The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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10 THE WOLVERINE JANUARY 2020 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SIGNS FOUR TOP RECRUITS Kim Barnes Arico and her women's basketball program announced the addition of four signees Nov. 13. Two of the hardwood standouts are ranked among the nation's top 100 by Pros- pects Nation, while another is listed by ESPN as a five-star recruit. The class is ranked No. 12 nationally by ESPN, the highest among Big Ten programs, while Prospect Nation lists it No. 15 and All-Star Girls Report dubbed it the 25th-best class in the land. "I am really excited about our 2020 class," Barnes Arico said. "We were able to target next-level, versatile players from high-character families to con- tinue the Michigan tradition. I was very excited to get two top players from the state of Michigan because that was re- ally important to us, as well as getting two top players on the national scene because of the power of the block M. "This group brings a lot of versatility to our program. That is something we have talked about with our team, which is positionless basketball. We talk about being able to do multiple things and contribute in multiple ways. That is the way our game is headed, and these players definitely do that. "They are long, they are athletic, and they can do a combination of things from handling the ball to posting up to rebounding. … I think this group has a number of different positions and can help us take the next steps in Michigan women's basketball." Cameron Williams, a 6-2 forward from Chicago, leads the way and is ranked No. 30 by ESPN HoopGurlz, which be- stowed on her five-star status. Her fa- ther, Aaron, played professionally in the NBA and overseas for 15 years. On the prep level, she has led Whitney Young High School to two straight sectional semifinals while also starring for the Mac Irvin Fire program in AAU play. Meghan Fiso, a 5-11 guard from Se- attle, is ranked No. 40 nationally by Prospects Nation and averaged 12.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game as a junior en route to 3A All-Metro first-team honors. Whitney Sollom is a 6-4 forward from Hartland, Mich., and was the Livings- ton County Player of the Year as a ju- nior, after she averaged 10.9 points and 8.8 rebounds a game. Prospects Nation lists the daughter of former U-M quarterback Ken Sollom (1987- 91) as the No. 77 recruit in the land. Elise Stuck, a 6-1 wing who is already Charlevoix (Mich.) High's all-time lead- ing scorer with 1,494 points, rounds out the group. The Prospects Nation four-star recruit was named Division 3 All-State for the third straight season last year and also earned a spot on the All-Michigan second team compiled by USA Today as a junior. Some of the other top early signees in Olympic sports are broken down below: WOMEN'S GOLF Michigan women's golf head coach Jan Dowling looked north of the border for new talent and signed Golf Canada Junior National team member Monet Chun to join her Wolverine lineup. WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS Seven-time Junior Olympics national champion Carly Bauman brings her gymnastics acumen to Michigan and is expected to excel in all four events as a Wolverine. MEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING Wyatt Davis and Jake Mitchell are both considered near or at the top of their class nationally in their events. Davis competed for the 2019-20 U.S. National junior team in freestyle and backstroke, while Mitchell is a dis- tance specialist who represented the U.S. at the 2019 FINA World Junior Championships. WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING One of the top breaststrokers nation- ally, Claire Donan excelled in both the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events, qualifying for three events at the 2019 Phillips 66 National Championships. MEN'S TENNIS Ranked No. 18 among this year's top recruits by Tennis Recruiting, Jacob Bickersteth is expected to make an im- mediate impact on head coach Adam Steinberg's squad. WOMEN'S TENNIS The two-woman signing class for head coach Ronni Bernstein's boasts a pair of top-20 talents. Ann Arbor na- tive Kari Miller is ranked No. 9 in the nation by Tennis Recruiting and her incoming classmate, Jaedan Brown, is ranked No. 13 nationally. Brown is a double Michigan legacy signing — her father, Corwin, was a football player at Michigan and her mother, Melissa, swam for the Wolverines. VOLLEYBALL Winning the 2019 Michigan Miss Vol- leyball award was only the icing on the cake for outside hitter Jessica Mruzik, who played for Farmington Hills Mercy High School. The 6-2 six-rotation phe- nom won MVP awards at both the na- tional and international levels before also winning a Michigan state cham- pionship and signing with U-M. WATER POLO Elise Walker, from Los Altos, Calif., is destined to be a cornerstone player for head coach Marcelo Leonardi's pro- gram. "Elise is a game changer," he said. "She is a special talent that we will build around at Michigan. She can play both the defender position and the center position at a high level. Her size, speed and strength will com- mand double teams, and she is going to be able to match up well against elite players in the middle." — Ryan Tice and Bob Miller Kim Barnes Arico's early group of four 2020 signees was ranked No. 12 nationally and first among Big Ten programs by ESPN. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN Maize And Blue Notebook