2009 Virginia Tech Men's Tennis Media Guide

Preston Lemon

Nicolas Delgado de Robles Brandon Corace

As a member of the prestigious Atlantic Coast Conference, Virginia Tech boasts a beautiful campus and outstanding facilities, making it a great place to compete in NCAA tennis.

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Virginia Tech Tennis

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2008-2009 Schedule Sept. 13-15

19-21

19-21

26-28

Oct. 3-12

16-21

24-26

Jan. 23-25

31-Feb. 1

31

1 Feb. 7

13

13

20

21

27 Mar. 1

6

13

15

20

22

27

29 Apr. 3

5

10

11

16-19

25 May 8-9

14-25

at Virginia Fall Invitational All Day Charlottesville, Va. at Southern Intercollegiates All Day Athens, Ga. at Steve Baras Collegiate Invitational All Day Chattanooga, Tenn. at UVa Ranked Plus One All Day Charlottesville, Va. at ITA All-American All Day Tulsa, Okla. at ITA Mideast Regional All Day Chapel Hill, N.C. at Crimson Tide Invitational All Day Tuscaloosa, Ala. at Auburn Invitational All Day Auburn, Ala. ITA National Indoor - 1st and 2nd Rounds Columbus, Ohio vs. New Mexico TBA vs. Stetson/Ohio State TBA at Penn State Noon College of Charleston 3 p.m.

St. Bonaventure 7 p.m.

Boston College* 4 p.m.

Brown 2 p.m. at Virginia* 6 p.m. at Maryland* Noon Louisville 5 p.m. at TCU 2 p.m. at Baylor 6 p.m.

Georgia Tech* 2 p.m.

Clemson* Noon at Florida State* 5 p.m. at Miami* 10 a.m.

North Carolina* 3 p.m.

Duke* 1 p.m. at NC State* 2:30 p.m. at Wake Forest* 3 p.m.

ACC Championships at Cary, N.C. All Day at Virginia Commonwealth 11 a.m.

NCAA - 1st and 2nd Round TBA Campus Sites NCAA Finals at College Park, Texas TBA

Home matches in bold *ACC matches

Front row (l-r): Luka Somen, Nicolas Delgado de Robles, Jonathan Pine, Patrick Daciek, Zachary Pine, Yoann Re, Sebastien Jacques; back row (l-r): associate coach Jimmy Borendame, Preston Lemon, Pedro Graber, Brandon Corace, Corrado Degl’ Incerti Tocci, head coach Jim Thompson

Athletics Communications Directory Assistant A.D for Athletics Communications: Dave Smith Assoc. Directors, Athletics Communications: Bill Dyer, Torye Hurst, Bryan Johnston Assistant Director, Athletics Communications: Matt Kovatch Interns: Derrick Gelsomino, Kevin Hunt, Ashley Wolf Associate Director, (Tennis Contact): Torye Hurst Athletics Communications Phone: (540) 231-6726 Athletics Communications Fax: (540) 231-6984 Hurst’s Office Phone: (540) 231-8823 Hurst’s Cell Phone: (540) 998-5907 Hurst’s E-mail: tohurst@vt.edu Tennis on the Internet: www. hokiesports.com/mtennis

Table of Contents 2008-2009 Roster........................................ 2 2008-2009 Outlook................................... 2-3 This Is Virginia Tech.................................. 4-5 Campus Landmarks.................................... 6-7 A Success Story/Administration...................... 8 Student Athlete Academic Support Services...... 9 Student Life...............................................10 Sports Medicine..........................................11 Strength & Conditioning..............................12

Sports Nutrition, Sport Psychology................13 Virginia Tech Athletic Complex................. 14-15 Head Coach Jim Thompson...........................16 Associate Head Coach Jimmy Borendame........17 Volunteer Assistant Coach Tommy McDonald....17 Player Profiles....................................... 18-28 2007-2008 Review, Results...........................29 The Honor Roll...................................... 30-31 Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center....................32

Virginia Tech Quick Facts

Location: Blacksburg, Va. Enrollment: 30,000 Colors: Chicago maroon & burnt orange Nickname: Hokies Conference: Atlantic Coast Facility: Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center President: Dr. Charles Steger Director of Athletics: Jim Weaver

Men’s Tennis Information

Head Coach: Jim Thompson (Davidson, ‘88) Career Record: 159-106 Virginia Tech Record: 143-97 (8th year) Associate Head Coach: Jimmy Borendame (Butler, ‘02) Volunteer Assistant Coach: Tommy McDonald (East Carolina, ‘94) Office Phone: (540) 231-4589 Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center: (540) 231-5908 Tennis Fax: (540) 231-2002 2007-08 Dual Match Record: 16-9 2007-08 ACC Record: 6-5, T5th Returning/Lost: 6/3 Final 2007-08 National Ranking: 28 2009 Preseason National Ranking: 28 Newcomers: 5

Credits

The 2008-2009 Virginia Tech men’s tennis media guide is a publication of the Tech Athletics Communications Office, designed to aid media members in their coverage of Hokie tennis. The guide was written and edited by Torye Hurst of the Virginia Tech Athletics Communication Office.

Cover design by Allison Jarnagin. Composition

by Anne Panella. Photography by Dave Knachel, Damian Salas, Ivan Morozov and Pretty Sporty.

Printing by Southern Printing Co., of Blacksburg, Va. Special thanks to head coach Jim Thompson and his staff for their assistance with this publication.

2008-2009 Outlook

Hokies Ready for New Challenges 2 0 0 8 • 2 0 0 9 t e n n i s

The Virginia Tech men’s tennis team, coming off back-to-back NCAA Championship Tournament appearances, will feature a team in which depth throughout the lineup will be its major strength.

Tech finished the 2007-08 season with a 16-9 overall record and a No. 28 national ranking along with a No. 4 ranking in the tough Mideast region. The Hokies will have to replace All-ACC Albert Larregola, who concluded his senior season with a No. 44 national ranking and 84 career singles victories. Larregola advanced to the second round of the 2008 NCAA Singles Championships in Tulsa, Okla.

This year’s team, No. 28 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association preseason national rankings, will feature three seniors, two juniors and one sophomore who are joined by five very talented freshmen. The team’s success in the always tough Atlantic Coast Conference will ultimately be determined by how quickly the freshman class adjusts to collegiate competition.

