Nov. 14, 2008

Columbia, Mo. - Andrea Lewis (Tulsa, Oklahoma) has signed a National Letter of Intent to play tennis for the Missouri Tigers beginning next year. Lewis is a five-star recruit on tennisrecruiting.net, and this is the second year in a row Missouri has picked up a five-star recruit.  Lewis is the No. 1 player in the state of Oklahoma, No. 5 in the Missouri Valley Section, and is listed No. 60 nationally.

Lewis is a two-sport athlete who was also nationally recruited in track, where she had tremendous successin high school. She began running to train for tennis. As coaches recognized her talent in distance running Lewis was urged to try out for cross country.  Two and a half years later and she has yet to lose a race in Oklahoma.  She admits it is a painful and grueling sport.  Lewis has won 16 cross country events in Oklahoma, including consecutive individual 5A Oklahoma cross country state titles in 2007 and 2008.

"We have a specific direction we are taking Mizzou's team, and Andrea fits that perfectly," said Coach Starkey.  "Andrea is fast, and it is scary how competitive she is.  She is a great athlete with good weapons, and a lot of tenacity.  She hits a strong ball, and while we are a well-conditioned team, she will probably help take that up a notch.  The things that stood out most were her fight, athleticism, and that there's no quit in her.  Due to track, she's actually played a more limited schedule than a lot of girls, but has had great national wins nonetheless.  She's a great athlete and has great tennis is in front of her.  As long as she keeps working hard, which seems to be all she knows how to do anyway, she's going to be a solid addition.  Our fans in Columbia will enjoy watching this one fight the next several years."

In addition to her success on the court and on the track, Lewis will add to the strong academic tradition of the Tiger tennis team.

She is currently No.5 in her class of over 250 at Tulsa's Bishop Kelley High School. She is a National Honor Society member, as well as a Link Crew leader.  She was captain of her cross country track team.  She has been a peer helper at her school, where she has assisted fellow students who have various issues outside of the classroom.  Lewis is heavily involved in her church and has done week-long missions in inner-city New Orleans every summer since the devastating flood damaged the city.  She has also been involved in several community service projects.  At Mizzou, she intends to study either statistics or engineering.

"I absolutely fell in love with Mizzou," said Lewis. "I knew I wanted to stay in the Midwest.  I looked at a few schools and had some great opportunities, but I was blown away by the academics and just how nice Mizzou was.  They've got great support and their facilities are amazing.  I already knew a lot of the girls and their chemistry was great.  It was actually an easy decision.  I am so excited to be a Missouri Tiger, and can't wait to get started."

Lewis selected Mizzou over Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas, and Tulsa.