Hokie ClubNCAA Men's ChampionshipsTournament Information TULSA, Okla. - Virginia Tech senior Albert Larregola (Lleida, Spain) will be in action on Wednesday during the first day of competition of the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Singles Championships at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Tulsa.
Ranked 45th in the latest ITA rankings, Larregola will face UC Irvine's Victor Lamm, ranked No. 123, at 4 p.m., Eastern Time, in the first round of the singles draw. The All-ACC honoree earlier received an at-large selection, becoming the first Hokie since Arvid Puranen in 2006 to participate in the NCAA Tournament. His opponent received an automatic berth for being the highest ranked individual in the Big West Conference.
Larregola posted a 12-9 dual match singles record this season, including a 4-6 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference, playing at the No. 1 position. Along the way, he picked up victories over current No. 5 Daniel Vallverdu (Miami), No. 24 J.P. Smith (Tennessee), No. 55 David Goulet (Duke), No. 68 Steven Forman (Wake Forest), No. 112 Robin Fahgen (SMU) and No. 115 Benjamin Carlotti (North Carolina).
"This is such a great honor for Albert to be selected into the NCAA Championships," said Virginia Tech head men's tennis coach Jim Thompson. "He has proven himself to be one of the elite players in the country, and I am very proud of the way he has represented this program and Virginia Tech over the past four years. It is very exciting to see him have this opportunity to compete for a national title. He has trained very hard this season and shown he can beat anyone in the country. He should enjoy every moment of this experience and play his heart out, as this will be something he will remember for the rest of his life."
In order for Larregola to become an All-American, he must win two matches to finish as one of the final 16 competitors at the championships.
The winner of the Larregola/Lamm match will advance to the round of 32 and face the winner of the No. 9 Denes Lukacs/No. 36 Adam Holmstrom contest on Thursday.
For complete coverage of the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship including tickets, schedule/results, live scoring and photos, visit http://tulsahurricane.cstv.com/sports/m-tennis/spec-rel/tuls-08-w-tennis-central.html. Fans can also watch live video of the matches through the site.