UK Women’s Soccer Head Coach Warren Lipka announced Monday the signings of seven student-athletes to national letters-of-intent. The Kentucky Class of 2008 includes defender of Woodbridge, Va.; midfielder of Westlake, Ohio; midfielder of Cincinnati, Ohio; forward/midfielder of Denver, Colo.; forward of Columbus, Ohio.
“We were able to fill some spots and address some needs with this class,” Lipka said. “We have some outstanding young players coming in who will contribute immediately during our 2004 season.”
Though injuries cut short her last three high school seasons, Bolder earned honorable-mention All-State honors each year. Bolder solidified a reputation as a stingy defender for Garfield H.S. and RFC Milan, the nation’s 12th-ranked club team, and she brings plenty of academic credentials to the table as well. Bolder has been a member of the International Baccalaureate Program each of the past four years.
Fenix starred in soccer, basketball and softball at Westlake H.S. She earned first-team All-State soccer honors in 2002 and 2003 and is a two-time All-Cleveland, three-time All-Cuyahoga County and four-time All-Southwest Conference selection. A Cleveland Plain Dealer All-Star, she tallied 47 goals and 34 assists at Westlake. Fenix also is a first-team Scholastic All-American and a first-team Adidas Scholastic All-East district selection. Fenix played for Zdravko Popovic on his Internationals club team, where she was a teammate of fellow UK signee Ashley Menick.
Gaunt is an All-District and All-State selection out of Mason H.S. Gaunt is a two-time All-Southwest Ohio first-team and three-time All-Fort Ancient Valley Conference first-team selection. A member of the Region II ODP team, she was selected to participate in the Adidas ESP/National Camp prior to her junior season and has lettered in soccer three times. A member of the Cincinnati United Premier (CUP) club team, Gaunt also was named to the Ohio All-Academic soccer team.
Jones was a two-time All-County selection and Offensive Player of the Year at Collins Hill H.S. Jones plays for the state champion GSA Phoenix Red club team, who also was a finalist in the prestigious WAGS club tournament.
Lanphier, a two-time All-City selection from Denver East H.S., is a four-year member of the Colorado ODP team and a two-year ODP regional pool participant. A varsity letter winner in soccer, track, cross country and field hockey, Lanphier played for Jared Spires on the state champion Real Colorado club team.
Menick is a first-team All-Pioneer conference and All-County selection from Brunswick H.S. She is a four-year letter winner in soccer and has placed in two events at the OHSAA Track Championships. Menick has won seven state championships with the Internationals club team, which also won the Region II championship with Menick and fellow UK signee Kelsey Fenix as members.
Rowlands is an All-District and All-Central Catholic League selection out of Bishop Ready H.S., where she was the team’s most valuable player. A three-year member of the Ohio ODP team and a four-year member of the ODP district team, Rowlands is a four-year captain for the state runner-up Ohio Premier club team, the Buckeye Premier Soccer League champion. She is the vice president of her senior class. Her brother, Tommy, is an NCAA wrestling champion at Ohio State.
The seven signees figure to play pivotal roles in replacing departing seniors Kara McCue, Elizabeth Ramsey, Lauren Russell, Heather Saas, Jen Wilkinson and Amber Wilson.
