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BLACKSBURG, Va. – Virginia Tech men’s tennis player Luka Somen has been selected as the Atlantic Region “Player to Watch” as one of the top returning regional players next year. Somen is now eligible for the “National Player to Watch Award.”

Somen (So., Karlovac, Croatia), ranked No. 59 in the most recent ITA national list and an All-ACC selection, has defeated two top 30 players this season en-route to winning 20 singles matches. Somen was the 2009 ACC Freshman of the Year.

The national winner will be honored at the ITA Awards Banquet at the NCAA Championships in Stanford, Calif.

Somen and his teammates will return to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive year on Fri., May 13, at 10 a.m., when the No. 37 Hokies travel to Knoxville, Tenn., to play No. 32 Vanderbilt (13-10) in the opening round of the tournament. The first and second round matches will be played at the Dr. Robert L. Barksdale Tennis Stadium and are hosted by the University of Tennessee.

The winner of Tech-Vandy match will play the winner of the No. 3 Tennessee (21-4) vs. No. 64 Radford (22-3) match in the second round on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Hokies defeated the Commodors, 4-0, in the 2010 first round in Louisville, Ky.

The complete NCAA men’s tennis bracket is available at: http://www.ncaa.com/brackets/tennis-men/d1/2011

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