Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG, Va. – The Virginia Tech men’s tennis team will return to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive year on Fri., May 13, at 10 a.m., when the No. 37 Hokies travel to Knoxville, Tenn., to play No. 32 Vanderbilt (13-10) in the opening round of the tournament. The first and second round matches will be played at the Dr. Robert L. Barksdale Tennis Stadium and are hosted by the University of Tennessee.
The winner of Tech-Vandy match will play the winner of the No. 3 Tennessee (21-4) vs. No. 64 Radford (22-3) match in the second round. The Hokies defeated the Commodores, 4-0, in the 2010 first round in Louisville, Ky.
“It is exciting to once again be headed to the NCAA Tournament,” said Virginia Tech head coach Jim Thompson. “The guys have worked extremely hard to achieve this honor all year and it is very satisfying to see them rewarded for their hard work! We look forward to the opportunity to represent Virginia Tech and the challenge that Vanderbilt represents. Coach Duvenhage has had a terrific season and has a very good team so we are looking forward to traveling to Knoxville for this challenge.”
Tech (14-11), defeated No. 55 NC State, 4-3, in the first round of the 2011 ACC Championships in Cary, N.C., before being eliminated by No. 13 Duke, 4-0. The Hokies faced one of the toughest schedules in the program’s history, including 19 ranked teams and defeated eight ranked programs. This season’s bid is the 11th in the program’s history as Tech made five consecutive NCAA appearances by winning the Atlantic 10 Championship every year while in the league.
The bid also marks only the third time that a Virginia Tech team has received five straight NCAA bids. The Tech men’s tennis team (1996-2000) and the women’s tennis team (1996-2000) each accomplished the feat after receiving automatic bids following Atlantic 10 championships.
In the past four NCAA Tournaments, the Hokies defeated No. 38 Vanderbilt, 4-0, in the opening round which was followed by a 4-1 loss to host No. 15 Louisville. In 2009, Tech defeated No. 59 UNC Wilmington, 4-2, in the first round in Athens, Ga., before being eliminated, 4-1, by the fourth-ranked Bulldogs. The 2008 Tournament saw Tech defeat No. 31 Kentucky, 4-0, in the first round in Knoxville, Tenn., before being eliminated by No. 8 Tennessee. In 2007, Tech traveled to Charlottesville, Va., to face No. 30 Old Dominion, with the Hokies suffering a narrow 4-3 loss.
Tech is led by All-ACC selection Luka Somen (So., Karlovac, Croatia), ranked No. 59 in the most recent ITA national list, who has defeated two top 30 players this season en-route to winning 20 singles matches. Somen was the 2009 ACC Freshman of the Year.
The Hokies also feature Pedro Graber (Sr., Santiago, Chile), who had 19 singles and 15 doubles victories. Graber won the clinching point against No. 55 NC State in the ACC Championships in his No. 3 match which lasted three hours and 27 minutes. Will Beck (Sr., Potomac, Md.) led the team with 25 singles victories and was 9-2 in ACC matches. Beck has won 12 of his last 13 singles matches and paired with Graber to earn a No. 63 national ranking in doubles.
The complete NCAA men’s tennis bracket is available at: http://www.ncaa.com/brackets/tennis-men/d1/2011