The University of Akron Athletics
Tennis To Face Challenging Schedule In 2008-09
July 18 | Women's Tennis
– The University of Akron tennis team has finalized its
schedule for the 2008-09 season, third-year head coach Jeffrey
Wyshner announced on Friday. For the second-straight year the
Zips will face some of the top programs in the Midwest region and
have the opportunity to compete in several high-profile
tournaments.
"I am really excited about the opportunities our fall schedule
presents to our players," Wyshner said. "We will not only see
exceptional competition in the Midwest, but we will have the chance
to see how we match up across the country as well by traveling to
California and New Hampshire. It has taken a couple years of
waiting for openings in some of these events, but I finally feel
our fall schedule fits our goals of what it takes to be recognized
as a top program nationally. Now it is up to the players and
coaching staff to make certain that we are ready for that
challenge."
For the third-consecutive season, Akron opens the fall schedule by
competing in the Bowling Green Invitational (Sept. 20-21), and the
next weekend will travel to Michigan State to take part in the
Spartan Invitational (Sept. 27-28) for the second-straight year.
The Zips are also hopeful that September will see some of its
members receive an invitation for the first time to participate in
the Riviera/ITA All-America Championships, held in Pacific
Palisades, Calif. The pre-qualifying round of that event will be
held Sept. 27-28, while the qualifying round runs Sept. 30-Oct. 1
and the championships Oct. 2-5.
On Oct. 10-12, Akron will be one of eight Mid-American Conference
teams (nine sponsor women's tennis) to compete in the Fall MAC
Invitational, hosted by Western Michigan in Kalamazoo. The ITA
Midwest Regional, in which a pair of UA athletes competed last
season and potentially four could do so this season, runs Oct.
23-28 on the Michigan State campus in East Lansing. The blue and
gold close out the fall campaign with a trip to New Hampshire for
their first ever appearance in the Dartmouth Invitational (Nov.
7-9).
Akron begins its spring schedule with a trip to Fort Myers, Fla.,
for the Florida Gulf Coast University/Johan Kriek Classic (Jan.
17-19) where Wyshner feels his squad will likely face its strongest
competition of the year – a great precursor to an early
dual-match season which includes non-league matches at West
Virginia (Jan. 23), Cincinnati (Jan. 30) and Xavier (Jan. 31).
Xavier posted a 17-8 record last season and lost in the Atlantic 10
tournament title match.
February begins with a trip to Indianapolis to face off against
IUPUI and Butler (lost in the Horizon League tournament final last
season) in a doubleheader on Feb. 7, and UA plays its first home
match of the season on Feb. 13 against Cleveland State and then
takes on Detroit and Wright State in a doubleheader on Feb. 15. A
two-day, three-match journey to the Air Force Academy in Colorado
Springs, Colo., in mid-February comes next, where the Zips will
compete against Air Force (Feb. 20), Northern Colorado (Feb. 21)
and Weber State (Feb. 21).
Akron closes out the month of February and welcomes in March with a
pair of home matches, one against Youngstown State (Feb. 28) and
the other with IPFW (March 8). A short trip to Pittsburgh to take
on Duquesne on March 11 rounds out the non-league slate.
"Again this year, our spring schedule has taken a huge step forward
in terms of the quality of opponent and how it should prepare us
for MAC action," Wyshner said. "Having a tournament to go to in
mid-January is a key component of being ready for the late-January
dual matches. Having 14 quality non-conference matches, including
three doubleheaders, will also challenge the players throughout the
winter and be of great benefit when we open league play."
MAC play begins the third week of March with a trip to Toledo
(March 20) and Eastern Michigan (March 21). UA is home on March 27
against Northern Illinois, before traveling to Ball State (April 3)
and Miami (April 4). A weekend homestand on April 10 and 11 against
Bowling Green and Western Michigan (has won the regular season
four-straight years), respectively, follows. UA closes out the
regular season on April 18 at last season's MAC tournament winner
Buffalo. The league championship will be held on the Bowling Green
campus April 23-26, with the winner earning the conference's
automatic bid into the NCAA Championships.
"We have a great and challenging schedule, but you have to be
careful when you get what you wished for," Wyshner said. "If we
don't come together as a team, work extra hard, and be ready to
give our best when we step on the court, then this schedule will
become more of a curse than an opportunity."
Akron returns six letterwinners and welcomes in a pair of highly
touted newcomers for the 2008-09 season. Last month, TennisRecruiting.net ranked UA's incoming
class No. 12 among the nation's mid-major
programs and listed it in the "others receiving votes" category
of its top-25 national recruiting poll.
Headlining the group of returnees is senior Tanyaradzwa
Gombera (Harare, Zimbabwe/Chisipite Senior HS), who was named
Second-Team All-MAC and earned the league's Leann Grimes
Sportsmanship Award last season. Gombera's 33 combined victories
(17-21 in singles play/16-17 in doubles play) in 2007-08 ranked as
the second most on the team, and she played at the squad's No. 1
position for both.
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. Baronayte went 28-3 at Division II West Virginia
State's No. 1 singles position last season, guiding the team to its
first league championship and first appearance in the D-II
tournament.
