The University of Akron Athletics
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Tennis Incoming Class Ranked Among Mid-Majors
June 09 | Women's Tennis
– The University of Akron tennis team's 2008-09 recruiting
class is ranked No. 12 among the nation's mid-major programs,
according to a poll released on Monday by TennisRecruiting.net. Last week, the Zips' incoming
class was one of 11 listed in the others receiving votes category
in the web site's top-25 national recruiting poll.
Akron is one of three Mid-American Conference programs recognized
in today's mid-major poll, with Miami (Ohio) holding the No. 13
position and Western Michigan being listed No. 25. Brigham Young,
out of the Mountain West Conference, was the top vote getter, with
Boston University and St. Mary's (Calif.) rounding out the top
three, respectively.
A panel made up of journalists, tournament directors, referees and
ranking chairmen vote in the poll. Because data for transfer
students is hard to come by, the panelists do not consider them in
the voting process. Therefore, only freshman Zaruhi
Harutyunyan, one of UA's two newcomers next season, was
considered when analyzing the Zips' incoming class. The mid-major
rankings include all colleges in all divisions except for those
affiliated with Bowl Championship Series conferences - the ACC, Big
East, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 10, and SEC - as well as the Ivy
League.
In May, Akron head coach Jeffrey Wyshner added 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, while Baronayte was the West
Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (WVIAC) freshman-
and player-of-the-year recipient this past season.
