I don't think this gets around the issue at all. If admissions should be merit-based and blind to all other factors, then they should be merit-based and blind to all other factors, regardless of Smith's existence. You're not in favor of anything else I can think of that does anything to address gender imbalances--for instance, the paucity of women in STEM fields. Why is it different in this case?
The lottery for the 90% addresses all the other "imbalance" issues. Below the top cutoff for the top 10%, the rest of the applications that meet the threshold requirements go into a lottery pool. I think you could also give each Dean 10 slots to put anyone they find in as well just like you give the sports coaches. This would allow the clear exceptions to the rule to get in, ie kids who are Classics superstars or musicians or STEM savants.
Come to think of it, the Military uses this same system to fill jobs. Usually your class top grads are given their choice, the top x % get offered fighters, and then everyone is leveled after that.
