Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – Junior Mitch Harper will open the 2018 NCAA Singles Championship on Wednesday, May 23 while Henrik Korsgaard and Alex Ribeiro will begin doubles competition on Thursday at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Harper, ranked 29th in the ITA, will open play at 9:30 a.m. against No. 68 Majed Kilani of Tulsa. The Tulsa junior finished with a record of 16-6 to earn American All-Conference honors.
Korsgaard and Ribeiro enter the field ranked 27th and will face the No. 8 duo of Korey Lovett and Eero Vasa of UCF. Time will be announced tomorrow. The UCF pair earned All-Conference honors and posted a 15-2 record on the season.
Harper becomes the 17th Hokie in program history and the 13th under head coach Jim Thompson to earn a bid to the singles championship, in addition, the Hokies have sent a player to the singles competition 15 of the last 17 seasons.
He has been strong for the Hokies all season, having tallied a 14-6 record at the one this spring including an impressive 9-2 record to close out dual play. Harper had 13 wins over nationally ranked opponents including three ranked 30th or better. He earned All-ACC First Team honors and was named the ITA Atlantic Region Player to Watch.
Ribeiro and Korsgaard is the sixth tandem to represent the Hokies in the 32-team doubles field and the third in as many seasons. The duo is 8-5 this spring at the one and posted four wins over ranked foes including a pair of victories versus top-25. This marks Korsgaards second trip to the doubles championship after going last season with then-teammate Jai Corbett.