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BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Virginia Tech men’s tennis team has earned a preseason ranking of 16th while seniors Joao Monteiro and Edoardo Tessaro earn national singles recognition as announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

The Hokies return nine players from last season’s team that finished 18th in the final ITA standings after tallying a 20-5 record, including wins over then-ranked No. 2, No. 14 and No. 23.

Monteiro is ranked 14th in singles, marking one of the highest individual rankings for the Hokies in program history while Tessaro has earned a ranking of 46th.

Monteiro played to an 18-5 record this fall, including winning the ITA Atlantic Regional to advance to the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships where he advanced to the semifinals. The Porto, Portugal native knocked of UVA’s 2nd-ranked Thai-Son Kwiatkowski in the quarterfinals to move on. In addition, Monteiro posted a 9-5 mark in the fall against players ranked in the preseason standings.

Tessaro put together a 14-5 record in the fall while going 4-5 against nationally ranked foes. The Uggiate Trevano, Italy native had a big win at the Southern Intercollegiates, defeating Georgia’s 28th-ranked Austin Smith. He also boasted a win over Florida’s 31st-ranked Diego Hidalgo at the ITA All-American Championships.

Monteiro also joins teammate Andreas Bjerrehus in the doubles standings at 21st. The duo posted a 12-3 record in the fall, including 4-3 versus ranked opponents. Monteiro and Bjerrehus had a pair of big wins, knocking off Texas Tech’s 2nd-ranked Hugo Dojas and Felipe Soares at the All-American Championships. In addition the pair picked up a win over North Florida’s 4th-ranked Jack Findel-Hawkins and Yannick Zuern at the Southern Intercollegiates.

The three are also ranked in the Atlantic Regional with Monteiro at third and Tessaro in fourth where they are joined by Bjerrehus at 13th in the regional singles.

Monteiro and Bjerrehus are also ranked fourth regionally in doubles. Tessaro is ranked sixth regionally in doubles with teammate Amerigo Contini. The pair was 7-4 in the fall and advanced to the finals of the ITA Atlantic Regional.

The Hokies open dual competition on Saturday, Jan. 16 when they travel to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to take on the 65th-ranked Crimson Tide at The University of Alabama Tennis Stadium. Match time is set for 2 p.m. ET.

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