June 4, 2003

BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech women's tennis team is ranked eighth in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association East Region rankings following another successful season. The Hokies also had a singles player receive an East Region ranking and the team is ranked 69th in the final national poll.

Tech (16-13) finished third in the BIG EAST Conference tournament for the third straight season. The Hokies defeated four ranked opponents during the year including wins over Middle Tennessee State, Penn State, Oregon and Marshall. The East Region, largest in the nation, includes 92 teams.

Kristen Stubbs (Sr., Hilton Head, S.C) was ranked 22nd out of over 700 collegiate players in the region playing at the top of the Tech line-up. She was selected as the national recipient of the "ITA/Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship Award."

Last year, Stubbs was selected as the recipient of the ITA East Region "Cissie Leary Award for Sportsmanship" which is given to a women's tennis player who displays inspiring dedication and commitment to her team, which has enhanced her team's performance and exemplified the spirit of college tennis. She was also chosen last year to represent Virginia Tech at the NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference in Orlando, Fla.

The Hokies return four of six starters next year including Carolyn Kramer (Jr., Manchester, Mo.), Elissa Kinard (Jr., Charleston, S.C.), Felice Lam (Jr., Seattle, Wash.) and Ginger Lowdermilk (Sr., Bossier City, La.).