Florida receives 3 National Letters of Intent

November 9th, 2005

University of Florida volleyball coach Mary Wise announced the signings of Allison Cecchini (Brentwood, CA / Liberty HS), Elyse Cusack (Gainesville, FL / P.K. Yonge HS) and Janine Williams (Gainesville, FL / P.K. Yonge HS) to national letters of intent on Wednesday with the athletes slated to begin competing for Florida in the 2006 season.

"This class not only meets some of our immediate needs, but also has the talent to leave a major mark on our program," said Wise, who is in her 15th season at Florida. "In Janine and Elyse we're reaping the benefits from the way volleyball has grown in our area. An added bonus is they both will start school in January. In Allison we'll have an elite level setter and a player with as much volleyball knowledge as any high school senior we've brought into our program," Wise said. "All three of them will be able to help us in numerous ways."

Cecchini, a 5-11 setter who played for the Delta Valley club team, was ranked as the No. 24 player in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com. She has guided her 2005 high school team to a 24-7 record and a perfect 13-0 mark in the Bay Valley Athletic League with the squad's final regular season match set for Thursday. Cecchini has helped put her team in a position to dethrone rival high school Carondelet for the league title for the first time since 1997.Her high school team has advanced to the Northern California state tournament in each of the last three seasons. A three-time all-league selection, Cecchini was named the Bay Valley and team MVP in 2004 after posting 343 kills, 457 assists and 281 digs. In 2005, she has recorded a pair of triple doubles, including 11 kills, 15 assists and 15 digs in Wednesday night's win against Carondelet. With Delta Valley, she was selected to the 2004 USA Girls' Junior Olympic Championships all-tournament team after her squad finished fifth. She also played on the USA High Performance Team with Williams in 2002 and 2003. Cecchini chose Florida over Texas, Arizona, and California.

Cusack, a 5-9 libero, also played with the Gainesville Juniors with current Gators Kelsey Bowers and Marcie Hampton and fellow signee, Williams. Along with Williams, Cusack brings the total of Gainesville players to sign with Florida to five in the Mary Wise era, which includes three from P.K. Yonge. Cusack was named to the PrepVolleyball.com 2005 Senior Aces list and helped lead her high school to the Florida Class 3A regional semifinals in 2005 with a final record of 24-6. In 2004, she earned third-team Class 2A all-state honors.

Williams, a 6-0 outside hitter who also played for the Gainesville Juniors, was ranked as the No. 41 player in the nation according to PrepVolleyball.com in addition being named one of the top 25 "underclassmen to watch" in each of the last three years by Volleyball Magazine. A two-time Florida Class 2A first-team all-state selection and a one-time second team pick, Williams helped lead P.K. Yonge to a 24-6 record and to the Florida Class 3A regional semifinal in 2005 by averaging 5.30 kills and 2.70 digs per game in the state tournament. Williams also was a member of the 2004 USA Youth National Training Team and played on the USA High Performance Team with Cecchini in 2002 and 2003. As a seventh grader, she played for the P.K. Yonge high school squad that won the Florida Class 2A state title with the team finishing as the runner-up in 2003. Williams chose Florida over Georgia Tech, Texas, UCLA and Georgia.