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BLACKSBURG – The 16th-ranked Virginia Tech men’s tennis team opens the 2016 campaign on the road, traveling to 65th-ranked Alabama on Saturday, Jan. 16 for a 2 p.m. ET match at the Roberta Alison Baumgardner Tennis Facility.

Virginia Tech is coming off a strong 2015 in which the Hokies finished the season 20-5 and 18th in the final ITA poll of last year. The Hokies return nine players from last season’s team, including four seniors who all saw time in the No. 1-4 of the line-up.

Joao Monteiro enters the year ranked 14th in singles after a solid fall season in which he won the ITA Atlantic Regional title and advanced to the semifinals of the National Indoor Championships. He finished the fall 18-5, including a 9-5 mark against ranked opponents. Edoardo Tessaro joins Monteiro in the rankings after going 14-5 in the fall and 4-5 versus nationally ranked foes. He picked up wins over Georgia’s 28th-ranked Austin Smith and Florida’s 31st-ranked Diago Hidalgo.

The Hokies also return top competitors Andreas Bjerrehus and Amerigo Contini. Bjerrehus and Contini are three-time All-ACC honorees. Contini has a 20-12 mark in his three years against the ACC and is 48-23 in duals, playing primarily in the No. 1 and No. 2. Bjerrehus is 48-27 during his dual career with the Hokies, seeing time mainly in the No. 1 and No. 2. In addition, Bjerrehus represented Denmark during the fall at the Davis Cup.

Tech has a strong nucleus of seniors on this year’s squad with Monteiro, Tessaro, Contini and Bjerrehus who are joined by fellow senior Aaron Gomez who was 6-0 in duals in 2015 including wins over No. 2 Duke and No. 14 North Carolina. The Hokies also return junior Jai Corbett who sat out much of the fall, but has posted a 23-13 record in duals during his two seasons.

In addition to singles, the Hokies’ Bjerrehus and Monteiro are also ranked in doubles at No. 21. The pair went 12-3 in the fall, including 4-3 versus ranked opponents.

Alabama has three players ranked in the singles preseason ITA with Mazen Osama leading the way at 67th. Korey Lovett is 106 and Becker O’Shaughnessy is tied for 123. The Tide finished last season 17-17 including a 3-9 mark in the SEC.

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