“Our team performed very well in the fall considering the fact we added five new freshmen and played a very demanding schedule,” said Head Coach Jim Thompson. “ I felt we were able to get everyone on the team some experience and that everyone improved his game. I also think we were able to identify some areas that need further work and everyone has been working hard to improve in these areas.”

The Hokies will be led by senior Nicolas Delgado de Robles (Madrid, Spain), an All-ACC selection, who was ranked No. 75 nationally entering the 2008 fall campaign and is No. 16 in the 2009 ITA Mideast Region preseason singles rankings. Delgado de Robles advanced to the Round of 16 at the Southern Collegiates and teamed with Luka Somen to upset Virginia’s 33rd-ranked doubles team to win the UVa Ranked Plus One tournament. He was named to both the All-ACC Academic Men’s Tennis Team and to the ACC Academic Honor Roll. Additionally, Delgado de Robles and teammate Luka Somen received a preseason doubles ranking of No. 20 nationally and are ninth in the Mideast Region.

Nicolas Delgado de Robles

“Nicolas has been a solid performer for three straight years and I think he is playing better than ever in his senior year,” said Thompson. “He has the skills to be a one of our best players and will be called on in both singles and doubles to help us achieve our team goals. He has some of the best volleys in college tennis and in combination with good movement and solid groundstrokes, makes him hard to play against. In addition, Nicolas knows he will also see lots of opportunities to play nationally ranked opponents and perhaps finish his career with a high national ranking.”

Pedro Graber (Jr., Santiago, Chile), No. 101 in the 2009 ITA preseason national singles rankings and tenth in the Mideast Regio, continues to

2008-2009 Roster Name Brandon Corace Patrick Daciek Corrado Degl’ Incerti Tocci Nicolas Delgado de Robles Pedro Graber Sebastien Jacques Preston Lemon Jonathan Pine Zachary Pine Yoann Re Luka Somen

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Year Sr. Fr. Fr. Sr. Jr. So. Sr. Fr. Fr. Jr. Fr.

Ht. 6-4 5-8 6-1 5-9 6-1 5-11 6-1 5-10 5-10 5-10 5-9

Wt. 160 160 189 150 180 160 170 145 146 159 174

RH/LH RH RH RH RH RH RH RH RH RH LH RH

Hometown (High School) Naples, Fla. (Alpha Omega School) Severna Park, Md. (Severna Park) Reggio Emilia, Italy (Liceo Scientifico) Madrid, Spain (Joaquina Vedruna) Santiago, Chile (San Pedro Nolasco) Magog, Quebec, Canada (Georges Vanier) Roanoke, Va. (North Cross) Vienna, Va. (Flint Hill School) Vienna, Va. (Flint Hill School) Verdun, Quebec, Canada (Oak Meadow) Karlovac, Croatia (Gimnazija Karlovac)

Head Coach: Jim Thompson (Davidson, ‘88) Associate Head Coach: Jimmy Borendame (Butler, ‘02) Volunteer Assistant Coach: Tommy McDonald (East Carolina, ‘94)

improve with every season and posted a 9-3 fall singles record. Graber advanced to the singles quarterfinals of the Wilson/ITA Mideast Regional.

He was selected to the All-ACC Academic Men’s Tennis Team as well as the ACC Academic Honor Roll.

“Pedro is a great asset to have on our team because he brings a certain expectation of himself and others,” said Thompson. “He is a fierce competitor and adds a tremendous dimension to our team. I look for Pedro to have a great year as he is now healthy and able to train at 100%. In addition, he is a very well-rounded individual, who not only excels on the court, but in the classroom as well.”

Brandon Corace (Naples, Fla.) is another senior who will be counted on during the spring schedule.

Corace was one of five Hokies to post at least 20 singles wins last season and was 7-4 in ACC contests.

“Brandon brings a big game to the table and he has one of the biggest serves on the team,” said Thompson. “He can be lethal off both the forehand and backhand sides. Brandon has really worked to improve his strength and fitness and I am certain that will pay off this spring. He is a veteran on the squad as one of three seniors and I expect him to play an important role in the success of this year’s team. When he is focused and competing for every point, he is a tremendous player.”

Yoann Re (Jr., Verdun, Quebec, Canada), No. 20 in the Mideast Region preseason singles rankings, has been solid through his first two years in Blacksburg, and more of the same is expected this

2008-2009 Outlook season. Re advanced to the quarterfinals of the ITA/Wilson Mideast Regional after posting 26 singles and 26 doubles win last year and was named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll.

“Yoann has been a tremendous asset to our program the past two years and now that he is healthy again, I feel he could have a great year,” said Thompson. “He is lefthanded and plays with a lot of tenacity. He is fast on the court and is very difficult to play against. As a junior, Yoann will provide great experience in our lineup and has the potential to gain national recognition.”

Perhaps the most pleasant surprise last season was the play of Sebastien Jacques (So., Magog, Quebec, Canada) who, as a freshman led the team with 29 singles victories while collecting 21 more in doubles.

Jacques was 8-3 in ACC action and will be a solid force in the middle of the lineup. He is an ITA Scholar Athlete and was named to both the All-ACC Academic Men’s tennis team and to the ACC Academic Honor Roll.

“Sebastien could be our toughest guy as he comes to play every day and for every point,” said Thompson. “I think he has really gotten stronger in weight room and he is exceptionally fast and fit. Sebastien was the rock for us last year at the number five spot and I think he has improved a tremendous amount since then. I am optimistic that he can have an even better year as a veteran sophomore.”

Preston Lemon (Roanoke, Va.) is a senior who has been hampered by illness and injury since joining the program. Lemon finally was healthy in the fall and won four singles matches.

“Preston is in his senior year and has improved significantly,” said Thompson. “He has been healthy all fall which is a first in his career. Preston’s good health allowed him to play the fall tournaments and gain some experience before the spring season. His work ethic is contagious on the courts and in the weight room. Preston has an all-around game and has worked hard to improve both his serve and his volleys. It will be interesting to watch how far he can progress in the spring.”

Jonathan Pine (Vienna, Va.) is one of the five freshmen who will be looked upon to add to the team’s depth. Pine was a member of the 2007 Junior Davis Cup team and helped Flint Hill to three consecutive Virginia Independent School state titles.

“Jon plays with two hands on both sides and has the ability to create a tremendous amount of spin,” said Thompson. “When he plays heavy, he is a nightmare to go up against. Jon serves well and can get some free points at times. He works hard and is getting stronger in the weight room which is really going to help him as the year goes on. I look for Jon to have a bright career at Virginia Tech.”

Pine’s twin brother, Zachary, was also a standout performer at Flint Hill. He was ranked in the Top 75 nationally in every age group as a junior, including No. 1 in 2006 in the USTA Mid-Atlantic Section Boys 16’s.

“Zach has a lot of potential,” said Thompson.

Pedro Graber

”He has started to really focus on the areas of his game that need improvement and I feel he can make tremendous strides in his freshman year. He is very solid off both wings and will develop into a very good player for the Hokies!”

Corrado Degl’ Incerti Tocci (Fr., Reggio Emilia, Italy) is a highly-touted player who advanced to the Round of 16 at the 2007 Italy Circuito Open.

Tocci won his flight at the Crimson Tide Fall Invitational and posted six singles along with five doubles victories in the fall.

“Corrado has tremendous potential at Virginia Tech and brings a ton of maturity to our team as a freshman,” said Thompson. “He also possesses a solid game off both sides and has a great work ethic. Corrado is getting stronger in the weight room and the benefits of this training are starting to show. He has excellent volleys and will be counted on to help us this spring.”

Patrick Daciek (Fr., Severna Park, Md.) won the 2008 National Collegiate Clay Court Championship in Pittsburgh, Pa. and was ranked No. 29 nationally by tennisrecruiting.com.

“Patrick is strong, fast and very athletic,” said Thompson. “He has excellent ball-striking ability off both sides and I consider him to be a shotmaker. In addition to his baseline game, Patrick has the ability to volley well, which helps his singles, but makes him a good doubles player as well. His all-court game allows him to adjust and adapt at times and I am very excited about having him be a part of our program. He will certainly be a contributor on this year’s team.”

Luka Somen (Fr., Karlovac, Croatia) was the 2007 Boys’ 18 Croatian junior outdoor singles and doubles champion. Somen was ranked the No. 1

junior player in Croatia and No. 31 in the men’s national ranking. He won his flight at the Steve Baras Collegiate Fall Classic and teamed with Delgado de Robles to upset Virginia’s 33rd-ranked doubles team to capture the UVa Ranked Plus One tournament.

“Luka Somen comes to us from a great line of Croatian players who have played at Virginia Tech,” said Thompson. “He is not only a great tennis player, but a good student as well. I look for him to come in and contribute right away in our lineup.

Luka has had a very solid fall season and, with a big serve and big forehand, he will certainly be one of the cornerstones we will be able to continue to build around.”

Another challenging schedule awaits this year’s edition of the Virginia Tech men’s tennis team. The Hokies return eight players from last year’s 16-9 squad that finished with a No. 28 national ranking and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season.

Once again, the Hokies will face a very difficult dual-match schedule in the spring, featuring 18 teams ranked in the final Top-75 poll last season. The Atlantic Coast Conference, featuring 11 nationally ranked teams last season, will prove to be a tremendous challenge for Tech this season.

In fact, seven of the 12 ACC schools were selected to compete in the 2007 NCAA Men’s Tennis Team Championship.

The dual-match season opens with the Hokies participating in the ITA National Indoor Championships. The first- and second rounds will be held Jan. 31-Feb.1 with the Hokies facing New Mexico in the Columbus, Ohio Regional. The host Buckeyes play Stetson in the other first round match. The February home slate will include matches against the College of Charleston, St. Bonaventure, Boston College and Brown. In March, the Hokies will host Louisville, Georgia Tech and Clemson and conclude the home schedule in April with matches versus North Carolina and Duke. Tech was 9-3 at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center last year and has a 74-23 (.763) record at home the last eight years.

The Hokies will face road matches against Penn State, Virginia, Maryland, TCU, Baylor, Florida State, Miami, Virginia Commonwealth, NC State and Wake Forest. The ACC Championships will be held April 16-19 in Cary, N.C. “Our schedule continues to improve each year which helps us attract players who really want to improve and possibly have professional careers,” said Thompson. “The most exciting addition to the schedule is the expansion of the National Indoor Championships. We are excited to open the season in Columbus, Ohio playing New Mexico. In addition to the National Indoor, our spring break trip will prove to be a very good challenge as we will take on Louisville, TCU and Baylor. The ACC continues to improve each year, and that portion of the schedule will provide the same challenge as in years past.”

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We Are

Virginia Tech 2 0 0 8 • 2 0 0 9 t e n n i s

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Beginning in 1872 with 132 students and two programs of study, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, popularly known as Virginia Tech, has evolved into a comprehensive university of national and international prominence. With about 27,500 students in Blacksburg and about 2,500 other students statewide, the university produces world-class scholarship in a challenging

Tech at a Glance Located in Blacksburg, Va. • Eight colleges and Graduate School • 60 bachelor’s degree programs • Approximately 140 master’s and doctoral degree programs • About 30,000 students, most full-time • 16:1 student-faculty ratio • Main campus includes more than 125 buildings, 2,600 acres and an airport • Computing and communications complex for world wide information access • Ranks 55th in university research expenditures in the United States • Has adjacent Corporate Research

A Proud University Inventing the Future

academic environment. University tradition is firmly rooted in our motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), and our historic land-grant mission is brought to life through learning, discovery and engagement.

Learning

Virginia Tech’s challenging academic standards attract high-achieving students. Our eight colleges (Agriculture & Life Sciences, Architecture & Urban Studies, Engineering, Liberal Arts & Human Sciences, Natural Resources, Pamplin Business, Science and Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine) and Graduate School offer

more degree programs – approximately 200 – than any other university in the state. Virginia Tech is one of the nation’s leaders in developing and using instructional technologies. More than 85 percent of our departments offer e-learning courses, which have attracted more than 100,000 enrollments since 1998. During this time, more than 700 different faculty members have offered more than 3,500 different courses.

Discovery

The university’s groundbreaking research transforms lives and communities. With annual research expenditures of nearly $367 million,

This Is Virginia Tech

2 0 0 8 • 2 0 0 9 Virginia Tech ranks among the top 55 research universities in the United States. The university, which has more than 100 research centers, also consistently ranks among the top institutions in industry-supported research and near the top 10 in the number of patents issued each year.

The university’s nationally and internationally recognized faculty and motivated students are involved in more than 3,500 research projects in fields ranging from biotechnology to materials, from the environment and energy to food and human health and from transportation to computing information.

Engagement

As part of our outreach mission and in adherence to our motto, we serve and engage the citizens of the commonwealth, the nation and the world.

Virginia Tech is involved in a multitude of economic and community development projects. These efforts focus on education and the dissemination of knowledge to the global society in which we live.

Professionals, organizations and communities tap Virginia Tech’s vast resources, expertise, and research results through hundreds of continuing and professional education programs and five campus centers located throughout the commonwealth. Virginia Tech has a long history of providing innovative distance-learning techniques to meet the various needs of working adults and other nontraditional students.

The Inn at Virginia Tech & Skelton Conference Center on campus and The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center in Roanoke, both owned by Virginia Tech, support the university’s outreach mission by working with faculty to plan and host conferences and continuing education and professional programs.

Virginia Tech manages more than $46 million in funded economic development projects in 44 countries and encourages faculty members to develop global course content and study abroad opportunities for students. In 2007-08, more than 2,150 students from more than 100 foreign countries studied at Tech, while more than 1,000 Virginia Tech students studied abroad.

Virginia Cooperative Extension, operated jointly

by Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, has been helping people improve their economic, cultural and social well being for nearly a century. With 107 city/county offices, tens of thousands of volunteers, and programs across the state, Extension reaches and teaches millions of Virginians annually.

t e n n i s

Principles of Community Virginia Tech is a public land-grant university, committed to teaching and learning, research and outreach to the Commonwealth of Virginia, the nation and the world community. Learning from the experiences that shape Virginia Tech as an institution, we acknowledge those aspects of our legacy that reflected bias and exclusion. Therefore, we adopt and practice the following principles as fundamental to our on-going efforts to increase access and inclusion and to create a community that nurtures learning and growth for all of its members: We affirm the inherent dignity and value of every person and strive to maintain a climate for work and learning based on mutual respect and understanding.

We affirm the right of each person to express thoughts and opinions freely. We encourage open expression within a climate of civility, sensitivity and mutual respect.

We affirm the value of human diversity because it enriches our lives and the university. We acknowledge and respect our differences while affirming our common humanity.

We reject all forms of prejudice and discrimination, including those based on age, color, disability, gender, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation and veteran status. We take individual and collective responsibility for helping to eliminate bias and discrimination and for increasing our own understanding of these issues through education, training and interaction with others.

We pledge our collective commitment to these principles in the spirit of the Virginia Tech motto of Ut Prosim (That I May Serve).

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Campus Landmarks

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Torgersen Hall, home to Virginia Tech’s Advanced Communications and Information Technology Center, provides a high-tech environment in which researchers, teachers and students can interact in innovative and effective ways. The building includes high-tech auditoriums, observational booths for watching and taping experimental teaching techniques, the CAVE – Tech’s sophisticated virtual reality environment for advanced research and learning – and an electronic reading room occupying the arch that spans Alumni Mall.

The Duck Pond provides a peaceful respite for students, faculty, staff and visitors – as well as for flocks of ducks and geese.

The pond was created in 1937. A smaller pond, just north of the Duck Pond, is known as the Ice Pond – so called because it was the source of ice for the campus until a refrigeration plant opened in 1898-99.

Campus Landmarks

The focus of student campus activity and the hub of much of the performing and visual arts at the university, Squires Student Center contains theatres, the Perspective Art Gallery, the Black Cultural Center, pool tables, bowling lanes, restaurants, ballrooms and administrative offices for many student organizations. The original student center, built in 1937, has undergone several major renovations, but the facade of the original building is visible in the second-floor lobby area.

Col. William B. Preston established the Smithfield estate – named for his wife, Susanna Smith – in 1772 after an earlier settlement known as Draper’s Meadow was wiped out in an Indian massacre.

The oldest part of the existing house was built in 1790. A state historic landmark, Smithfield is open for tours April through November.

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Constructed in 1902, The Grove serves as the residence for Virginia Tech presidents and their families. Today, besides fulfilling its original function, it also is the guest residence for visiting dignitaries and serves as a reception facility.

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A Success Story

Hokie Highlights 2 0 0 8 • 2 0 0 9 t e n n i s

third time in 2008 after taking the title in 2004, its inaugural season in the league, and again in 2007.

The Hokies also won BIG EAST Championships in 1995, 1996 and 1999 and played for the National Championship in the 2000 Nokia Sugar Bowl.

In 2005, Spyridon Jullien won NCAA titles in the indoor weight throw and the outdoor hammer throw, bringing the school its first-ever NCAA championship in any sport. During Jullien’s senior year, he again won the weight throw during the indoor season and captured the hammer throw title at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

The women’s basketball team has advanced to the postseason 12 times in the past 15 years. The men’s basketball team advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT last year and finished with a 21-14 record including a sweep of Virginia. Also, the women’s track team captured the ACC Outdoor Championship for the second consecutive year and sprinter Queen Harrison participated in the 2008 Olympic Games.

In the fall of 2007, the men’s soccer program had its most successful season ever advancing to the NCAA College Cup. The softball squad has enjoyed tremendous success recently winning both the 2007 ACC regular season and tournament titles.

The team also won the 2008 ACC Tournament and

Virginia Tech has a long and proud athletic tradition, but the Hokies have really seen their success and visibility grow immensely over the past few years. For the ever-growing legion of Tech fans, the most exciting part is that the future looks even brighter.

On July 1, 2004, Virginia Tech officially became a member of the prestigious Atlantic Coast Conference – a move that has already helped the Hokie athletics program grow even stronger.

Tech competes at the Division I level of the NCAA and with a total of 21 varsity sports, 11 for men and 10 for women, Virginia Tech provides generous opportunities for athletes (and fans) to get in the Hokie huddle.

The success – and bright outlook – of the men’s tennis program is only part of the story.

Tech’s nationally known football team has had unprecedented success over the past decade.

The Hokies have played in 16 consecutive bowl games. Last season, the Hokies played in the Orange Bowl in Miami for the second consecutive season, and defeated BIG EAST opponent Cincinnati, 20-7. The Tech football team captured the ACC Championship for the

advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive year.The team advanced to their firstever appearance at the 2008 Softball World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla. During the 2008 season, the softball team gained worldwide recognition byhanding the U.S. Olympic team its only loss during a pre-Olympic tour.

The women’s soccer team reached the postseason for the first time in its history during 2004 and returned to the national tournament in 2008.

In 2001, the Hokie golf team won a nation’sbest six tournaments, including the BIG EAST Golf Championship and went on to record an eighthplace finish at the 2001 NCAA Golf Championship. In 2007, the Hokies tied for the ACC Tournament title and last year advanced to the NCAA Tournament once again.

Tech’s baseball team and men’s tennis teams have also participated in NCAA postseason competition in recent years, as have individuals from wrestling, tennis, swimming, golf, cross country and track & field.

Prior to joining the ACC, Virginia Tech was a charter member of the BIG EAST Football Conference since 1991 and a member of the BIG EAST in all other sports except wrestling from 2001 to 2004.

Athletics Administrators

Sharon McCloskey Senior Associate A.D., Senior Woman Administrator

Jim Weaver Director of Athletics

John Ballein Associate A.D., Football Operations

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Lu Merritt Director of Development, Intercollegiate Athletics

Tim East Associate A.D., External Affairs

Shauna Cobb Assistant A.D., Compliance

Tim Parker Senior Assistant A.D., Compliance

Mike Gentry Assistant A.D., Athletic Performance

Lisa Rudd Assistant A.D., Financial Affairs

Chris Helms Associate A.D., Olympic Sports

Tom Gabbard Associate A.D., Internal Affairs

Reyna Gilbert Assistant A.D., Student Life

Dave Smith Assistant A.D., Athletics Communications

Sandy Smith Assistant A.D., Ticketing Services

Jon Jaudon Associate A.D., Administration

Mike Goforth Assistant A.D., Athletic Training

Jeremy Wells Assistant A.D., Marketing & Promotions

Student-Athlete Support

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Student Athlete Academic Support Services assistant director Michael Swanhart (left) works with Jon Pine in his Lane Stadium office.

Academic Support Virginia Tech’s men’s tennis program has not only taken its performance to a new level on the court, but in the classroom as well. The athletics department realizes that the academic progress of each student-athlete is a valued and vital part of developing successful individuals and teams.

Student-athletes at Tech continue to excel off the field each year with the help of Student-Athlete Academic Support Services (SAASS).

Tech’s student-athlete graduation rate has risen significantly in recent years and was a school-best 76 percent for 2007. This marks the fourth time in the last six years that Tech’s student-athlete graduation rate has been 70 percent or better.

The men’s tennis program has been an integral part of the athletics department’s academic success. The team was one of only 41 programs to receive the 2008 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-Academic Team honor. Additionally, Pedro Graber, Sebastien Jacques and Ignaci Roca were named ITA Scholar-Athletes.

In addition to posting impressive graduation figures, current Tech student-athletes are also performing well in the classroom. For the 2007 calendar year, 501 3.0 GPA’s were earned by student-athletes, student trainers, student

managers, cheerleaders and HighTechs. These student-athletes and students from support areas were recognized at the Athletic Director’s Honors Breakfast last spring.

Tech’s SAASS office is committed to providing fundamental and supplemental programming, consistent with university and NCAA policy, to enhancing each student-athlete’s educational experience.

Stakeholders of the office’s mission include student-athletes and their families, the university community, coaches and athletics administrators.

SAASS seeks to develop relationships with its stakeholders, founded on trust and respect, and provides the following services to accommodate their needs: university and NCAA information, orientation, academic assessment, development of an effective student life program, appropriate referrals, monitored study environments, tutorial programs, state-of-the-art technological learning assistance and student-athlete academic performance evaluations.

In the 2006-07 academic year, the SAASS office moved to the West Side of Lane Stadium, where student-athletes have access to state-of-the-art technology, quiet study facilities, individualized

tutorial rooms and direct access to the SAASS staff. This complex is the focal point for the Athletics Department, both aesthetically and pragmatically, providing a centralized place for student-athlete services.

The new facility features more than 18,000 square feet of functional space, 10 staff offices, 18 private tutor rooms, a state-of-the-art classroom, a 36-station computer lab, three reading/study rooms, conference room and a reference library.

These spaces provide a variety of study environments conducive to the student-athletes’ success and are available between classes, after practice or in the evenings, with flexible hours tailored to make the most of a student-athlete’s limited time.

The SAASS office is comprised of a team of nine full time professionals. Michael Swanhart joined the staff as assistant director after working at Florida Atlantic. He earned his undergraduate degree from Rowan University and his master’s from Barry University. Swanhart provides academic support for the men’s and women’s tennis teams as well as student-athletes from men’s and women’s swimming, men’s soccer and softball.

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Student-Athlete Support

Student Life

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Led by the Virginia Tech Student Athlete Advisory Committee, Hokie student-athletes volunteered countless hours in the local community last year. In addition, over 400 Virginia Tech student-athletes earned a 3.00 grade point average during one or both semesters in 2007. The accomplishments are even more amazing in the context of the 20072008 athletic seasons being some of the most successful in Virginia Tech history.

The Virginia Tech Athletics Office of Student Life is under the direction of Reyna Gilbert, the Assistant Director of Athletics for Student Life, who came to Tech from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Assisting Gilbert is Coordinator of Student Life Danny White.

The programs and services implemented by the Virginia Tech Athletics Office of Student Life are inspired by the NCAA/CHAMPS (Challenging Athletes’ Minds for Personal Success) Life Skills Program. The program has been previously honored for its commitment to serving the good of the student-athletes by the Division I-A Athletic Director’s Association as a Program of Excellence.

Student Athlete Advisory Committee

The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is made up of student-athletes assembled to provide insight on the studentathlete experience. The SAAC also offers input on the rules, regulations and policies that affect student-athletes’ lives on NCAA member institution campuses. Two members of each sport team serve on SAAC each academic year.

The leadership team during 2007-2008 was Bryan Collier (Men’s Soccer) – President, Beth Walker (Softball) – Vice President, and Heather Hallberg (Women’s Soccer) – Secretary. Highlights of the 2007-2008 SAAC include the second annual toy drive competition among sports teams for the Montgomery County Christmas store, which collected over 1,400 toys, a canned food drive competition collecting over 2,000 food items for the local food banks and participation in Virginia Tech’s Relay for Life. For the first time in school history, SAAC sponsored two members of Homecoming Court – Bryan Collier (men’s soccer) and Jessica Botzum (women’s swimming and diving).

Personal Development

10

Virginia Tech student-athletes welcomed Bryon Hurt to campus in October, a former college quarterback turned activist. Hurt examined issues of masculinity, sexism, violence and homophobia in today’s hip-hop culture. As in past years, the Virginia Tech football team invited numerous speakers to present a variety of topics during the fall two-a-day practices and

The SAASS computer lab in Lane Stadium.

meetings. Topics covered in these presentations included: appropriate campus and community conduct, media relations, sport psychology, drug and alcohol education, sports agent relations, and healthy relationships.

Career Development

Virginia Tech student-athletes are savoring their collegiate athletic experiences with the understanding that upon graduation, they will need to secure a job. The Student Life Office worked with Becca Scott , the Career Coordinator for Student Athletes within the Career Services Center, to create programs which increase the student-athletes awareness of how transferable skills learned through athletics (resiliency, time management, teamwork and competitiveness) could be beneficial in their academic field upon graduation.

Student-athletes had the opportunity to participate in an Etiquette Dinner held in January where over 80 student-athletes and coaches were in attendance. In the fall, the office also hosted its second annual Mock Interview Night with representatives from Wolseley North America, Northwestern Mutual Finance and the Virginia Tech graduate program. In addition to the mock interview night, student-athletes are offered workshops on topics such as resumé design, interview attire and job search information.

Student-athletes are encouraged to participate in on-campus interviewing and eRecruiting along with securing internships and co-ops during their college careers.

Academic Excellence

The Virginia Tech Athletics Office of Student Life is responsible for nominating studentathletes for academic honors and awards. Athletes are nominated for on-campus, Atlantic Coast Conference and national awards. Student-athletes with a 3.0 GPA are rewarded each semester by being honored on the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll. The 2007 calendar year listed 432 student-athletes with this honor.

Paul LaPenna (men’s cross country) and Claire Dickey (women’s swimming and diving) received the Skelton Award for Academic Excellence in Athletics. The award is given to one male and one female student-athlete who demonstrate leadership, outstanding academic excellence and community involvement. The recipients of the award receive a $5,000 scholarship donated by Dr. Bill and Peggy Skelton.

Community Outreach

Virginia Tech student-athletes are more involved than ever in the local community. Having volunteered many hours in the schools, community groups and hospitals, the student-athletes are setting a high precedent for all involved with the program.

Under the “Hokies with Heart” umbrella, each sports team has a community partner with which it volunteers time and hosts at a home game to honor the partnership program. Each athletic team at Virginia Tech is encouraged to select one local charity or group on which to focus its philanthropic efforts throughout the year.

Student-Athlete Support

Sports Medicine

The Sports Medicine Department at Virginia Tech is constantly evolving to incorporate new ideas utilizing state-of-the-art resources for the betterment of all Hokie student-athletes. Under the leadership of Assistant Director of Athletics for Athletic Training Mike Goforth, the department is constantly improving and developing new strategies to provide the most current and comprehensive care.

Their team of certified athletic trainers, orthopaedic surgeons, Board Certified primary care physicians, chiropractors, physical therapists, sport psychologists, nutritionists, massage therapists and orthotists are available on site to manage the health care needs of Tech athletes.

Tech is in its eighth full year in the 4,300-squarefoot Eddie Ferrell Memorial Training Room, which consolidated the training rooms that existed in the Merryman Center and Cassell Coliseum. The facility gives the training staff a centralized area to care for the needs of all Virginia Tech student-athletes.

There is top-of-the-line equipment and a unique style of architecture, developed by Glenn Reynolds, AIA and Larry Perry as the consulting engineer.

The Ferrell Training Room nearly doubled the size of the former Merryman Center facility. Tech now has more than 10,000 square feet dedicated to sports medicine, placing in the top five percent nationally. The $10 million Merryman Center includes 2,400 square feet of medical space and a physician’s suite. The suite is equipped with a new state-of-the-art X-ray system, a fluoroscopy unit and a minor procedure room. The training room also has offices for the staff, dozens of training tables, two cold tubs, whirlpools, an underwater treadmill, a Biodex System 3 and various other pieces of rehabilitation equipment and treatment modalities.

“If our strength and conditioning is so important, and it is, then we owe it to our athletes to provide them with the necessary resources to keep them actively participating,” Goforth said.

“We basically adopt the attitude that in the fall, our mission is to keep them participating on the field and during the other times of the year, it is our job to keep them participating in our strength and conditioning program.”

Their programs consist of strengthening, stretching and – most importantly – movement pattern analysis, while training to help prevent the re-occurrence of injuries.

“We value the off-season greatly within our department,” Goforth said. “We have adopted the same mindset as our strength and conditioning staff. We look at our off-season time as an opportunity to get our athletes better as opposed to time off for our staff.”

Most of the off-season activity is based on programs designed to detect movement patterns that might lead to injury or could be causing a drop in performance.

“The beauty of this program is that it is a multidisciplinary tool designed to show the athletes where their deficiencies lie,” Goforth said.

A vital part of student-athlete medical services is access to the Montgomery Regional Hospital’s SWVA Center for Orthopaedics and Schiffert Student Health Center. Both facilities are staffed with qualified physicians and feature a wide variety of technologies designed to increase the level of care available to athletes.

If physical therapy is needed, student-athletes can be seen by physical therapist Mark Piechoski in the Ferrell Training Room. Piechoski, a certified athletic trainer, physical therapist and strength and conditioning specialist, plays a large role in

the overall program developed to return an injured athlete back to 100 percent. In addition, staff sport psychologist Dr. Gary Bennett is available to all student-athletes for personal and performance issues. Team chiropractors, Dr. Greg Tilley and Dr. Dale Reynolds, provide Tech athletes with specialized treatment for spine-related conditions and play a huge role in performance enhancement through various chiropractic techniques.

