UW head volleyball coach Pete Waite announced the signing of four student-athletes to national letters of intent Thursday. Audra Jeffers from Hartland, Wis., Taylor Reineke from Naperville, Ill., Jackie Simpson from Downers Grove, Ill., and Jocelyn Wack from Salem, Wis., have signed to play with the Badgers beginning in the fall of 2004.
Jeffers, a 6-foot-2 middle blocker, led Hartland Arrowhead High School to the recent WIAA sectionals. She was named a first-team all-state honoree, and the Classic 8 Conference Player of the Year as a senior. Jeffers is a two-time all-conference selection and a two-time team captain. As a member of the Milwaukee Sting volleyball club, Jeffers was a member of the championship team at the 2003 Asics national tournament and also finished fifth at the 2003 Junior Olympics. She chose Wisconsin over Northwestern, Illinois and Arizona State.
Reineke, a 6-foot-3 middle blocker, is a 2001 and 2002 AAU Junior National All-American. She also earned All-America honors in 2003 at the National Junior Olympics. As a member of the Sports Performance Volleyball Club, she won a gold medal at the 2003 National Junior Olympics in the 18-open division and at the 2003 National Junior Classic. Reineke also won gold at the 2001 and 2002 AAU Junior National Championships and a silver medal at the 2003 AAU Junior National Championships. Reineke is playing for the Illinois State AA championship with Naperville North High School this weekend. As a junior, she was a first-time all-conference and all-area selection while earning honorable mention all-state honors.
Reineke chose Wisconsin over Georgia Tech, Penn State, Minnesota, Nebraska and Illinois.
Simpson, a 6-foot-1 setter, was a member of the 2002 USA Volleyball High Performance A2 team. She is ranked among the top 50 prospects by both Student Sports Magazine and PrepVolleyball.com. Simpson, who plays on the Sports Performance Volleyball Club with Reineke, also won a gold medal at the 2003 National Junior Olympics in the 18-open division, gold at the 2003 National Junior Classic, gold at the 2001 and 2002 AAU Junior National Championships and silver at the 2003 AAU Junior National Championship.
Simpson was captain of the 2003 Downers Grove South High School team, which recently lost in the sectional finals of the state tournament to Reineke and Naperville North High School. She was a second-team all-state selection by both the Chicago Tribune and Champaign News Gazette in 2002 and was named to the state all-tournament team. Simpson chose Wisconsin over Michigan State, North Carolina, Kansas State and Colorado.
Wack, a 5-foot-11 outside hitter/defensive specialist, recently led Westosha Central High School to the state Division 1 championship. She earned state all-tournament honors and was named first-team all-state for the second consecutive year despite missing half of the season due to preseason knee surgery.
In 2002, Wack was named the Gatorade Player of the Year and was the Lakeshore Conference Player of the Year. She was also a 2001, 2002 and 2003 all-tournament selection at the Junior Nationals. She chose Wisconsin over UCLA, UC Santa Barbara and Florida State.
Overall, Coach Waite is pleased with the Badgers’ new recruiting class and is excited to see what they will be able to accomplish at UW.
“Our recruiting staff of Christy Johnson and Rod Wilde worked very hard and did a great job to bring this class together,” Waite said. “We are all looking forward to seeing this class mature and seeing just how far they can go as Badgers.”
Shields named academic all-district
Morgan Shields, a senior on the UW volleyball team, has been named to the 2003 Academic All-District V University Division first team, which is sponsored by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Shields, a 5-foot-11 setter, will now appear on the national ballot for the CoSIDA Academic All-America team. She was a 2002 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) third-team All-American. She was also a 2002 All-Big Ten and AVCA All-Mideast Region honoree.
As the starting setter for the No.23-ranked Badgers, Shields ranks No.12 in the nation with 13.42 assists per game this year. She has started all 25 matches this season and has also played in all 96 games. Shields has served as a UW co-captain for the last two seasons and was named to the all-tournament team of the InnTowner Invitational earlier this season.
A psychology major, Shields has a 3.63 grade point average and is a two-time Academic all-Big Ten honoree. She was awarded a Hilldale undergraduate faculty research fellowship and is a four-time member of the Dean’s List. Shields is a member of the college honors program and is a member of Chi Alpha Sigma, the national college athlete honor society.
To be named to the honor team a student-athlete must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.2 and must be a non-first year starter or key reserve for their team.
– compiled from staff reports
