The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2017 THE WOLVERINE 73 BY LELAND MITCHINSON T he 2017 recruiting cycle has been a time for Michigan's Olympic sports programs to add talent to their rosters in an effort to replace departing team members. Here is a look at top 10 in- coming Olympic sports female fresh- man athletes: 1. SIERRA SCHMIDT ERDENHIEM, PA. SWIMMING AND DIVING The No. 4 recruit in the country ac- cording to CollegeSwimming.com, Schmidt comes to Ann Arbor as a current member of the U.S. Junior National Team. Schmidt won gold in the 800-meter freestyle at the Pan American Games in 2015 and posted two top-10 fin- ishes at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials. Her personal best of 15:57.89 in the 1,650-yard freestyle would have placed fourth at last year 's Big Ten Championships. Her bests in the 200- and 400-meter freestyle are 2:01.64 and 4:07.47, respectively, and her top time in the 800-meter free is 8:27.54. 2. MEGHAN BEAUBIEN NEWPORT, MICH. • SOFTBALL FloSoftball ranks Beaubien as the No. 6 senior in the country. The left- handed pitcher was named the Ga- torade Michigan Player of the Year in softball for the final three seasons of her high school career, selected as a MaxPreps Small Schools All- American three times and led Mon- roe St. Mary Catholic Central to three straight state championships. As a senior, Beaubien went 23-1 with a 0.36 ERA and 317 strikeouts in 152 innings. She allowed 48 hits and issued only 11 walks. She also helped guide her club team, the Beverly Bandits, to the U-16 national title in 2016. "We have high expectations," head coach Carol Hutchins said. "We need Meghan to step in immediately, and I'm sure she's going to have room to grow and to improve. "Our need for Meghan is great. We're very excited about her." Beaubien was featured in the Faces in the Crowd section of Sports Illus- trated in its Aug. 2 issue. 3. ALEXIS "LOU" ALLAN HESPERIA, CALIF. • SOFTBALL Allan comes to Michigan as the No. 8-ranked player in the 2017 class according to FloSoftball. The infielder was also named to the Max- Preps Medium Schools All-America Team as a senior. She batted .644 with 47 hits, 35 runs 11 home runs and 35 RBI, and didn't strike out in her final high school campaign. Allen's club team, Firecracker-Rico, won the Premier Girls Fastpitch U-18 national championship last summer. She also batted .333 for the U.S. Junior National Team, which won the 2017 Junior Women's World Champion- ship in Clearwater, Fla., in late July. Allan's grandmother, Sheila Cor- nell, won Olympic gold medals with the U.S. National Team in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games, and is a member of the National Softball and International Softball Federation Halls of Fame. "She comes from a great pro- gram," Hutchins said. "She's played at the highest level. She's just a good player." 4. ISABELLA LORENZINI CLARENDON HILLS, ILL. • TENNIS The No. 20 blue-chip recruit in the nation, Lorenzini joins a Michigan team that will return the NCAA sin- gles champion to a stacked lineup. The only member of the Wolver- ines' 2017 class, Lorenzini was a semifinalist in the U-18 division of the National Clay Court Champion- ship in July 2016. Lorenzini was a runner up in the Illinois high school state tournament her first two years at Hinsdale Cen- tral and the state champion as a ju- nior. She did not compete in high school as a senior. "I don't really look at her as a fresh- man and think give her time," head coach Ronni Bernstien said. "She's definitely someone that's going to challenge for a lineup spot. "She's just so tough. I think that's the biggest thing that attracted me to her — she competes so hard." Talent Reload Women's Olympic Sports Find New Centerpieces In Their 2017 Classes Alexis "Lou" Allan, an infielder who was rated as the nation's No. 8 overall prospect by FloSoftball, hit .644 with 11 home runs and 35 while not striking out during her senior season. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS