BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Virginia Tech men’s tennis player Patrick Daciek won his singles match on Sunday to advance to the quarterfinals of the ITA/USTA National Summer Championships at the Indiana University Varsity Tennis Center. This is the ninth straight year IU is serving as tournament host.

Daciek (Jr., Severna Park, Md.), a 5-8 seed, won two matches on Saturday after receiving a first round bye to advance to Sunday’s Round of 16. He defeated Jordan Smith (Memphis), 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (4), Sunday to advance to Monday’s 9 a.m. quarterfinal against Anderson Reed (Florida State). Will Beck (Sr., Potomac, Md.) also won his first two matches, but lost, 6-4, 6-7, 1-0 (10), against Daniel Whithead (Texas), a 5-8 seed. The Tech duo, seeded No. 4 in doubles, lost their opening match, 8-6, later on Sunday against Jamison Clark (Vincennes)/Reid Garlock (DePauw)

Two members of the Tech women’s team are also participating in the event. Holly Johnson (Sr., Tallahassee, Fla.) and Martha Blakely (Jr., Reading, Pa.) were 9-16 seeds, however both were upset in their first round Saturday matches. Johnson bounced back to outlast Mallory Weber (Missouri), 6-2, 1-6, 1-0 (9), later in the day in the consolation round, while Blakely dropped her match. Johnson was eliminated Sunday with a, 6-3, 6-3, loss to Kelsey Haviland (Ohio State). The Tech pair, seeded No. 4 in doubles, dropped a 9-7 decision Sunday evening versus Chelcie Abajain/Breanne Smutka (Illinois) in Sunday’s opening round of doubles competition.

The ITA/USTA National Summer Championships are the pinnacle of the ITA Collegiate Summer Circuit, which was played at 32 regional sites throughout the country last month. A total of 2,965 players participated in ITA Summer Circuit events this year, falling just short of 2009’s record-breaking mark of 2,976.

Nearly 30,000 men and women have competed in ITA Summer Circuit events since it began in 1993. The circuit provides college (and junior and alumni) players the opportunity to compete in organized events virtually year round. Although the primary focus of the circuit is to provide incoming freshman and collegiate players the chance to compete in the summer months, for NCAA compliance purposes, the events within the ITA Summer Circuit are categorized as “open”; therefore anyone is eligible to compete in these events as long as he/she is a current ITA member.

New in 2010 is the addition of the Mid-Atlantic Circuit as well as a fourth site (New Mexico) in the Mountain Circuit. The ITA Summer Circuit is currently made up of eight regional circuits (East, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest, Central, Mountain, Southwest and West) and all eight regions consist of four consecutive open tournaments played during the month of July, leading up to the August 7-11 ITA/USTA National Summer Championships in Bloomington, Indiana.

The singles and doubles champions from the ITA/USTA National Summer Championships earn wild cards into the first national tournaments of the 2010-11 collegiate tennis season - the D’Novo Men’s and Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championships in early October.

Several members of the Tech men’s and women’s tennis teams have had success on the ITA Summer Circuit. On the women’s side, Holly Johnson (Sr., Tallahassee, Fla.) has won tournaments hosted by Virginia Tech and Mary Washington by defeating teammate Martha Blakely (Jr., Reading, Pa.) in both finals. Katie Blow (Sr., Richmond, Va.) advanced to the quarterfinals at each event.

In the Virginia Tech tournament, Blakely/Johnson teamed up to win the doubles competition. At Mary Washington, Blow/Johnson paired to win the doubles over Blakely/Whitney Wilson (Michigan State) in the final.

On the men’s side, Will Beck (Sr., Potomac, Md.) dominated the Virginia Tech tournament winning five matches without the loss of set on the way to the title. Beck paired with Nobuyoshi Tanaka (Longwood) to win four matches on the way to the doubles title. Trpimir Kujundzic (So., Zagreb, Croatia) advanced to the singles semifinals in the Virgina Tech tourney, while Zach Pine (Jr., Vienna, Va.) won two matches before being eliminated in the quarterfinals. The two paired in the doubles to advance to the semifinals.

Beck followed up his success in Blacksburg the next week at Mary Washington by winning three matches before falling, 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (7), in the final against Tanaka. 

Martha Blakely, a sophomore on the women's tennis team, receives national scholarship award. The following release was provided by The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi:

BATON ROUGE, LA— Martha Vivian Blakely of Wyomissing, PA was granted an Emerging Scholar Award worth $250 by The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. The daughter of Drs. Thomas D. and Pamela A. R. Blakely, she is majoring in Chemistry and Mathematics at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

This honor counts Blakely among 60 students nationwide to receive the Phi Kappa Phi Emerging Scholar Award recognizing outstanding rising sophomores. “This award is part of Phi Kappa Phi’s continuing effort to respond to the needs of undergraduate students in American higher education,” said Society Executive Director Dr. Perry A. Snyder.

The selection process for the Phi Kappa Phi Emerging Scholar Award is based on the applicants’ 1) undergraduate academic performance; 2) leadership and service on the campus and in the community; and 3) personal statement of educational perspective, purpose and objectives.

