The University of Akron Athletics
Tennis Unveils Upgraded Schedule for 2011-12 Campaign
June 07 | Women's Tennis
AKRON, Ohio – A pair of visits to Ohio State for tournaments during the fall and six dual matches in the spring versus opponents that were nationally ranked this past season highlight The University of Akron tennis team's 2011-12 schedule, head coach Brandon Padgett announced on Tuesday.
The Zips, who won their first-ever MAC tournament title and made the program's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in May, open the fall component of the year at the Collegiate Clay Court Championships in Columbus, Ohio, on Sept. 16-18. Ohio State, which was ranked as high as 31st nationally this spring, will play host to the event.
A trip to East Lansing, Mich., to compete in the Michigan State Invitational comes the following weekend (Sept. 23-25), and Akron rounds out the month at the Fall Mid-American Conference Invitational at Western Michigan in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Sept. 30-Oct. 2.
The Riviera/ITA All-American Championships, an event in which Akron senior-to-be Zara Harutyunyan has competed in in each of the last two seasons and junior-to-be Angelina Jogasuria took part in this past season, will be held Oct. 1-9 in Pacific Palisades, Calif. The Zips will return to the Ohio State campus on Oct. 20-25 for the ITA Midwest Regional, and the fall schedule concludes at the North Texas Invitational in Denton, Texas, on Nov. 4-6. North Texas peaked at No. 60 in the national poll last season.
Akron begins its spring schedule with a trip to Fort Myers, Fla., for the Florida Gulf Coast Hilton Garden Inn Invitational on Jan. 14-16.
On Jan. 22, the Zips open the dual-match schedule at Michigan State and look for its third-consecutive victory over the Big Ten foe. MSU was ranked as high as 52nd this spring and suffered a 4-3 loss to Akron in East Lansing on Jan. 28.
UA's home opener will come in the form of a doubleheader on Feb. 4, taking on IUPUI and Wright State. That date is the start of a nine-match stretch when the Zips play at home seven times.
The Zips visit West Virginia on Feb. 5 and play host to New Jersey Institute of Technology on Feb. 11. The next day will feature a unique doubleheader, in which Akron will have a road contest at Cleveland State in the morning followed by a home match with Youngstown State in the afternoon. The YSU meeting is the start of a four-match homestand, that continues versus Louisville (Feb. 17), Cincinnati (Feb. 19) and Kentucky (Feb. 21).
"We are working hard at taking our schedule to a new level over the next two years, and this schedule speaks directly to that effort," said Padgett, who prepares for his second season with the Zips. "Being able to host teams like Kentucky and Louisville will bring significant exposure to our program, as we continue to grow on the national level."
Four-consecutive away matches follow, at Dartmouth College on Feb. 25 and Brown on Feb. 26. Brown was ranked as high as 37th last season, while Dartmouth was listed as high as 54th nationally.
The Zips will take a Spring Break trip to Southern California to take on UC Irvine (March 14) and Long Beach State (March 16). UCI was ranked as high as 55th last season and LBSU reached the 36th spot.
MAC play begins during the third week of March, with a homestand versus Miami (Ohio) (March 23) and Ball State (March 24). Miami, ranked as high as 68th last season, is the defending regular-season champion and lost 4-3 to UA in this year's conference tournament championship. Additionally, The RedHawks have been responsible for the Zips' only loss in league play in each of the last two seasons.
A road trip to Western Michigan (March 30) and Bowling Green (March 31) come before home meetings with Buffalo (April 7), Eastern Michigan (April 13) and Toledo (April 14). The Zips wrap up the regular season at Northern Illinois on April 21. The league championship will be held on the NIU campus on April 26-28, with the winner earning the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Championships.
"With the exception of Miami (Ohio), we will play each opponent who was nationally ranked last season on the road, which is a difficult task," Padgett said. "But as we continue to grow as a program, we will be able to entice top teams into coming to Akron to play. This is a goal of ours as a coaching staff. I fully expect both Kentucky and Louisville to be nationally ranked as well, which will be great for our home fans to watch."
Akron returns five letterwinners from last season's championship team, which finished the campaign with a 20-5 overall record (7-1 MAC), the most victories in a season for the program since the 1990-91 squad finished 26-6. Two newcomers will join the squad in the fall – freshman Olga Shkundina from Ufa, Russia and Ksenia Berestetska, from Kiev, Ukraine. Berestetska is a transfer from Stephen F. Austin and will be a sophomore.
2011-12 Akron Tennis Schedule:
| Date | Opponent | Location |
| Fall 2011 | ||
| Sept. 16-18 | Collegiate Clay Court Championships | Columbus, Ohio |
| Sept. 23-25 | Michigan State Invitational | East Lansing, Mich. |
| Sept. 30-Oct. 2 | Fall MAC Invitational (at Western Michigan) | Kalamazoo, Mich. |
| Oct. 1-9 | Riviera/ITA All-American Championships | Pacific Palisades, Calif. |
| Oct. 20-25 | ITA Midwest Regional (at Ohio State) | Columbus, Ohio |
| Nov. 4-6 | North Texas Invitational | Denton, Texas |
| Spring 2012 | ||
| Jan. 14-16 | FGCU Hilton Garden Inn Invitational | Fort Myers, Fla. |
| Jan. 22 | at Michigan State | East Lansing, Mich. |
| Feb. 4 | IUPUI | Akron, Ohio |
| Feb. 4 | Wright State | Akron, Ohio |
| Feb. 5 | at West Virginia | Morgantown, W.Va. |
| Feb. 11 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | Akron, Ohio |
| Feb. 12 | at Cleveland State | Cleveland, Ohio |
| Feb. 12 | Youngstown State | Akron, Ohio |
| Feb. 17 | Louisville | Akron, Ohio |
| Feb. 19 | Cincinnati | Akron, Ohio |
| Feb. 21 | Kentucky | Akron, Ohio |
| Feb. 25 | at Dartmouth | Hanover, N.H. |
| Feb. 26 | at Brown | Providence, R.I. |
| March 14 | at UC Irvine (Spring Break trip) |
Irvine, Calif. |
| March 16 | at Long Beach State (Spring Break trip) |
Long Beach, Calif. |
| March 23 | Miami (Ohio)* | Akron, Ohio |
| March 24 | Ball State* | Akron, Ohio |
| March 30 | at Western Michigan* | Kalamazoo, Mich. |
| March 31 | at Bowling Green* | Bowling Green, Ohio |
| April 7 | Buffalo* | Akron, Ohio |
| April 13 | Eastern Michigan* | Akron, Ohio |
| April 14 | Toledo* | Akron, Ohio |
| April 21 | at Northern Illinois* | DeKalb, Ill. |
| April 26-28 | MAC Championships (hosted by NIU) | DeKalb, Ill. |
* - Mid-American Conference match
Players Mentioned
