The University of Akron Athletics
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Tennis Incoming Class Ranked Third Among Mid-Majors
June 19 | Women's Tennis
AKRON, Ohio – For the second-straight year, the University of Akron tennis team's recruiting class is ranked among the nation's best mid-major programs. According to a poll released on Friday by TennisRecruiting.net, the Zips' 2009-10 incoming class is regarded as the third best in the country.
As mentioned in an article posted on the collegiate tennis
oriented web site, there was much debate over the top spot in these
rankings and both Long Beach State (No. 2) and Akron received
strong consideration. Pepperdine received the No. 1 nod as the lone
team with a Blue Chip recruit.
"It is very exciting to see our incoming class again recognized as
one of the top recruiting groups in the country," fourth-year Akron
head coach Jeffrey Wyshner said. "To be
successful in collegiate tennis, you hope to bring in one impact
player in each class, and this year we are extremely fortunate to
have three impact players coming at one time."
UCF and William & Mary rounded out the top five, respectively.
Three of the teams in the top five finished the 2008-09 season
ranked in the top-75 nationally (by the Intercollegiate Tennis
Association) – Pepperdine No. 41, William & Mary No. 49
and Long Beach State No. 51.
"We are now being commonly mentioned alongside teams in the top 75,
which is exactly where I expect this program to be headed in the
upcoming year," Wyshner said. "We will work hard to earn our
first-ever national ranking and also to fight for our first-ever
MAC championship and NCAA bid. All of those goals are within our
reach if we can come together as a group and put in the necessary
effort in practice. With expectation comes responsibility, and it
will be a real challenge for all of the players and coaches to live
up to that responsibility every day."
UA is the only program from the state of Ohio listed in the
rankings and one of two Mid-American Conference schools on the
list, with Western Michigan coming in at No. 15. The Zips 2008-09
incoming class was ranked No. 12 in the mid-major poll (view
poll), and Friday also marks the second-consecutive year the
Zips owned the distinction of highest-ranked MAC team.
Wyshner completed the 2009-10 team's freshman class in May, with
the signing of Prang Pantusart (Amphur Muang, Nonthaburi,
Thailand/Distance Education Institute). Pantusart joins twins Angelina and Angelika Jogasuria (Serpong,
Indonesia/St. John's School), who signed in November, in UA's
incoming class.
This class also received acclaim in the TennisRecruiting.net spring top-25 national
rankings – being listed in the others receiving votes category
(tied Marshall with two votes apiece, view poll).
Akron was the only school from the MAC to be recognized.
The mid-major rankings include all colleges in all divisions except
for those in the so-called "major conferences". The high-major
conferences for tennis include schools affiliated with Bowl
Championship Series conferences – the ACC, Big East, Big 10,
Big 12, Pac 10 and SEC – as well as the Ivy League. A panel
made up of journalists, tournament directors, referees and ranking
chairmen vote on the classes.
