“Right here. Right now is the mantra of the University of Akron women’s tennis team. After years of struggling, the Zips are battling their way to recognition and contention with dedication, hard practice, team unity and most importantly, wins under third-year coach Jeffrey Wyshner.”
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Right here. Right now is the mantra of the University of Akron women’s tennis team.
After years of struggling, the Zips are battling their way to recognition and contention with dedication, hard practice, team unity and most importantly, wins under third-year coach Jeffrey Wyshner.
The wins have been easier to come by through the Zips first two tournaments.
Last weekend, UA notched four singles wins and three doubles victories in the Spartan Invitational in East Lansing, Mich.
Anna Baronayte, Zara Harutyunyan, Tanyaradzwa Gombera and Alyssa Carlson all notched singles wins. The doubles teams of Harutyunyan and Carolina Castro Cota, Baronyate and Gombera and Jeremie Benjamin and Lindsay Berry were victorious.
In the team’s first match last weekend at Keefe Courts on the final day of the Bowling Green Invitational, Harutyunyan and Cota each won the championship in their respective flights individually and also took first in the doubles flight.
Baronayte finished third in flight two, as Tanyaaradzwa Gombera in flight 3.
Harutyunyan, who lost only four games throughout the two-day event, has notched wins over top-ranked players, such as U.S. Open girl’s champion Coco Vandeweghe.
With not much success over the past few years, (last season was a dismal 5-15), Wyshner has shaped the lineup with a very strong top six, with the top two players new to the team, Zaruhi (Zara) Harutyunyan and Anna Baronayte, a sophomore transfer from West Virginia State.
I am optimistic that at the end of the year, it could be the best in team history, Wyshner said.
The returning players on the team – Tanya Gombera, Jeremie Benjamin, Lindsey Berry and Carolina Castro Cota – will perform under captains, Kerry Langworthy and Alyssa Carlson making this year’s lineup an incredible line of strong athletic talent.
According to a poll on TennisRecruiting.net, a tennis recruiting source, the University of Akron’s ’08-’09 recruiting class is ranked no. 12 in the nation’s mid-major programs and is the only school in Ohio at No. 36 in the nation that received votes.
I want us to play hard, play smart and play with class, coach Wyshner says. The wins and losses should take care of themselves. I am optimistic, however, that we will win individual flights in both singles and doubles.
Wyshner’s goals for this season are straightforward and ultimately lead to progression.
First, he wants to win a conference match, which has not been done in the past two years. He would like to have a winning record which has not been done since the ’95-’96, season; finish in the top four in the conference, which would be only the second time in school history and come April, Beat any team in the conference on any given day.
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