The early signing period for collegiate National Letters of Intent for 2011-12 began last Wednesday and a number of Washtenaw County athletes were quick to sign their commitments.

As the Nov. 17 deadline approaches, more athletes are signing on with Division 1 athletic programs.

Ypsilanti senior Tyler Richardson plans to commit to play volleyball at Middle Tennessee State University on Tuesday. A 6-foot middle hitter, Richardson chose MTSU after strongly considering the University of Albany.

"I felt like it would help me more with academics, I liked their coaching staff better, and it seemed like they really wanted me,” said Richardson, who played her club ball with Instant Replay out of Southfield. “I’m looking forward to the level of competition.”

As previously reported by AnnArbor.com, Dexter senior Dave LaMore signed to play basketball at Cornell on Monday and was joined by classmates Andrew Erber, who will play lacrosse at Virginia Military Institute, and Stephen Sobczak, who'll swim at the Missouri.

Sobczak is a two-time high school All-American in the 100-yard freestyle and 100 backstroke and was runner-up in those events as a junior at the Division 2 MHSAA state championships.

Erber led Dexter with 58 goals and 30 assists as a junior. Erber was a first-team All-SEC White Division selection and a Division 2 All-State honorable mention.

Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at petercunningham@annarbor.com or by phone at 734-623-2561. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.