The University of Akron Athletics
Tennis Recruiting Class Recognized Nationally
June 02 | Women's Tennis
– The University of Akron tennis team's 2008-09 recruiting
class was ranked as one of the best in the nation, according to a
poll released on Monday by TennisRecruiting.net.
The Zips are one of 11 teams listed in the others receiving votes
category in the top-25 balloting, tying University of Chicago with
three tallies. Further, Akron was the only school from the state of
Ohio on the list as well as the lone Mid-American Conference
program to be recognized.
"It is really exciting to have our incoming freshman class
recognized as one of the best in the country alongside the
historically top tennis programs from the biggest conferences,"
Akron head coach Jeffrey Wyshner said. "To have tennis experts
across the country begin to recognize the progress we are making is
very satisfying. Obviously, we will have to put in the hard work
this coming fall to translate this recruiting class into success on
the court, but I am very confident in our ability to do so."
In May, Wyshner added freshman Zaruhi Harutyunyan
(Yerevan, Armenia/Yerevan Secondary School No. 134) and sophomore
transfer Anna Baronayte (St. Petersburg,
Russia/Arystos Lyceum/West Virgina State) to his roster for next
season.
Harutyunyan ranked as high as 150th in the International Tennis
Federation (ITF) junior rankings and holds a career record of 32-11
in ITF singles play and a 21-9 mark against doubles competition.
She was invited to play on the Armenian Fed Cup Team, but had to
pass on the opportunity because of the potential of it forfeiting
her NCAA eligibility.
Baronayte went 28-3 at Division II West Virginia State's No. 1
singles position last season. Included in that record was a 5-0
mark versus Division I opponents. She was the West Virginia
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (WVIAC) freshman- and
player-of-the-year recipient this past season, and helped guide the
Yellow Jackets to their first league championship and first
appearance in the D-II tournament.
A panel made up of journalists, tournament directors, referees and
ranking chairmen vote on the top classes. Schools received 25
points for each first-place vote, 24 points for each second-place
vote, on down to one point for each 25th-place vote. Because data
for transfer students is hard to come by, the panelists do not
consider them in the voting process. Therefore, only Harutyunyan
was considered when analyzing the Zips' incoming class.
The TennisRecruiting.net women's mid-major recruiting poll
is scheduled to be released next week.
