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BLACKSBURG, Va. – A new season-opening event, pitting teams from the top collegiate conferences, highlights the 2013-14 Virginia Tech golf schedule, as the Hokies will shoot for an eighth consecutive NCAA appearance.

“We look forward to building on the success we had this past season and are very excited that our 2013-14 tournament schedule will again feature some of the top events in collegiate golf,” head coach Jay Hardwick said. “We are proud to have been selected to represent the ACC in the season-opening Golfweek Conference Challenge, which goes along with our philosophy of playing against the nation’s best.”

The lone new event on the schedule, the Golfweek Conference Challenge will be played at the Spirit Hollow Golf Club in Davenport, Iowa. The tournament, hosted by the University of Iowa and Golfweek, has one team from each of the top conferences. A total of 15 conferences will be represented.

Next, the Hokies will look to defend their title at the VCU Shootout on the Manakin Course of the Hermitage Country Club on Sept 23-24. Tech shot a final-round 291 to win last year’s event by 16 strokes.

The Hokies will then travel to Macon, Ga., on Oct. 4-6 to compete in the Brickyard Collegiate Golf Championship at the Brickyard at Riverside Golf Course. One week later, on Oct. 11-14, Virginia Tech competes in the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate at the Blackthorn Club. Tech will complete the fall season at the UNCG Bridgestone Invitational on Oct. 26-27 at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro, N.C.

The Hokies open spring competition at the Puerto Rico Classic in San Juan on Feb. 23-25. This tournament traditionally attracts perhaps the top field in all of collegiate golf. Eventual national champion Alabama won last year’s event.

Tech will return to the Mission Inn Spring Spectacular at the Mission Inn Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida, just north of Orlando, on March 15-16. This year’s event will move from the resort’s Las Colinas course to the El Campion course. Following Mission Inn, the Hokies will once again play the Furman Invitational and the Administaff/Augusta State Invitational in late March and early April.

The post-season will begin on April 25-27, as Tech will compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference Golf Championship at the Old North State Golf Club in Badin Lake, N.C. The Hokies finished tied for second in last season’s event.

The Hokies will be aiming for their eighth consecutive NCAA Regional appearance in 2014. This year’s sites are the Lonnie Poole Golf Club in Raleigh, N.C., hosted by NC State, the Auburn University Club in Auburn, Ala., hosted by Auburn, Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill., hosted by Northern Illinois, The Club at Old Hawthorne in Columbia, Mo., hosted by Missouri, Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore., hosted by Oregon and Briggs Ranch Golf Club in San Antonio, Texas, hosted by the University of Texas San Antonio. This year’s NCAA Men’s Golf Championship will be held at Prairie Dunes in Hutchinson, Kan., hosted by Wichita State.

The Hokies return four starters from last year’s team that finished tied for 10th overall at the NCAA Pullman Regional in Pullman, Wash.

For updates on Virginia Tech men's golf, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_MGolf).