By: Christian Turner

The Women’s Tennis team continued their successful season over the weekend with multiple victories.

The winning streak continued Saturday by halting the 2011 Great West Conference champion Highlanders 4-0 winning streak.

The Zips won the doubles point at No. 1 with an 8-2 victory by Prang Pantusart and Olga Shkudina. At No. 2, Angelina and Angelika Jogasuria excelled with an 8-1 win.  Natalia Kuvakina and partner Ksenia Berestetska defeated the Highlanders with an 8-5 victory.

Akron outdid New Jersey Institute of Technology in singles. NJIT scored their only point at No. 6 where sophomore Kuvakina left the match due to illness.

Playing at No. 1, freshman Shkundina defeated Ksenia Kuzmenko 6-1, 6-2. At No. 2, junior Pantusart defeated Jana Luste 6-2,6-1. Pantusart came out of her sophomore season as an All-MAC second team selection and a dual match 20-3 singles record. At No. 3, junior Angelika Jogasuria, who had the team’s best overall record last season, won 6-3, 6-4. Berestetska, a sophomore from Ukraine, won with a three set win of 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 at the No. 4 slot. At No. 5 Angelina Jogasuria won 6-2,6-1.

Brandon Padgett, who is in his second year of head coaching at Akron, is confident in the growth of the level of intensity of the team, “As we get closer to the conference season, I think we will be ready,” he said.

Sunday Akron traveled to Cleveland State where they swept the Vikings 7-0 at their home opener.

Sunday afternoon the team faced off against Youngstown State University. The Zips swept the Penguins 7-0.

Senior Zara Harutyunyan, who was named MAC Tennis Player of the Week on Wednesday, defeated Marta Burak at the No. 1 singles slot 7-6 (4), 6-4. This is her fourth time receiving this award.

The Zips have an 8-0 record going into their Friday match against the Louisville Cardinals.