UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University Women's Basketball team has announced its 2013 recruiting class, as three Michigan prep standouts have signed National Letters of Intent to continue their academic and athletic careers at SVSU.
This year's recruiting class features Grace Whelan (East Lansing, Mich. / East Lansing HS), Courtney Zenner (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Grand Rapids Catholic Central HS) and Bethany McCord (Warren, Mich. / Warren Cousino HS).
"It is with great excitement that we announce these three as the latest additions to the SVSU Women's Basketball program. Each of them fills a need for us and will add depth to the current roster. The common denominator with these three is that they continued to be better players, every time we saw them play. They are hardworking kids who strive for excellence in both the classroom and on the court. We couldn't be more excited to have them join us." – SVSU Women's Basketball Head Coach Jamie Pewinski
Click here to view photos of the 2013 SVSU Women's Basketball Recruiting Class
2013 SVSU Women's Basketball Recruiting Class
Grace Whelan – 6'2" – Forward, East Lansing H.S., East Lansing, Mich.
While at East Lansing High School, Whelan has earned four varsity letters, one state championship, three regional championships and three district championships in basketball alone. Whelan has also garnered awards for All-Academic, All-Area, participated in the MI/OH Border Battle and is a member of the MGBR Elite program. She plans on majoring in Secondary Education / Mathematics at SVSU.
"Grace is going to add some depth in the post for us. She has great touch around the basket, can run the floor and is a really good perimeter shooter. With that said, what we like most about Grace is her pure excitement for being a Cardinal and her enthusiasm to be a college student-athlete" – Coach Pewinski
Courtney Zenner – 5'7" – Guard, Grand Rapids Catholic Central H.S., Grand Rapids, Mich.
During her time at Grand Rapids Catholic Central, Zenner was a member of the 2010-2011 team that went 23-2 and the 2011-2012 state runner-up team that finished the season 24-4. Courtney has been recognized through a number of different local and team awards, as well as through her participation with the Michigan Rage basketball program. She is still undecided on what her major will be at SVSU.
"Courtney is one of the better shooters, if not the best shooter, in the entire class of 2013 in the state of Michigan. As we continued to watch Courtney over the summer, she stood out as much more than just a shooter though. She is a good ball-handler that can play the point if needed and she just flat out loves to play the game" – Coach Pewinski
Bethany McCord – 5'10" – Forward, Warren Cousino H.S., Warren, Mich.
McCord preps at Warren Cousino High School where she has been a member of the All-League MAC White team, honorable mention All-Macomb County and All-Metro Area (Detroit News). As a junior, Bethany was named Team MVP for Cousino. She has also participated in the MI / OH Border Battle and 2012 BCAM Reaching Higher Event. Bethany is currently undecided on her area of study at SVSU.
"We feel extremely lucky to have Bethany become a Cardinal. She is a phenomenal athlete that is only in the beginning stages of learning how to play basketball. Her improvement from the beginning of the summer to the end was incredible and with her work ethic, we feel that she is going to be a really tough matchup in our conference. She has the ability to guard four spots on the floor and is a relentless rebounder" – Coach Pewinski