Props to Tennis Team!

[johnnyzip84]

It's about time we recognized the excellent start for the tennis team this year The girls are currently 5-0 with road victories over Penn St., Michigan St. and most recently Louisville (link). I'll be the first to admit that I don't have a great sense of where the "powers" are in women's tennis (the southern programs would no doubt have some advantage), but this sounds pretty impressive to me. I wonder if there's any chance at all for a possible ranking down the road?GoZips Link

[ZachTheZip]

They barely scraped by Louisville. Hopefully that match allowed them to realize that just because they're undefeated doesn't mean they can coast to a win. I'm not sure if any of the teams that have beat are any good, but it's always safe to assume that BCS teams are upper-level in some way.What's more amazing is that they play without a real home court. They don't play matches on the courts next to the soccer field, and those courts will be torn down in the near future anyway. We talk about the facility upgrades that have happened over the past few years, but there's a very long way to go if we ever want to be considered for a BCS conference. We need a real tennis court for competition on campus. They could put it on the old softball field across Exchange, or on some of the land just north of campus. Tennis, Baseball, and Rifle need real facilities before we get a basketball arena.Now that the rant's out of the way, congratulations to the tennis team so far! Keep up the good work.

[lilcat19]

I was waiting for someone to post about the tennis team.Let me tell you, they are amazing. And yes, the teams they have beaten are very good. Lets put it this way, we have never beaten them before with the exception of Xavier, which that win happened in the early 1990's. I cannot say for sure if we had ever played Western KY before.For those of you who do not follow the tennis team, up until the last few years, we were the team that other MAC teams looked forward to playing because if one thing was for sure, they would beat Akron. We have Zara, who is ranked NATIONALLY and who has beaten Ohio State's #1 singles player (trust me, OSU's player is good, I have played her). What turned the team around? Well, 4 years ago, Akron tennis got a new coach. He brought so much to the program. He truly cares about the game of tennis, he truly cares about the girls on his team, he understands a lot about the game and strategies, etc. I have never seen a tennis coach work as hard as he does. The preparation that he does is what helps make the team as good as it is. He has been able to bring in some great recruits, and that says a lot about him as a person. If you ever get a chance to come out and watch these girls play, do it. You will be seeing one of the top teams in the country, just ask some of the coaches of the teams they played. And to say we dont have a "home court advantage", that is only partially true. Would it be AWESOME to have an indoor facility on campus, yes...but we dont. What we do have is a GREAT club in LaTuchie Tennis Center that does so much for the Akron Tennis team. They are a great host and I do believe that we create a home court advantage. Spectators are allowed to sit court-side on either end. Before the courts were resurfaced, we had a huge advantage b/c they played super fast, which I loved.But seriously, come out and watch the Tennis Team play!

[mes102]

I was waiting for someone to post about the tennis team.Let me tell you, they are amazing. And yes, the teams they have beaten are very good. Lets put it this way, we have never beaten them before with the exception of Xavier, which that win happened in the early 1990's. I cannot say for sure if we had ever played Western KY before.For those of you who do not follow the tennis team, up until the last few years, we were the team that other MAC teams looked forward to playing because if one thing was for sure, they would beat Akron. We have Zara, who is ranked NATIONALLY and who has beaten Ohio State's #1 singles player (trust me, OSU's player is good, I have played her). What turned the team around? Well, 4 years ago, Akron tennis got a new coach. He brought so much to the program. He truly cares about the game of tennis, he truly cares about the girls on his team, he understands a lot about the game and strategies, etc. I have never seen a tennis coach work as hard as he does. The preparation that he does is what helps make the team as good as it is. He has been able to bring in some great recruits, and that says a lot about him as a person. If you ever get a chance to come out and watch these girls play, do it. You will be seeing one of the top teams in the country, just ask some of the coaches of the teams they played. And to say we dont have a "home court advantage", that is only partially true. Would it be AWESOME to have an indoor facility on campus, yes...but we dont. What we do have is a GREAT club in LaTuchie Tennis Center that does so much for the Akron Tennis team. They are a great host and I do believe that we create a home court advantage. Spectators are allowed to sit court-side on either end. Before the courts were resurfaced, we had a huge advantage b/c they played super fast, which I loved.But seriously, come out and watch the Tennis Team play!

wish we had a men's tennis team...

