Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Inks Quartet to National Letters of Intent
11/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Nov. 16, 2010
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern head coach Kate Drohan announced today (Nov. 10) the signing of four future Wildcats to National Letters of Intent. Olivia Duehr (Antioch, Ill./Antioch), Anna Edwards (La Cañada, Calif./La Cañada), Julia Kuhn (Middletown, N.J./Middletown South) and Amy Letourneau (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) comprise the incoming class, which will matriculate to Northwestern in the fall of 2011.
On behalf of Northwestern University and our softball program, we welcome these four young women to our softball family," Drohan said. "This group has shown tremendous skill, athleticism and power on the softball field. More importantly, their work ethic, character and respect of the game made it clear to our staff that we wanted them to be a part of our community. With all of that being said, my favorite quality they have shown is how excited they are to be Northwestern Wildcats."
Duehr is a two-time All-State choice by the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and the Illinois Coaches Association, helping lead Antioch High School to a third-place finish in the 2010 3A Illinois state playoffs. She has a powerful bat, contributing to a state-record number of team home runs for Antioch last season while holding single-season and career marks for home runs with her club team, the Illinois Chill Gold.
"Olivia is the type of student-athlete who identifies her goal, sets the bar high and is relentless in her achievement," Drohan said. "Olivia is already adding to the culture of our program."
Edwards is a three-time All-Rio Hondo League first-team honoree who batted .590 with a 1.034 slugging percentage as a junior while helping her high school to back-to-back league titles in 2009 and 2010. Her junior campaign led to Rio Hondo League MVP honors along with an all-state medium school first-team selection.
"Anna is a tremendous person who also does great things on the softball field," Drohan said. "Defensively, Anna is versatile and understands the subtleties of the game. Offensively, she hits for average and power. We are excited about the immediate impact Anna will have on our program."
Kuhn was named first-team all-state, Monmouth County Player of the Year and a finalist for the New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year after leading the conference in hits (63) and runs scored (44) to go along with a 14-1 record with a 1.28 ERA in the circle in 2010. She has led her high school to back-to-back state titles, earning a No. 22 national ranking for USA Today along the way.
"Julia is a dedicated, motivated student in the classroom and on the softball field," Drohan said. "She can change the game every time she steps in the batters box. We are looking forward to seeing Julia everyday and adding to the rich offensive history of our program."
Letourneau was named Trinity League Most Valuable Pitcher, first-team all-county, first-team All-CIF and ESPN Rise All-State first-team as a junior. She led her high school to the 2010 CIF-SS Division I championship, striking out 22 batters in 11 innings of work in the first round of the tournament.
"When you watch Amy play, you quickly learn two things," Drohan said. "First, she gets her money's worth with every swing, and second, she loves to compete. She is precisely the type of student-athlete we want to hand the ball to in the pitcher's circle.
Following are complete bios for Northwestern's Class of 2015:
Olivia Duehr
5-8 • OF/P • R/R
Antioch, Ill./Antioch
High School: All-State selection by the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and the Illinois Coaches Association as a sophomore and junior ... Named Lake County Player of the Year as a sophomore by the Daily Herald, Waukegan News Sun and Pioneer Press after earning All-Area accolades from those publications as a sophomore ... Member of the 2010 Chicago Sun-Times Top 100 Players to Watch ... Participated in the 2010 Chicago Tribune all-star game ... High school finished third in the 2010 3A Illinois state playoffs, setting an IHSA record with 51 home runs (including a state-record seven grand slams) and a school record with 32 wins ... Coached by Jeff Tylka ... Has a .424 average with 17 home runs and 81 RBIs during her high school career ... In the circle, is 39-8 with a 1.04 ERA and 442 strikeouts in 324 innings ... Played club softball with the Illinois Chill Gold coached by Gerry Quinn ... Team finished 17th at the inaugural Premier Fastpitch Nationals in 2010 ... Holds Chill Gold single-season (12) and career (33) records for home runs ... Recorded a hit in nine-consecutive at-bats with four home runs at the 2009 ASA Gold Regional ... North Suburban Conference All-Academic Team member in 2010 ... 2010 Freshmen Advisory member.
Personal: Born Olivia Ann Duehr ... Daughter of Kurt and Sandy Duehr ... Has a younger sister, Alexis ... Chose Northwestern over Wisconsin, Nebraska, Illinois State and UIC ... Plans to major in secondary education.
