Hall of Fame
Cathy Freimuth Pratl played for the Lewis volleyball team from 1980-84 and was a part of the program's transition from the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Wimen (AIAW) to NCAA Division II and the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
A four-year starter who red shirted in 1982 due to an ankle injury, Pratl was an All-Great Lakes Valley Conference selection in 1983 and 1984 and was the Flyers' captain and Most Valuable Player in 1984. She was a member of the 1980 team that was 48-13, won the Illinois AIAW title and played in the AIAW national tournament; the 1981 team that won a school-record 51 matches (51-11-2), won Illinois and Midwest AIAW championships, finished sixth nationally in the AIAW and was the NCAA Division II national runner-up; and the 1983 team that won the GLVC crown.
Pratl still holds the Lewis season records of 529 kills and 81 service aces she established in 1984.
Pratl, who earned a degree in social work, worked as a care coordinator at Ingalls Memorial Hospital for 15 years. For the past four years she has coached instructionals volleyball for the Ultimate Volleyball Clun. She and her husband, Joe, live in Frankfort with daughter Breanna and son David.
