Tweet

BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech women's tennis team received a No. 54 national ranking in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association preseason poll. Martha Blakely is ranked No. 96 in the national singles rankings.

Blakely (So., Reading, Pa.) is also ranked No. 18 in the Atlantic Region while Christin Newman (Fr., Greensboro, N.C.) is No. 7 and Yasmin Hamza (Jr., Cairo, Egypt) is No. 20 in the region. The Tech doubles team of Shannon Betts (So., Newnan, Ga.)/Newman is ranked sixth in the region while Blakely/Holly Johnson (Jr., Tallahassee, Fla.) earned a No. 8 regional ranking.

The Hokies concluded the 2008-09 season with a 13-11 mark to finish the year with a No. 54 national ranking and were also ranked seventh in the East Region. Tech returns six players from last year and will feature two juniors, four sophomores and three freshmen.

The preseason national poll includes nine of the 12 ACC teams: No. 1 Duke, No. 7 Miami, No. 10 Georgia Tech, No. 14 Clemson, No. 15 Florida State, No. 18 North Carolina, No. 26 Virginia, No. 39 Wake Forest and No. 60 Virginia Tech.

Tech opens the dual match season at 2 p.m. on Jan. 27 hosting Elon at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center on the Virginia Tech campus.

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