“As certified athletic trainers, for us to have the resources of folks like Mark Piechoski, Greg Tilley and Gary Bennett is a tremendous asset,” Goforth said. “The knowledge and skill that they bring is invaluable.

“Our goal is to provide the same high level of health care that professional and Olympic athletes receive,” Goforth continued. “Our usage of specialist care is modeled after the NFL system and incorporates components of the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.”

Team orthopaedic surgeons Dr. Marc Siegel, Dr. Jim LeBolt and Dr. Demian Yakel bring a wealth of experience and skill to assist when athletes need orthopaedic consultation for certain types of sports-related injuries.

Over the past 10 years, Tech has developed the reputation for producing top-level certified athletic trainers. Graduates are now employed in positions across the country at various levels of the profession. This year, the staff will consist of 10 graduate assistant athletic trainers including Megan Murphy who will work with the men’s and women’s tennis programs.

The remaining graduate students are Erin Cash, Colin Covelli, Brittany Desotell, Drew Grissom, Colby Harris, Emily Hutcherson, Katlyn Joyner, John Schifflett and Shawn Urbanek.

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Sebastien Jacques gets assistance from graduate assistant trainer Emily Hutcherson in the Eddie Ferrell Memorial Training Room in the Jamerson Athletic Center.

11

Student-Athlete Support

Athletic Performance

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There's much more to athletic performance than weight training. Always striving to stay on the cutting edge, Virginia Tech has combined strength and conditioning with nutrition and sport psychology to the benefit of its student-athletes. At Tech, these areas are part of the student-athletes’ preparation — not just for match day, but also for life. Virginia Tech tries to provide the best services, facilities and support staff for all of its student-athletes, to help them develop both on and off the court.

Strength & Conditioning One of the most important aspects of a successful college men’s tennis program is its strength and conditioning program. Before the player takes the court, the Hokies work on getting themselves physically prepared for the rigors of the season.

Thanks to Assistant Athletics Director for Athletic Performance Mike Gentry, the Virginia Tech strength and conditioning program is among the best in the nation, helping to make the men’s tennis program one of the best as well.

The tennis team trains in the Jim “Bulldog” Haren Weight Room. Located in Jamerson Athletic Center, the 5,000-square-foot weight room was officially dedicated in September 1985 to Haren, a former Hokie football player and long-time supporter of the Virginia Tech Athletics Department. With the two facilities, the Hokies have more than 22,000-square feet of strength and conditioning training space.

Assisting Gentry in the weight room this year is full-time assistant strength and conditioning coach Terry Mitchell, who works primarily with the men’s tennis team.

Below, strength coach Terry Mitchell looks on as Preston Lemon works on an agility drill.

Nicolas Delgado de Robles (below right) and Lemon work in the Haren weight room.

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Student-Athlete Support

Sports Nutrition Eating healthy and choosing nutritious diets are important aspects of a Virginia Tech studentathlete’s life, and that’s why in July 2002, the athletics department implemented the sports nutrition program. Amy Freel serves as the director.

Freel works individually with student-athletes to provide them with information that they need on their diet. She also provides individual players with diet counseling on issues such as gaining lean muscle mass, losing body fat, and making eating choices to improve performance.

She also designs preseason menus, snacks and training table menus for the tennis team.

“It is extremely beneficial for our studentathletes to have nutrition education and counseling available to them in order for them to remain successful in their sports and outside of athletics,” Freel said. “The individualized nutrition education allows me and the athletes to get very specific on their nutritional, personal and sportspecific goals.”

The sports nutritionist works with the “Training Edge,” a dining option for health-conscious students and athletes, to design menus for training tables and daily menu selections.

Also in July 2002, the Virginia Tech Athletics Department purchased the BOD POD body composition system. Tech is one of a handful of college athletic departments using this type

of technology. The BOD POD is found in many professional training facilities, such as the NFL and Major League Baseball. It accurately measures body composition (percent of body fat, lean muscle mass and fat mass) through air

displacement within five minutes. Research has shown that an increase in lean muscle mass will increase athletic performance. The Sports Nutrition Program has helped countless Tech athletes maximize their athletic performance.

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Director of Sports Nutrition Amy Freel measures the body composition of Sebastien Jacques in the BOD POD.

Sport Psychology Virginia Tech offers another important service to all of its student-athletes – sport psychology.

Dr. Gary Bennett coordinates the sport psychology department, which offers psychological and performance enhancement services for studentathletes. Bennett also works closely with the Cook Counseling Center.

Bennett meets with studentathletes on an individual basis for personal counseling and to discuss the mental aspects of the game.

He also works on team building, communication and performance enhancement.

Mike Gentry, assistant AD for athletic performance, said, “I’ve always felt that (sport psychology) was an important element. We want to be a holistic model of an athletics department and we wanted to and needed to include sport psychology in that model.”

“We try to address all the various factors that affect student-athletes’ performance on and off the field,” Bennett said. “We believe we can help athletes perform better by addressing those concerns.”

The sport psychology department also offers an injury group to afford injured athletes the op-

One of the sport psychology resources is the Dynavision 2000, a unique conditioning and training program designed to increase focus and concentration, improve coordination and visuomotor reactions and increase peripheral awareness. Virginia Tech is privileged to be one of only a handful of schools with this cutting-edge technology.

The response to the sport psychology program has been positive. The student-athletes are very receptive to the services offered by the doctors.

Dr. Gary Bennett The sport psychology office reaches out to athletes who may not have considered going to the counseling service that is offered to all students at Virginia Tech.

“It is a great resource for our coaches and our athletes,” Gentry said. “We’ve improved a lot in areas of strength and conditioning, nutrition and in sport psychology. It’s all about becoming a well-rounded athletic program and helping student-athletes. We want to give them all the resources we can, to put them in a position to be successful.”

portunity to meet with other injured athletes and talk about their recovery process. Injured athletes may also meet individually with the sport psychologists. On average, the psychologists conduct 20 individual sessions per week and meet weekly with teams as the need arises.

