Tweet

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Virginia Tech advanced one singles player and one doubles team from the qualifyinground into the main draw Thursday at the Wilson/Intercollegiate Tennis Association Women’s Atlantic Region Championships. The singles finalists and doubles champion from this event will earn spots in the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, November 5-8, hosted by the Yale University in New Haven, Conn. The event continues through Oct.16, and is being held at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center on the Virginia Tech campus. Admission to the tournament is free and results are available at www.hokiesports.com/wtennis.

The event features players from 26 schools throughout the region and will have a definite international flavor with 23 countries represented in the event.

In qualifying singles, Emily Lauten (Fr., Marietta, Ga.) defeated Dorota Lysienia (George Washington), 6-2, 6-2, then advanced into the main draw with a, 6-2, 6-2, victory over Stephanie Lafortuen (West Virginia). Lauten will face qualifier Nadia Demidenko (George Washington) at 2:30 p.m. in Friday’s main draw. Katie Blow (So., Richmond, Va.) had no trouble in her first qualifying match winning, 6-0, 6-0, versus Alyssa Works (Howard), but was eliminated, 6-1, 6-2, in the next round by Kara Kucin (Marshall).

Several other Tech players will see their first singles in Friday’s main draw. Christin Newman (Fr., Greensboro, N.C.), seeded No. 8, will play qualifier Kara Kucin (Marshall) at 3:30 p.m. in the first round of the main draw. Martha Blakely (So., Reading, Pa.), a No. 9-16 seed, will face Jordan Hansbrough (Maryland) in a 1 p.m. contest, Holly Johnson (Jr., Tallahassee, Fla.) plays Casey Robinson (St. Joseph’s) at 11 a.m., Shannon Betts (So., Newnan, Ga.) takes on No. 9-16 seed Jordan Jenkins (Liberty) and Yasmin Hamza (Jr., Cairo, Egypt) plays Nina Vulovich (William & Mary) at 5 p.m.

In doubles action, Betts/Newman won both of their qualifying matches to advance into the main draw. The Tech pair defeated Lexi Brand/Oksana Krutiyenko (Maryland), 8-3, before defeating Emily Fraser/Maria Fuccillo (Virginia), 9-7. They open play in Friday’s main draw at 9:30 a.m. against the eighth-seeded team of Alex Bara/Josefin Hjerquist (Virginia Commonwealth). Tech’s other team in the qualifying, Hamza/Lauten, defeated Maggie MacKeever/Lisa Miller (Maryland), 8-5, but were eliminated as they lost, 8-4, versus Anik Cepeda/Carmen Pop (William & Mary). Blakely/Johnson, the No. 5 seeds, will see their first action Friday at 8 a.m. against qualifiers Riley Blanks/Neela Vaez (Virginia).

In addition to host Virginia Tech, the event features the top players from Division I schools including: Bucknell, Georgetown, George Washington, Howard, James Madison, Liberty, Longwood, Marshall, Maryland, Maryland-Baltimore County, Morgan State, Navy, Norfolk State, Old Dominion, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Radford, Richmond, St. Joseph’s, Temple, Towson, Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth, West Virginia and William & Mary. The top seed in singles is Michaela Kissell (Marshall) who is ranked No. 36 nationally. Other nationally-ranked players include No. 54 Emily Fraser (Virginia), No. 73 Jenny Stevens (Virginia), No. 107 Ragini Archarya (William & Mary) and No. 116 Nadine Fahoum (Old Dominion). Stevens and Hana Tomjanovic (Virginia) are the top seeds in doubles.

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