BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech men's tennis team kicks off its 2021 spring slate with two matches in the next few days – at No. 2 North Carolina on Sunday and hosting ODU on Tuesday.
MATCH INFORMATION
Opponent: No. 2 North Carolina
Date/Time: Jan. 31 | 1 PM
Location: Chapel Hill, N.C.
Live Stats: Here
Live Video: Here
Opponent: ODU
Date/Time: Feb. 2 | TBA
Location: Blacksburg, Va.
Video/Stats: Here
Although North Carolina is an ACC peer, Sunday's match will be marked as a non-conference competition.
HOKIES
Tech opens the season returning a strong portion of the 2019-20 squad squad, including graduate students Alex Ribeiro and Mitch Harper, and seniors Carlo Donato, Ryan Kros, and Chase Bernstine.
The Hokies have several new faces to compliment the experience, including blue-chip recruits Ryan Fishback and Frank Thompson, and five-star recruit Alex Ix. Freshmen Hugo Maia and Alvaro Saez-Royuela Ariza arrive from Europe and sophomore Jordan Chrysostom is a transfer from Tennessee.
Harper is ranked No. 38 in the ITA singles rankings.
NORTH CAROLINA
The Tar Heels sit at 2-0 on the season after defeating Northwestern and South Carolina at the ITA Kickoff.
Four North Carolina players are ranked in the top-125: No. 2 William Blumberg, No. 41 Benjamin Sigouin, No. 55 Rinky Hijikata, and No. 100 Joshua Peck.
Two duos for the Tar Heels are ranked – No. 5 Mac Kiger and Simon Soendegaard, and No. 6 Blumberg and Brian Cernoch.
ODU
Old Dominion is 0-2 on the year, with losses to Auburn, Clemson, and Virginia.
The doubles pair of Luca Maldoner and Nicola Vidal is ranked No. 25.
Tuesday's match was originally planned Monday, but has been moved to Tuesday due to weather.