March 21, 2013
Virginia Tech to host UNC, Duke
The Hokies play the Tar Heels on Friday and the Blue Devils on Sunday

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The 52nd-ranked Virginia Tech men’s tennis team will host No. 70 North Carolina on Friday, March 22 at 2 p.m. On Sunday, March 24, the Hokies play host to No. 8 Duke beginning at noon. Both matches will be played at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center.

Virginia Tech is coming off a 7-0 sweep of Boston College last weekend, which opened ACC play for the Hokies. The Hokies started strong winning all three doubles matches and followed that with six wins in singles, all in straight sets.

Amerigo Contini is ranked 73rd in the ITA singles standings and has tallied a 9-1 record this season in duals. Tech’s 91st-ranked Andreas Bjerrehus has posted a 10-1 mark this season. Lucas Oliveira is 9-2, including a 5-0 record in the No. 3. Hunter Koontz is 6-4 while Trpimir Kujundzic has compiled a 5-3 record.

Contini and Bjerrehus hold a 21st place ranking in the doubles standings and are undefeated with a 10-0 record in the No. 1.

North Carolina enters the match ranked 70th in the ITA standings. The Tar Heels fell to No. 8 Duke, 6-1 the last time out. William Parker picked up the point for the Heels with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win in the No. 5.

Carolina has four players ranked in the ITA singles standings with Esben Hess-Olsen leading the way at 35th with a 7-2 record in the No. 1 this season. Brett Clark is 104th and has tallied an 8-4 mark while Nelson Vick is 113th with a 6-7 record. Oystein Steiro rounds out the rankings at 114th and has a 8-6 record in duals.

Duke holds an eighth place national ranking and has five players ranked in singles along with all three doubles teams holding a ranking. The Blue Devils defeated the Tar Heels 6-1 the last time out. After sweeping the doubles matches, Duke claimed wins in five of the singles contests.

Leading the Blue Devils in the rankings is Henrique Cunha in 10th with a 10-0 record in the No. 1 duals. Michael Redlicki holds an 11-4 mark in duals and 26th in the singles standings while Fred Saba follows just behind in 27th with a 9-4 mark on the season. Raphael Hemmeler is 55th and 11-4 in dual play. Chris Mengel is 10-4 in duals and holds 89th in the standings.

Duke leads the doubles teams with Cunha and Hemmeler ranked first with a 12-2 record. Redlicki and Jason Tahir are ninth (10-2) while Mengel and Saba are ranked 25th (13-2).

Following the weekend’s matches, the Hokies will be back on the road, traveling to Virginia on Thursday, March 28. Tech will also square off against VCU next weekend on Saturday, March 30.

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

HokieSports Shop