November 17, 2006

BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech Athletics Department has announced the signing of women's tennis players Holly Johnson and Karina Porushkevich to national letters of intent.

Johnson, from Tallahassee, Fla., will join the Hokies for the 2007 fall season as a freshman. She plays for Leon High School where she is undefeated in career regular season singles matches with only one regular season doubles defeat. Johnson led Leon High to the district and regional titles last season and a third place finish in the state tournament. She is a four-time Big Bend Player of the Year as selected by the Tallahassee Democrat and has won the Tallahassee High School Championship for five consecutive years. Johnson has been ranked as high as No. 3 nationally during her junior career and top five nationally in doubles. She has held the No. 1 doubles ranking in Florida the past four years. Johnson is considered a "Five Star Recruit" by TennisRecruiting.net and is ranked No. 36 in the Class of 2007.

"Holly is not only a great tennis player, but a very team-oriented individual," said Virginia Tech women's tennis coach Terry Ann Zawacki-Woods. "She is a fierce competitor and will be a great addition to our program in both singles and doubles. We are thrilled to have her join our program next fall."

Porushkevich, from Los Angeles, Calif, will join the Tech program and compete during the Spring 2007 season after graduating from Calabasas High School. She has been ranked as high as No. 4 in the nation in singles during her junior career and is currently No. 175 in the ITF junior rankings. In 2004, Porushkevich was a singles and doubles finalists at the Prince Cup and a mixed doubles finalist at the 2004 Eddie Herr tournament. She is considered a "Blue Chip Recruit" by TennisRecruiting.net and was ranked No. 11 in the Class of 2006. Additionally, Porushkevich competed for the Girls 16 Team USA in the Maureen Connolly Brinker Cup in Australia.

"We are extremely excited to have Karina become a Virginia Tech Hokie in January, " said Zawacki-Woods. "Karina has had great experience playing against some of the top junior tennis players in the world and we are looking forward to having her experience and determination added to our program."

Virginia Tech will open the dual-match schedule on Feb. 3 with home matches against East Carolina (noon) and Appalachian State (4 p.m.)