[johnnyzip84]

I was waiting for someone to post about the tennis team.Let me tell you, they are amazing. And yes, the teams they have beaten are very good. Lets put it this way, we have never beaten them before with the exception of Xavier, which that win happened in the early 1990's. I cannot say for sure if we had ever played Western KY before.For those of you who do not follow the tennis team, up until the last few years, we were the team that other MAC teams looked forward to playing because if one thing was for sure, they would beat Akron. We have Zara, who is ranked NATIONALLY and who has beaten Ohio State's #1 singles player (trust me, OSU's player is good, I have played her). What turned the team around? Well, 4 years ago, Akron tennis got a new coach. He brought so much to the program. He truly cares about the game of tennis, he truly cares about the girls on his team, he understands a lot about the game and strategies, etc. I have never seen a tennis coach work as hard as he does. The preparation that he does is what helps make the team as good as it is. He has been able to bring in some great recruits, and that says a lot about him as a person. If you ever get a chance to come out and watch these girls play, do it. You will be seeing one of the top teams in the country, just ask some of the coaches of the teams they played. And to say we dont have a "home court advantage", that is only partially true. Would it be AWESOME to have an indoor facility on campus, yes...but we dont. What we do have is a GREAT club in LaTuchie Tennis Center that does so much for the Akron Tennis team. They are a great host and I do believe that we create a home court advantage. Spectators are allowed to sit court-side on either end. Before the courts were resurfaced, we had a huge advantage b/c they played super fast, which I loved.But seriously, come out and watch the Tennis Team play!

That's awseome! Thanks for the info

[lilcat19]

we used to have a men's team.....title IX happened and they decided to cut itthere aren't all that many men's programs, and there is very little scholarship money available for them

[Zipmeister]

we used to have a men's team.....title IX happened and they decided to cut itthere aren't all that many men's programs, and there is very little scholarship money available for them

I beg to differ. The men's team did not decide to cut tennis; the University Administration made that decision.To get an idea of how not many collegiate men's tennis teams there are go to http://www.collegetennisonline.com/

[RootforRoo44]

we used to have a men's team.....title IX happened and they decided to cut itthere aren't all that many men's programs, and there is very little scholarship money available for them

Exactly. Title IX has done a lot of damage to mens sports programs, particularly tennis. It's too bad.

[lilcat19]

we used to have a men's team.....title IX happened and they decided to cut itthere aren't all that many men's programs, and there is very little scholarship money available for them

I beg to differ. The men's team did not decide to cut tennis; the University Administration made that decision.To get an idea of how not many collegiate men's tennis teams there are go to http://www.collegetennisonline.com/

UMMMMM, I wasnt saying the MENS TEAM decided to cut it. I was saying the University decided to cut it. What team would choose to get rid of itself? But thank you.Title IX itself is not bad. How the universities decide to enact it is bad. Title IX is designed to give women an equal opportunity to get a scholarship as a man. It was not meant for universities to cut sports. Universities could add more women's teams. Or heck, universities/athletic departments could decide to not give the 5th string quarterback, 4th string LG, and 2nd string punter a scholarship. Maybe they could earn a scholarship, but they may never play a down during a game and will have everything paid for, where you have some of the best baseball players, tennis players, soccer players, etc who work just as hard and have to pay for their own school. Football has so many scholarships that it takes away from the other men's sports. That is the problem with Title IX.

[ZachTheZip]

They beat Cleveland State 7-0 today. Keep it going.

[Z.I.P.]

I was waiting for someone to post about the tennis team.Let me tell you, they are amazing. And yes, the teams they have beaten are very good. Lets put it this way, we have never beaten them before with the exception of Xavier, which that win happened in the early 1990's. I cannot say for sure if we had ever played Western KY before.For those of you who do not follow the tennis team, up until the last few years, we were the team that other MAC teams looked forward to playing because if one thing was for sure, they would beat Akron. We have Zara, who is ranked NATIONALLY and who has beaten Ohio State's #1 singles player (trust me, OSU's player is good, I have played her). What turned the team around? Well, 4 years ago, Akron tennis got a new coach. He brought so much to the program. He truly cares about the game of tennis, he truly cares about the girls on his team, he understands a lot about the game and strategies, etc. I have never seen a tennis coach work as hard as he does. The preparation that he does is what helps make the team as good as it is. He has been able to bring in some great recruits, and that says a lot about him as a person. If you ever get a chance to come out and watch these girls play, do it. You will be seeing one of the top teams in the country, just ask some of the coaches of the teams they played. And to say we dont have a "home court advantage", that is only partially true. Would it be AWESOME to have an indoor facility on campus, yes...but we dont. What we do have is a GREAT club in LaTuchie Tennis Center that does so much for the Akron Tennis team. They are a great host and I do believe that we create a home court advantage. Spectators are allowed to sit court-side on either end. Before the courts were resurfaced, we had a huge advantage b/c they played super fast, which I loved.But seriously, come out and watch the Tennis Team play!

