The University of Akron Athletics
Nationally-Ranked Tennis Continues MAC Play at Buffalo
April 01 | Women's Tennis
AKRON, Ohio - After opening the Mid-American
Conference schedule with a pair of home victories last weekend, the
No. 72-ranked University of Akron tennis team looks to maintain its
first-place status in the league standings on the road this
weekend, traveling to Buffalo on Saturday for a 1 p.m. ET
contest.
The Zips (12-3, 2-0 MAC), who boast a four-match win streak and
have been victorious in six of their last seven outings, are tied
with Miami (Ohio) (11-5, 2-0) for the conference's first-place
spot. UA defeated Western Michigan 6-1 last Friday and Bowling
Green 5-2 last Saturday at it's indoor home of LaTuchie Tennis
Center. The win over WMU avenged the program's loss to the Broncos
in the 2010 MAC tournament semifinals, while the victory against
Bowling Green was UA's fourth-straight in the all-time series with
the Falcons.
Buffalo (4-8, 0-2) enters the weekend after posting a home loss to
Bowling Green (5-2) and Western Michigan (6-1) last week. Akron
leads the all-time series versus UB 8-7, following a 6-1 home win
last season. That victory snapped a six-match losing streak for UA
in the series with the Bulls. The Zips last win in Buffalo came in
April 1999 (7-0).
Saturday's match marks the start of a three-match road swing for Akron as it heads to Eastern Michigan on April 8 and Toledo on April 9.
Akron moved back into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings earlier this week at No. 72, matching its highest listing of the season. The Zips' first appearance in the weekly poll this season came on March 1, also at No. 72, and they held that status for two weeks before dropping to 75th on March 15. UA fell off the list on March 22, before coming back at 72nd in the latest edition.
Additionally, UA's doubles team of junior Zara
Harutyunyan and sophomore Angelina
Jogasuria are ranked 45th in the ITA's doubles rankings. The
duo has been nationally ranked since January and are also listed
eighth in the Midwest region. Harutyunyan, who received UA's
highest-ever individual singles ranking of 73rd nationally in the
ITA's preseason poll in September, is ranked 18th in the Midwest
region in singles as well.
Harutyunyan is also the program's career leader in singles
victories, with 87 (14 singles wins this season). She surpassed
Mendy McMurtry's 83 victories, compiled from 1989-93.
