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NORFOLK, Va. – Two members of the Virginia Tech women’s tennis team advanced to the Round of 16 with Friday victories at the United States Tennis Association/Intercollegiate Tennis Association Women’s Atlantic Region Championships. The event, hosted by Old Dominion University, features some of the top players in the nation and is being held at the Folkes-Stevens Indoor Tennis Center.

Yasmin Hamza (Sr., Cairo, Egypt), the No. 11 seed, defeated Aandria Carr (Towson), 6-1, 6-1, and will play Maria Bedard (Penn State) in the Round of 16 Saturday at 10:30 a.m. Martha Blakely (Jr., Reading, Pa.) upset No. 8 seed Kateryna Yergina (VCU), 6-4, 5-7, 2-2, ret., and will play Marjorie Baker (Virginia) Saturday at 10 a.m.

In other singles results, Holly Johnson (Sr., Tallahassee, Fla.) lost, 7-6 (4), 6-2, to No. 13 seed Stephanie Wetmore (Georgetown) and Shannon Betts (Jr., Newnan, Ga.) dropped a 6-2, 6-2, decision to No. 7 seed Hana Tomijanovic (Virginia). Emily Lauten (So., Marietta, Ga.), who dropped her second match on Thursday in the qualifying round, made the main draw due to a default but dropped a 6-2, 6-0, match to the tournament’s top seed and 41st-ranked Michaela Kissel (Marshall).

The day began on a positive note in doubles as Hamza/Johnson, seeded No. 5 and ranked No. 34 nationally, won, 8-2, over Julia Blakeley/Mimi Heming (George Washington) and will face No. 9-16 seed Jordan Hansbrough/Julia Huschke (Maryland) in a 2 p.m., Round of 16 match. Betts/Blakely, the No. 8 seeds, defeated the mixed team of Yana Mavrina (Temple)/Kinsey Pate (James Madison), 8-2, and will play Saturday afternoon against No. 9-16 seed Ana Belzunca/Jordaan Sanford (Maryland).

The singles and doubles champions from the NCAA Division I USTA/ITA Regional Championships will advance to the 2010 USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, taking place November 4-7, at the new indoor facilities at the USTA-Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, located in Flushing, N.Y. Columbia University will serve as the tournament host.

Twenty-four USTA/ITA Regional Championships for NCAA Division I men and women are taking place over the last two weekends of October at campuses throughout the country.

Results are available at http://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=100947.

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