Congrats for the success of the team the past couple of seasons, which seems to be on an upward track. I remember when Mike Thomas arrived as AD at Akron, he set the goal of having all of Akron's teams, men's and women's be perennial contenders for MAC championships and NCAA tournament play. At that time, it seemed more like a pipedream. I was critical a while back of the tennis team's performance. There wasn't a MAC team they could be sure of beating back then. It appears that while we were away and not paying attention, MAC tennis has been turned on its head. We are now paying attention!I know that there is a national ranking system for teams (USTF?) , and when I read in the local papers about Hawaii's tennis teams (yes -- we have two here -- for now at least) it always says they (I think the men) are ranked like..."#68" and the opponent is ranked "#45" or whatever -- way beyond the top 25. Where is Akron in this ranking system -- do they have it for women's college tennis?

[zippyrifle32]

The thing about Title IX is that schools had a choice: they could add women's programs to become equivalent (costing more $$$) or cut men's programs down to equivalent (costing less $$$). I wish there was some sort of football exception so that the rest of the men's sports wouldn't have suffered like they have.

[RootforRoo44]

The thing about Title IX is that schools had a choice: they could add women's programs to become equivalent (costing more $$$) or cut men's programs down to equivalent (costing less $$$). I wish there was some sort of football exception so that the rest of the men's sports wouldn't have suffered like they have.

I agree....football should not be a part of TitleIX. Now that womens sports have taken a foothold they should just make all sports other than football even scholarships. Really what it comes down to is if there is a female equivalent of the sport. Football does not have one. Nearly every other sport does (i cannot think of any that do not)

[Z.I.P.]

The thing about Title IX is that schools had a choice: they could add women's programs to become equivalent (costing more $$$) or cut men's programs down to equivalent (costing less $$$). I wish there was some sort of football exception so that the rest of the men's sports wouldn't have suffered like they have.

I agree....football should not be a part of TitleIX. Now that womens sports have taken a foothold they should just make all sports other than football even scholarships. Really what it comes down to is if there is a female equivalent of the sport. Football does not have one. Nearly every other sport does (i cannot think of any that do not)

Why should football -- a sport played only by hot-headed males have an exception? That in itself is incredibly sexist! But more important -- how did the purpose of this thread -- to congratulate and support the UA Women's Tennis team, get diverted into an attack on gender equality?

[lilcat19]

TENNIS TEAM IS RANKED FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!!!Ranked #73 in the nation. They rank 75, but having never been ranked, it is awesome. Right ahead of us is LSU, Utah, Ok State, BYU, etc.Congrats to the girls. I know they work hard.

[johnnyzip84]

TENNIS TEAM IS RANKED FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!!!Ranked #73 in the nation. They rank 75, but having never been ranked, it is awesome. Right ahead of us is LSU, Utah, Ok State, BYU, etc.Congrats to the girls. I know they work hard.

Here's the GoZips.com article.Link

[UAZipster0305]

Kudos! Two things I would enjoy seeing:1) An indoor/outdoor tennis center built in the parking lot adjacent to the field house, and2) The return of the men's varsity tennis team to create parity in nearly all sports.Football = Volleyball + Swimming & Diving

[Z.I.P.]

TENNIS TEAM IS RANKED FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!!!Ranked #73 in the nation. They rank 75, but having never been ranked, it is awesome. Right ahead of us is LSU, Utah, Ok State, BYU, etc.Congrats to the girls. I know they work hard.

Way to go Zips!

[ZachTheZip]

UA gets a club Tennis team. Can only help the program.

[ZachTheZip]

Tennis easily beats Cinci and IUPUI today to move to 8-0.

[MDZip]

So we should be moving up from our #67 ranking. Success in any sport is generally good for all others as well. Good for them. And as an addendum to the JUCO/transfer etc. discussion over on the basketball forum, has anyone noticed the hometowns of the majority of the tennis players? Only one is from the US. I'm not saying whether that is good or bad but it definitely is a situation where the coach did what he felt he had to do to for the team to be successful.

