January 27, 2007

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- The Virginia Tech men's tennis team opened the 2007 dual-match season on a successful note Saturday wth a 7-0 victory over Austin Peay in the Hokies first match of the Larsen Bowker Shootout. The event, featuring Austin Peay, Charlotte, Maryland-Baltimore County, St. Bonaventure and Tech, utilizes a round-robin format and will conclude on Sunday with four matches. The shootout is being played at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center on the Virginia Tech campus.

Tech (1-0), ranked No. 52 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) preseason poll, swept three double matches to capture the first point, then won all of the six singles contests for the win.

After taking the doubles point to open the match, Tech captured the second point as Alexei Sergeev (Sr., Moscow, Russia) won the No. 5 match by default over Will McGee. The Hokies increased their advantage to 3-0 as Brandon Corace (So., Naples, Fla.) defeated Leonardo Locatelli, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 4. Tech clinched the victory when Ignaci Roca (Jr., San Jose, Costa Rica) easily defeated Andrew Solarski, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 6.

Tech completed the sweep by winning the remaining three singles contests as Nicolas Delgado (So., Madrid, Spain), ranked No. 87 nationally, picked up a 6-3, 6-1, victory in his No. 2 match over Patrick Puertolas. Albert Larregola (Jr., Lleida, Spain), ranked No. 70 nationally, defeated Lucas DeBrito, 6-4, 6-1, at No. 1, while Yoann Re (Fr., Verdun, Quebec, Canada), in his collegiate debut at No. 3, won 6-2, 6-3, against Leandro Tolosa-Zenklusen.

In doubles action, Corace/Puranen won the No. 1 contest, 8-3, over DeBrito/Locatelli while Delgado/Pedro Graber (Fr., Santiago, Chile) took the No. 2 contest, 8-2, against Puertolas/Tolosa-Zenklusen. The Hokies completed the doubles sweep as Larregola/Sergeev blanked Magee/Solarksi, 8-0, in the No. 3 match.

Tech returns to action later on Saturday when the Hokies host St. Bonaventure in a 3:30 contest.

No. 52 Virginia  Tech 7, Austin Peay 0
Singles
1. #70 Albert Larregola (VT) def. Lucas DeBrito (AP)      6-4, 6-1
2. #87 Nicolas Delgado (VT) def. Patrick Puertolas (AP)   6-3, 6-1
3. Yoann Re (VT) def. Leandro Tolosa-Zenklusen (AP)       6-2, 6-3
4. Brandon Corace (VT) def. Leonardo Locatelli (AP)       6-0, 6-1
5. Alexei Sergeev (VT) def. Will McGee (AP)               Default
6. Ignaci Roca (VT) def. Andrew Solaraki (AP)             6-0, 6-1
Doubles
1. Corace/Puranen (VT) def. DeBrito/Locatelli (AP)                 8-3
2. Delgado/Pedro Graber (VT) def. Puertolas/Tolosa-Zenklusen (AP)  8-2
3. Larregola/Sergeev (VT) def. Magee/Solarski (AP)                 8-0