In his fourth year as the head volleyball coach at UW, Pete Waite is starting to land the top recruits in the nation. This year’s recruiting class will match last year’s excellent class, as last week the team announced the signing of three phenomenal players.

After last year’s Big Ten championship, Waite landed three players named to the Volleyball Fab 50 list. These players, middle blocker Sheila Shaw (9th), middle blocker Lauren Ford (28th) and defensive specialist/libero Beth Haberli (50th), have all received quality playing time and continue to produce for the Badgers.

Amy Bladow from Monument, Colorado; Lindsey Boler from Destrehan, Louisiana; and Maria Carlini from LaSalle, Ontario will continue in line as Waite’s next outstanding recruiting class.

“As a staff, we had some specific needs we went after in this class,” Waite said. “We wanted size, athleticism and mental toughness with this group.

Waite did get the size he wanted for the recruits, with Bladow listed as 6-foot-1, Boler at 6 foot and Carlini at 6-foot-2. All three players played middle blocker in high school, but don’t be surprised if next year one or even two of the players move to outside hitter.

Due to graduation, the Badgers will lose two outside hitters in Erin Byrd and Lori Rittenhouse and middle blocker Amy Hultgren.

“We really never know until they come into the gym and we see how they handle this level and each position,” Waite said. “They are capable of it; all three are middles right now, but there is a good possibility one or two could move.”

Bladow is a two-time all-state selection, and her high school, Lewis Palmer, recently won the Colorado State 4A championship for the second consecutive year. Her club volleyball team, the Pikes Peak, finished fifth in the 2002 Junior Olympics.

“I think Amy will bring the intangibles that make the difference between good and great teams,” Waite said.

Along with Bladow, Boler was a two-time all-state selection and played for the same volleyball club team as former UW All-American Lizzy Fitzgerald.

“Lindsey is a phenomenal athlete with one of the fastest arms I’ve seen,” Waite said. “She’s lightening quick off the ground and can be an explosive attacker.”

Carlini comes to Wisconsin with experience playing with the Canadian Junior National team, for which she was named the 2002 captain.

“There is no doubt in our minds that Maria is the best player coming out of Canada this year,” Waite said.

“This is also a trio of really positive, outgoing kids. I think they’ll be great additions to our line-up. This is a strong class, and the people in it are capable of coming in and making us better right away.”

Another sport recording a big recruiting coup last week was the men’s cross-country team, as head coach Jerry Schumacher landed the much sought after Chris Solinsky, a senior stand-out at Stevens Point Area Senior High.

Solinsky’s resume includes his feat of recently becoming only the third boys’ prep runner in state history to claim three state individual cross-country championships and is the two-time defending champion and state-record holder in the 3,200-meter run.

“He has just a tremendous work ethic,” Donn Behnke, his high-school coach, said. “He does everything you ask of him.”

Behnke also told of how at first Solinsky was not even sure if he wanted to include Wisconsin on his list of schools to look at. Eventually, he did decide to at least visit Wisconsin in addition to looking at other schools such as Oregon, Colorado, Notre Dame and Stanford.

“I think the thing with Wisconsin is that he really developed a good repertoire with the coach, Jerry Schumacher, and got to meet some of the guys,” Behnke explained.

“This is a real nice fit for him,” Behnke told the Stevens Point Journal. “I know Stanford was really interested, but Chris is a Midwest kid. He will be happy at Wisconsin.”

Solinsky also agreed with his coach as he told the Journal, “The coaches, the team, the atmosphere were all just awesome.”

The UW women’s basketball team was not left out of the recruiting excitement, as the team also added an experienced winner to next season’s roster after signing 6-foot forward Sasha Reaves to a national letter of intent.

The South Carolina native became the first 8th grader to start every game of her team’s state-championship season and has only missed one game in her five-year career. Reaves has been named the Toast of the Coast player of the year and Murtle Beach Sun News player of the year two years running and was also named the region VII player of the year and an Adidas All-American in 2002.

“Sasha is an extremely athletic on the block player, but she can face up and score,” head coach Jane Albright said. “People say she’s a little undersized in the post, but she can score anyway.”

Reaves averaged 22.6 points, 12.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game as a junior and has led her team to a 74-6 record over the last five years. Coach Albright plans on adding two more letters of intent this school year in an effort to continue filling the voids of last season’s senior graduates.

“We will definitely sign three players this year, and we may sign another one within the next week,” Albright said. “We’re still filling our oats, obviously, trying to get what we feel we need.”

Albright, who started her coaching career in South Carolina, was a peer of Reaves’ coach, who has been in Mullins, S.C. for 41 years. The Badgers will be looking forward to the addition of Reaves next season, as she is the first player from South Carolina to play for the Badger women.

“I think she’ll really add a lot of quickness and speed,” Albright said. “She will be an excellent complement to the players we have on our team.”