[zipboy]

Kest has done an amazing job, but this guy has been equally as good or better.

[lilcat19]

They had 2 great wins today. They made Cincinnati look like inferior team, which apparently they were. They beat us 5-2 last year (but if I remember correctly, that was not their best tennis that day). I know from experience that Cincinnati is anything but a "bad" team, and from watching them today, they have some great players. The crazy thing is, our players are THAT MUCH better than them. I love seeing that.The girls really stepped up and showed that they deserve that ranking!As far as international recruiting goes, Coach Jeff took a team that was a last place team in the MAC (when he took over) to a nationally ranked, well respected program. He really put Akron Tennis on the map and right now, that is all that matters. American players the caliber of what we have now would not have committed to Akron (previously). They had no reason to. What had we proved? You have to build a program that top American players actually want to play for before you can even really spend time recruiting them. If an American player was given the option to play for Ohio State, Kentucky, Indiana, etc...they would choose one of those schools because they have a well respected program with a history of winning. Even within our own conference, most girls would choose Miami (Ohio), Western Michigan, etc before us because they have a history of winning. Well, now we are starting to show that we can win. You have to start somewhere, and Akron was never going to be this successful with the type of tennis player that we were able to sign from the US. I am kind of degrading myself with saying all of this, but it is the truth. As a coach, you do what you have to do to win. Coach Jeff has taken this program to heights that I NEVER thought I would see, especially only two years after I graduated.On a completely different subject (relating to me ), I did finally get back onto the court for the first time this week and played (and won) my first match since I had shoulder surgery last year. I am pretty excited about that so I thought I would share

[johnnyzip84]

They had 2 great wins today. They made Cincinnati look like inferior team, which apparently they were. They beat us 5-2 last year (but if I remember correctly, that was not their best tennis that day). I know from experience that Cincinnati is anything but a "bad" team, and from watching them today, they have some great players. The crazy thing is, our players are THAT MUCH better than them. I love seeing that.The girls really stepped up and showed that they deserve that ranking!As far as international recruiting goes, Coach Jeff took a team that was a last place team in the MAC (when he took over) to a nationally ranked, well respected program. He really put Akron Tennis on the map and right now, that is all that matters. American players the caliber of what we have now would not have committed to Akron (previously). They had no reason to. What had we proved? You have to build a program that top American players actually want to play for before you can even really spend time recruiting them. If an American player was given the option to play for Ohio State, Kentucky, Indiana, etc...they would choose one of those schools because they have a well respected program with a history of winning. Even within our own conference, most girls would choose Miami (Ohio), Western Michigan, etc before us because they have a history of winning. Well, now we are starting to show that we can win. You have to start somewhere, and Akron was never going to be this successful with the type of tennis player that we were able to sign from the US. I am kind of degrading myself with saying all of this, but it is the truth. As a coach, you do what you have to do to win. Coach Jeff has taken this program to heights that I NEVER thought I would see, especially only two years after I graduated.On a completely different subject (relating to me ), I did finally get back onto the court for the first time this week and played (and won) my first match since I had shoulder surgery last year. I am pretty excited about that so I thought I would share

First and foremost, it's nice to hear that you're back on the court It's great that you provide such insight to the program as well. The two guys from 1350 am were talking to Jeff before the basketball game yesterday. When asked whether he had been accumulating the frequent flyer miles in pursuit of the numerous foreign players, he said he had signed all of them basically using only the tools of phone, mail and email. I thought that was quite remarkable. He pointed out that even if he was unsuccessful with certain recruits, the method often lead to other tips/contacts that eventually paid dividends. He only has one scholarship open this off-season, and it sounds like he'll be selective with it. Now that some positive momentum has been injected into the program, I'll bet the prospects of landing the most talented local players will improve greatly. All in all I was very impressed with what I heard.

[zipboy]

On a completely different subject (relating to me ), I did finally get back onto the court for the first time this week and played (and won) my first match since I had shoulder surgery last year. I am pretty excited about that so I thought I would share Good to hear that you are playing again. I remember in your playing days coming out here once in a while and posting. I am curious, how was Akron able to attract this guy? From what I remember, he is a Yale grad and was coaching at Fairfield. So I doesn't sound like he had ties to the Midwest and obviously the program wasn't in great shape when he took over.