December 9, 2003

BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech men's tennis team has four players included in the Fall Intercollegiate Tennis Association Northeast Region singles rankings and one doubles team.

Andreas Laulund (Sr., Odense, Denmark), No. 57 in the ITA Preseason national poll, is ranked fifth in the Northeast Region. Laulund was 5-4 during the fall playing against some of the top players in the region.

Stephane Rod (Jr., Lausanne, Switzerland) is ranked seventh in the region after leading the Hokies with a 10-3 fall record. Rod won five matches at the ITA All-American fall event in the pre-qualifying and qualifying rounds before withdrawing due to injury. He also advanced to the ITA Northeast Regional quarterfinals in Ithaca, N.Y.

Angel Diankov (Jr., Yonkers, N.Y.) picked up a No. 11 regional ranking after posting a solid 7-4 fall campaign where he advanced to the ITA regional semifinals.

Newcomer Soren Spanner (So., Strandby, Denmark) achieved a No. 15 regional ranking with a 6-3 fall worksheet including three victories in his Tech debut at the Charles Fluitt Invitational hosted by the University of Kentucky.

Laulund and Rod, ranked No. 27 in the ITA Preseason fall poll, earned a No. 8 regional rank.

The Hokies open the dual match season on Jan. 23 hosting American at 11 a.m. and Richmond at 6 p.m. All home matches are played at the Burrows/Burleson Tennis Center on the Virginia Tech campus.