BLACKSBURG, Va. -- The Virginia Tech men’s tennis team heads south this weekend for two key matches at No. 46 Florida State and No. 29 Miami. Tech will play the Seminoles on Friday at 3 p.m. and Sunday against the Hurricanes at noon.
Virginia Tech (10-5, 2-1), No. 36 in this week’s ITA national poll, had a seven-match winning streak snapped last week at Virginia Commonwealth. The Hokies have defeated Maryland (5-2) and Boston College (7-0) this season in ACC action while falling at No. 1 Virginia (1-6).
Luka Somen (Jr., Karlovac, Croatia), ranked No. 45 nationally in singles, leads Tech with a 12-2 dual match record at the No. 1 position. Tech’s doubles lineup will have two nationally ranked teams including Pedro Graber (r-Sr., Santiago, Chile)/Will Beck (Sr., Potomac, Md.) at No. 45 and Somen/Corrado Degl’ Incerti Tocci (Jr., Reggio Emilia, Italy) at No. 52.
Florida State (6-8, 1-2) has lost three consecutive matches including a 5-2 defeat last week to No. 3 USC. The Seminoles will be led by 26th-ranked Vahid Mirzadeth and No. 76 Clint Bowles. Tech defeated Florida State, 5-2, last season in Blacksburg and this will be the Hokies’ first match at Florida State since the 2007 season. The scheduled 2009 meeting was postponed due to rain.
Miami (9-4, 3-0) defeated No. 51 Clemson last week (4-3) and also owns tight wins in the conference over Florida State (4-3) and Georgia Tech (4-3). The Hokies defeated the Hurricanes last year, 5-2, at home.
Following the trip to the Sunshine State, Tech returns home for matches against No. 15 North Carolina (April 1) and No. 8 Duke (April 3).
For updates on Virginia Tech men's tennis, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_MTennis).