Anna Edwards
5-6 • IF/C • R/R
La Cañada, Calif./La Cañada
High School: Three-time All-Rio Hondo League first-team choice ... Two-time All-San Gabriel Valley first-team selection ... As a junior in 2010, batted .590 with a .654 on-base percentage and a 1.034 slugging percentage ... Named Rio Hondo League MVP, All-Los Angeles County Area first team, CIF Southern Section Division 5 first team and all-state medium school first team as a junior ... Owned the highest batting average of anyone on the 2010 All-Los Angeles Country Area first team ... High school won the Rio Hondo League championship in both 2009 and 2010 and were CIF-SS semifinalists in 2010 ... Academic Team honorable mention and Academic Emblem recipient ... National Society of High School Scholars ... Plays club with the San Gabriel Valley Velocity, serving as team captain ... Club team assistant coach is three-time Northwestern All-American Garland Cooper ... Club squads she has played on finished ninth at Nationals in 2009 and third at Premier 2010.
Personal: Born Anna Jane Edwards ... Daughter of Craig and Jane Edwards ... Attends the same high school as Northwestern men's golf 2010 Big Ten champion David Lipsky ... Chose Northwestern over Michigan and Cal Poly-SLO ... Anticipated major is undecided.
Julia Kuhn
5-8 • IF • R/R
Middletown, N.J./Middletown South
High School: Three-time Newark Star Ledger first-team All-County, Asbury Park Press All-Shore Conference and Class A North All-Division selection ... Named first-team all-state, Monmouth County Player of the Year, Team MVP and a finalist for the New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year in 2010 ... Led the conference in hits (63) and runs scored (44) along with a 14-1 record with a 1.28 ERA in the circle in 2010 ... Holds her high school's career records for hits (138) and doubles (32) along with single-season marks for batting average (.583), hits (63) and doubles (14) ... High school won the 2009 and 2010 overall Group III state championships with three-straight Group III sectional titles ... Was the winning pitcher and hit a three-run home run in the Group III state semifinals in 2010 and had the game-winning RBI in the title game in 2009 ... High school had a 22-game winning streak and a school-record 30 wins in 2010, earning the school's first No. 1 state ranking and a No. 22 USA Today national ranking ... Had played club with the West Jersey Witches-Dimon (2008-09), the NJ Breakers Gold (2009-10) and the Gold Coast Hurricanes (2010-present) ... Finished fourth at the Colorado Fireworks and 17th at ASA 16U Nationals with West Jersey before competing at ASA Gold Nationals with the NJ Breakers ... Eagle Scholar high honor roll every semester of her career ... French Honor Society ... AP Scholar ... Peer Leader ... Winner of the Eastman Scholar Award and a member of the Monmouth County Leadership Conference.
Personal: Born Julia Rose Kuhn ... Daughter of Steve and Maryellen Kuhn ... Sister, Liza, is a pitcher at Princeton University ... Has an uncle who played high school soccer with NU head men's soccer coach Tim Lenahan ... Chose Northwestern over Princeton, Florida and Virginia ... Plans to major in journalism.
Amy Letourneau
5-11 • P/1B • R/R
Laguna Niguel, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic
High School: As a junior, named Trinity League Most Valuable Pitcher, Team MVP, first-team all-county, first-team All-CIF and ESPN Rise first-team all-state ... Batted .475 with five home runs at the plate while compiling a 15-4 record and a 0.67 ERA in the circle as a junior ... In the first-round game of the CIF playoffs as a junior, she struck out 22 batters in 11 innings of work ... Threw a three-hitter to defeat then-No. 1 ranked Valencia, snapping her opponent's 22-game winning streak ... Team won the 2010 CIF-SS Division I championship ... As a sophomore, named Team MVP, Trinity League MVP and second-team all-county, batting .530 with three home runs and a 1.13 ERA that season ... Named a scholar athlete in all of her high school seasons ... Played two years of club with the Explosion Gold along with current Wildcat Marisa Bast.
Personal: Born Amy Catherine Letourneau ... Daughter of Mike and Debbie Letourneau ... Attends the same high school as three-time Northwestern All-American Garland Cooper ... Chose Northwestern over Stanford ... Anticipated major is undecided.
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