The Tech men's and women's teams both placed high in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. The men's team received a final ranking of No. 27 after advancing to the NCAA Second Round. The women's team moved up one spot in the final poll with a No. 54 national ranking. Both teams showed improvement from their final 2008 rankings where the men were No. 28 and the women No. 60.

Those fans wishing to brave the snow on Sunday can come out to the women's tennis match at Burrows/Burleson Tennis Center at noon against ACC foe Maryland and receive a free tennis racquet keychain!

Rather have a Virginia Tech hat? Then be one of the first to Thompson Field on Tuesday to see the Hokie lacrosse team aim for its second straight win when it takes on Vanderbilt at 4 p.m.!

 Virginia Tech women's tennis player Natalie Kretzer has been named as a 2008 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Scholar Athlete. This is the second time she has received the honor.

Kretzer (Jr., Chesterfield, Va.), who saw limited action last season due to a wrist injury, posted a 4-1 dual match singles record. She is also a two-time member of the ACC Academic Honor Roll.

In order to earn ITA Scholar-Athlete status, a player must be a varsity letter winner, have a grade point average of at least 3.50 for the current academic year, and have been enrolled at their present school for at least two semesters.
    

 

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) earlier today released its final Division I team rankings of the season, and both of the Virginia Tech teams found themselves in the top-75 polls.

The men finished the year at No. 28, moving up 11 spots from last year's end of the season poll. The team tied a career-best finish that was set in 1997. The Hokies posted a 16-9 (6-5 ACC) record and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The women landed at No. 60 for the second straight season after finishing the year with a 14-13 (2-9 ACC) record. The ranking marks the first time since 2000 that the women earned a spot in the final poll two years in a row.

The entire list of the polls can be found here.

The women's tennis 2008 recruiting class has been ranked as No. 11 in the nation by tennisrecruiting.com. Fall signees included Shannon Bette, Martha Blakely, and Courtney Rauscher while Katie Blow recently joined the committment list.

Betts, from Newnan, Ga., is rated as a five-star recruit by www.tennisrecruiting.net. Betts is ranked No. 59 nationally among seniors and was a member of the 2007 Southern team that won the World Team Tennis Supernationals.

Blakely, from Reading, Pa., is a three-time Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) AA state champion and is the top-ranked player in Pennsylvania. She has a No. 31 national ranking among seniors and is a five-star recruit according to www.tennisrecruiting.net.

Rauscher, from Evans, Ga., is another five-star recruit by www.tennisrecruiting.net. She is ranked No. 43 nationally among seniors and was the winner of the 2007 Dansani Mayor’s Cup.

Blow, a walk-on from Richmond, Va., is a senior at Mills Godwin High School where she plays both No. 1 singles and doubles. She is a four-star recruit  according to tennisrecruiting.net and ranked No. 3 in Virginia. She is the sister of Virginia Tech redshirt freshman baseball player Matt Blow.

The undefeated men's tennis team moved up nine spots to No. 24 in this week's Intercollegiate Tennis Association national poll. Albert Larregola (Sr., Lleida, Spain) moves up 32 spots to No. 54 nationally in singles after helping the Hokies defeat then-No. 44 SMU, 5-2, last Friday with a victory over Robin Fahgen, then ranked 50th nationally, in the No. 1 singles contest.

Tech (10-0, 2-0) does not play this week and will take to the road next week to play at No. 41 Louisville and No. 14 Tennessee.

The Tech women's team (10-3, 0-1) also took big steps up the rankings, moving up 17 spots to No. 43 after upsetting then-No. 25 VCU (4-3), sweeping Longwood (7-0) and defeating Richmond (5-2). The Hokies will be tested this week as they visit No. 63 East Carolina on Thursday (1 p.m.), No. 52 NC State on Saturday (12 p.m.) and No. 37 Wake Forest on Sunday (12 p.m.)  

Come out to see the wrestling team host UNC Greensboro on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Cassell Coliseum, and you could be a part of the biggest promotion of the year!

Sign up at the marketing table located on the concourse near the Spring Road entrance for your chance to enter the Roll The Dice Contest. Once lucky contestant will have the chance to roll three dice. If all three dice come up with the VT logo, you have won $10,000.

It is also VT Faculty/Staff night, with numerous prizes to go around.

For tennis fans, come to the women’s match against Ohio State at noon, and if you are among the first 75 in attendance, receive a free pair of VT winter gloves.

Visit the promotions page here for more information.

The final day of the Ferris Baker Watts CCL/UNCW Invitational in Wilmington, N.C. was washed out Sunday due to heavy rains from Tropical Storm Gabrielle. The Hokies doubles duo of Jessica Brouwer (Jr., Maarssen, Netherlands)/Abbey Walker (Jr., Lancaster, S.C.) had advanced to the Teal Flight finals following two wins on Saturday. Brouwer, Walker and Bethan James (Sr., Flintshire, UK) were all scheduled to play in consolation singles matches on Sunday as well.

The Hokies will return to action, Sept. 21-23, when several members of the team will travel to Philadelphia, Pa. to participate in the Cissie Leary Invitational.