November 1, 2006

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Virginia Tech men's tennis player Arvid Puranen will open play on Thursday afternoon at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Indoor Championships. The Ohio State University is hosting the event for the second straight year, Nov. 2-5 at the Racquet Club of Columbus.

Puranen (Sr., Lulea, Sweden), ranked #34 nationally, will have a tough first round opponent Thursday afternoon when he battles the tournament's No. 7 seed and fifth-ranked Travis Helgeson (Georgia). Puranen qualified for the event last week in Philadelphia, Pa. by sweeping six matches on the way to winning the Northeast Regional championship.

These championships feature a 32-player singles field and 16-team doubles field for men and women, including: champions from Wilson/ITA Regional Championships held across the country during October, the ITA National Small College champions, the winners of the Polo Ralph Lauren Men's All-American Tennis Championships and Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championships presented by Fila and at-large and wild card selections made earlier this week by the ITA National Tournament Committee. Overall, more than 10,000 players from nearly 600 schools participate annually in the ITA Regional and National Intercollegiate Championships.

Among the participants in the 2006 championships include defending men's singles champion Benjamin Kohlloeffel of UCLA, who also won last May's NCAA crown. Also competing will be Polo Ralph Lauren All-American champion and finalists Arnau Brugues of Tulsa and John Isner of Georgia, respectively. Georgia's Polo Ralph Lauren All-American doubles champs Isner and Luis Flores highlight that field. Florida's Diana Srebrovic will be back to defend her women's singles title. Also in Columbus will be the 2006 Riviera/ITA All-American and NCAA champ Suzi Babos of California, All-American finalist Melanie Gloria of Fresno State and top-ranked Audra Cohen of Miami (Fla.). Babos, an indoor finalist as a freshman in 2004, is the first woman in 11 years to reach the All-American, National Indoor and NCAA finals during her career.

The championships will take place at the Racquet Club of Columbus (1100 Bethel Road), one of the best indoor facilities in the region that features 10 Novacrylic tennis courts in three separate bays with spacious viewing lounges. The club hosts several junior and adult tournaments throughout the year.

The semifinal and championship matches will be broadcast live by Ken Thomas at www.RadioTennis.com. For tournament results, log on to www.itatennis.com/Indoors06/main.htm