surgery. The challenges have only strengthened Lewis's fierce drive to get TCU volleyball to the top of the pack.
Lewis, who was named just the second head volleyball coach in TCU history on February 5, 2002, served as an assistant coach at Florida prior to joining the Horned Frog family. She also logged coaching stints at UC-Irvine and Oregon after graduating from Long Beach State.
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