Miami Ohio University Athletics
The Best of 2011
12/27/2011 12:00:00 AM | General
Dec. 27, 2011
As the 2011 calendar comes to a close, MURedHawks.com wants to take this opportunity to reminisce on some of the recent highlights.
The Athletic Communications staff recently sat down to compile a Top 10 listing of the biggest news stories for Miami Athletics. It was no easy decision, but we think we hit the mark on a great year.
Feel free to post your comments to @miamiredhawks on twitter and we will start sharing them.
Each day between Dec. 22 and Dec. 31, a different highlight of 2011 will be presented. Today, we have reached the Top 5.
Tennis Captures Third Straight Regular-Season Title in Undefeated Fashion
The Miami tennis team continued its domination of the Mid-American Conference during 2011, winning its third straight title in undefeated fashion.
The race for the championship came down to the final weekend as the RedHawks hosted Akron and Buffalo. Friday's match with the Zips was for the No. 1 seed and a share of the title as both teams were 6-0 in the conference. Overall, Akron had won nine straight, while Miami entered the match as winners of seven in a row. The RedHawks had also won 23 straight in MAC regular-season play and 28 in a row against league opponents, including postseason.
The two teams traded punches but Miami prevailed 4-3, with the doubles point being the difference. All three doubles matches were decided by 8-2 scores with Akron winning at No. 2, then Miammi responding at No. 1. The No. 3 match was even at 2-2 before Cara Wald and Anastasia Dracheva won six straight games to give Miami the 1-0 lead.
The RedHawks won singles matches at Nos. 2, 5 and 6 to clinch the match. (RECAP)
The following day, Miami completed its third straight 8-0 MAC season with a 5-2 victory over Buffalo. Seniors Sydnee Bridger, Cara Wald, Megan Martzolf and Anastasia Dracheva improved to 65-26 during their careers, including 31-1 in MAC play. (RECAP)
