December 27, 2001

BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech men's tennis team made its presence felt in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Northeast rankings placing three singles players in the top thirty and two doubles teams in the top 15 of the Northeast Region.

Saber Kadiri (Jr., Algiers, Algeria) was ranked first in the region and 55th nationally after an outstanding fall season. Kadiri advanced to the nationals indoors in Dallas, Tex. in November by sweeping six matches at the East Region tournament in Princeton N.J. At the East Regional he defeated the Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 13 seeds in the event including an 0-6, 6-3, 7-5 escape in the round of 16 against Kris Goddard (Brown) where he trailed 5-2 in the deciding set before rallying for the win. Kadiri concluded the fall season with a 15-6 singles record.

Andreas Laulund (So., Odense, Denmark) was ranked fourth in the East Region after posting a 10-4 fall record. Laulund advanced to the East Region semifinal where he was defeated by Kadiri. Francis Huot (Jr., Quebec City, Canada) earned a No. 14 regional ranking despite missing most of the fall with a foot injury. Huot won the Virginia Tech Invitational in November defeating the Nos. 1, 3, and 4 seeds in the event.

In doubles, Davor Dupljak (Sr., Karlovac, Croatia) and Michael Kurz (Jr., Stuttgart, Germany) were ranked fifth after posting a 10-2 fall record including the championship of the Virginia Tech Invitational over Huot and Laulund. The freshman duo of David Emery (Fairfax, Va.) and Stephane Rod (Lausanne, Switzerland) were ranked tenth following a solid fall campaign that included an 8-3 record and the championship of the B flight at the East Coast Collegiate Invitational in Norfolk, Va.

The Hokies were 17-11 last season and finished third in the BIG EAST tournament. Tech opens the dual-match spring season on Feb. 2 at William & Mary. The first home match is scheduled for Feb. 3 at 2 p.m. against Wake Forest. All Tech home matches are played in the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center on the Virginia Tech campus.