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STANFORD, Calif. - Despite a rain delay of over two hours, Virginia Tech junior Luka Somen had a successful first day of competition at the NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Singles Championships at the Taube Tennis Center on the Stanford University campus.

Somen (Karlovac, Croatia), ranked No. 59 nationally and an All-ACC selection, defeated 52nd-ranked Tucker Vorster (Mississippi), 6-3, 4-3, ret. Somen will face eighth-ranked and No. 8 seed Henrique Cunha (Duke) Thursday in the Round of 32. Cunha, a 2010 national semifinalist, defeated Somen, 6-4, 6-3, during the regular season.

The Tech junior received an at-large selection to the tournament, joining Yoann Re (2009-10), Albert Larregola (2008) and Arvid Puranen (2006) as recent Hokies to participate in the event. The Tech duo of Nicolas Delgado de Robles and Pedro Graber participated in the 2007 NCAA Doubles Championships.

Somen, the 2009 ACC Freshman of the Year, defeated two top-30 players this season en-route to winning 22 singles matches, including a 6-5 record in ACC contests playing at the No. 1 position.

If Somen wins his Thursday match, he will become an All-American as one of the final 16 competitors at the Championship.

For complete coverage of the 2011 NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championship including schedule/results, live scoring and photos, visit http://www.gostanford.com/ot/2011-ncaa-tennis-tournamentcentral.html. Fans can also watch live video of the matches through the site. The video and live scoring site was down on Wednesday, but hopefully will be up and running for Somen’s next match.

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