Men’s and Women’s Track and Field

The University of Akron track and field teams took part in the Ricardo Romo Invitational in San Antonio, Texas this past weekend. The Zips placed in the top five 24 times for the weekend. The women’s team placed third out of six teams, while the men finished in second of six teams.

The men’s team was led by Mike Ohiembor, who set a school record in the men’s triple jump with 51 feet, 1.5 inches to break his own record that he set last year on May 16 at the 2015 Mid-American Conference Championships.

Ohiembor’s mark is the seventh longest in the nation so far this spring

Other Zips placing in the top three for the men were Zack Shull (3rd in hammer throw), Casey Slane (3rd in shot put), Ian Behm (2nd in javelin), Matt Rowland (3rd in pole vault), Terrell McCain (2nd in high jump), and Phil Jagers (3rd in discus).

Daniella Johnson took top honors in the women’s long jump with a jump of 19 feet, 10.75 inches to lead Akron on the women’s side of the competition.

Helping the Zips with top-three performances were Megan Dornisch (3rd in hammer throw), Claudia Garcia Jou (2nd in high jump), Dajia Mills (3rd in high jump), Ana Martin-Sacristan (2nd in long jump), Becky Szabo (2nd in pole vault), and Caroline Hasse (3rd in pole vault).

Meanwhile at the Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, North Carolina, Clayton Murphy won the 1,500 meters, crossing the line in 3:44.57.

Akron returns to action next Thursday through Saturday, March 31 to April 2, traveling to Austin, Texas, to compete at the Texas Relays.

Tennis

The University of Akron women’s tennis team opened the Mid-American Conference portion of its season by defeating Eastern Michigan and Toledo by identical 5-2 scores this past weekend.

On Friday against EMU, the Zips (2-0 MAC, 12-6 overall) started off by winning two of the three doubles matches to gain a 1-0 lead.

“Excellent win for us today,” Head Coach Brandon Padgett said. “We came out and played strong doubles, communicated well and really worked hard from start to finish on all three courts.”

EMU battled back by taking the first two singles matches and held a 2-1 lead before Akron roared back to take the last three singles matches to wrap up the day.

“Singles was a little more up and down, but in the end I am very pleased with the overall effort,” Padgett finished. “Ari played an exceptional match, controlling play once she settled in. We had several players step up for us when we needed them to, and I expect the same kind of toughness moving forward.”

Against Toledo, the Zips found themselves down 1-0 after losing the doubles point but bounced back to win five of the six singles matches to end up on top for the day.

“I am certainly pleased with our start to the conference season, finding a way to defeat two teams that were picked to finish ahead of us in the coaches poll,” Padgett said

Women’s Golf

The University of Akron women’s golf team finished the UC Bearcat Spring Classic second overall at the Mission Inn Resort and Country Club’s El Campeon Golf Course last weekend.

The Zips placed three golfers in the top ten for the tournament, led by Danielle Nicholson’s 54-hole total of 230 (+14). Nicholson’s score placed her in a tie for fourth place overall. Pader Her finished the weekend with a score of 231 (+15) and Frida Fougberg with 233 (+17) to place seventh and tenth respectively.

“The golf course was set up very tough this week,” Head Coach Jenny King said. “I thought we battled hard every day, and we’re really pleased with how we stayed patient down the stretch. We really feel like this tournament has made us better.”

Akron as a team had a final score of 945 (+81) to finish well behind host Cincinnati, who completed the weekend with a 929 (+65) overall.

Men’s Golf

The University of Akron men’s golf team finished fourth out of 19 teams at the 47th Annual Furman Intercollegiate at the Furman University Golf Course this past weekend.

The Zips finished the 54-hole tournament with a team score of 859 (-5) to finish behind Georgia State (841), Harvard (856), and USC Upstate (857).

George Baylis carded a seven-under-par score of 209 to finish in fourth place individually. Baylis completed his weekend by shooting 38 pars, seven birdies, and three eagles.

Ryan Harris used rounds of 69, 70, and 73 for a total score of 212, finding himself in the 12th position. Harris carded 15 birdies in his three rounds.

Elliott Grayson was able to set a career-low mark of 67 in the second round, but his opening round of 77 and final day 74 placed him 32nd overall for the weekend.