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Athletic Facilities

Tech’s Sports Complex 2 0 0 8 • 2 0 0 9 t e n n i s

The golf team enjoys privileges at The River Course of Virginia Tech and four other nearby courses Rector Tennis Pavilion

Tech’s cross country course is located on the west side of campus

English Field is home to the Tech baseball team

Rector Field House provides a full-size indoor practice facility and houses Tech’s state-of-theart indoor track

The Johnson-Miller Outdoor Track Complex Tech Softball Park

The Virginia Tech Soccer and Lacrosse Stadium with adjacent artificial and turf practice fields

The swimming and diving teams compete in War Memorial Pool, located in the middle of campus

66,233-seat Lane Stadium is home to the Hokies’ football team and recently underwent major expansion The Merryman Center and Jamerson Athletic Center house the department offices as well as strength, training and other support facilities

Aerial Photo Courtesy of Ivan Morozov

Cassell Coliseum — home to the basketball, wrestling and volleyball teams

The new west side expansion at Lane Stadium/ Worsham Field houses the Hokies’ spacious academic advising center, along with a new athletic ticket office and Hokie Club office, as well as game day amenities such as suites, club rooms and a press box.

14

Athletic Facilities

Rector Pavilion and outdoor courts at Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center

The Merryman Center Weight Room

Virginia Tech Soccer/Lacrosse Stadium

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The Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech

Tech Softball Field War Memorial Pool

Rector Field House

Lane Stadium/Worsham Field

15

Meet the Coaches

Jim Thompson Head Virginia Tech Men’s Tennis Coach

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Virginia Tech head coach Jim Thompson has known nothing but success during his coaching career. Thompson, in his 11th year at Tech, has led the Hokies to the NCAA Tournament four times, including the last two seasons. In his first season, Thompson’s Hokies advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen for the first time in school history, and recorded a 22-7 worksheet.

The 2008 season was Tech’s fourth year in the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Hokies battled their way through a rugged national schedule featuring 20 matches against ranked opposition.

Tech ended the season with a No. 28 national ranking after advancing to the NCAA Second Round. Thompson’s success during his tenure in Blacksburg includes a record of 159-106 and four NCAA Tournament appearances.

In addition to his coaching responsibilities, Thompson has served on the ITA Rules Committee and has been a member of the ITA Operating Committee since 2001.

Thompson joined the Hokies after spending four years as the director of tennis and head coach for both the men’s and women’s programs at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

He guided the UTC women’s team to the Southern Conference Championship in 1997 and was named coach of the year. In 1998, he led the men’s team to the conference championship.

During a four-year stint as the head women’s coach at Anderson College in South Carolina,

Thompson’s Tech Record

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1998-99......................................... 22-7 1999-00....................................... 15-14 2000-01....................................... 17-11 2001-02......................................... 17-8 2002-03......................................... 18-7 2003-04....................................... 15-11 2004-05....................................... 13-11 2005-06....................................... 13-15 2006-07....................................... 13-13 2007-08......................................... 16-9 Overall............................ 159-106 (.600)

Thompson built a nationally recognized program which climbed as high as third in the nation. He was named Region X Coach of the Year in 1991, 1993 and 1994.

Prior to his time at Anderson, Thompson served as the assistant women’s coach at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. Working under Karen Gaiser, Thompson gained his first experience with managing a nationally recognized tennis program.

Before entering coaching, Thompson competed successfully on the professional circuit throughout the United States, Europe, Australia and North Africa.

As a collegiate player, Thompson held the number one position on the Davidson College men’s tennis team from 1986 to 1988 and was captain in 1987 and 1988. In 1987, he won the Southern Conference Indoor Championships and was twice awarded the Southern Conference Sportsmanship award. During the summer of 1987, Thompson won the USTA National Championships in Augusta, Ga., in both singles and doubles and finished runner-up in the National Championships in Virginia Beach, Va. Thompson’s success as a player continued after college as he achieved a Southern No. 2

sectional ranking of in 1993 in the 25-and-over age division.

Thompson has been married for 12 years to his wife B’easy and they have an 11-year-old daughter, Sophia, a 6-year-old son, Frank, and a 3-year-old daughter, Ginsey.

Meet the Coaches

Jimmy Borendame Associate Virginia Tech Men’s Tennis Coach Jimmy Borendame is in his seventh season as a collegiate coach and his fifth at Virginia Tech.

After serving for four years as assistant coach, Borendame was promoted in September 2008, to the associate head coach position.

Borendame was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Mideast Region Assistant Coach of the Year in May of 2008. He was one of eight assistants to receive the honor across the nation.

Borendame’s recruiting efforts have resulted in three straight top 20 recruiting classes as rated by tennisrecruiting.com. In 2008, the Hokies achieved a program-high national ranking of No. 24 at one point during the season. Tech has made two consecutives appearances in the NCAA tournament, reaching the round of 32 last season.

With the Hokies, Borendame’s responsibilities include recruiting, planning team travel, overseeing the strength and conditioning program, managing NCAA compliance documents, assisting with budget management and coordinating fundraising via Advantage Hokies, the tennis booster club.

Borendame previously worked at The College of William & Mary, where he served one year as an assistant coach. While at William & Mary, Borendame helped the Tribe achieve a No. 38 national

ranking and wins over nationally ranked Virginia Commonwealth and Tennessee. He also served as recruiting coordinator and worked closely with Tribe Aces, a community booster club. Borendame also served as the director of administration of the Peak Performance and Development Tennis Camp in Williamsburg, Va. The 29-year-old Borendame played tennis at Butler University in Indianapolis, where he was ranked 33rd nationally in doubles and set the school record with 101 career doubles victories.

After college, Borendame served as assistant coach at West Virgina for one season (200203) where he completed a master’s degree in sport management and later served as assistant tennis professional at Woodstock Country Club in Indianapolis, Ind. Borendame, a USPTA certified instructor, was selected to coach the 2006 & 2007 Mid-Atlantic National Junior teams which participated in the national championship in Champaign, Ill. “Jimmy has been an important part of our program the past four years and I am thrilled to promote him to Associate Head Coach,” said Virginia Tech head coach Jim Thompson. “He has a proven track record and has done an outstanding

2 0 0 8 • 2 0 0 9

job in every aspect of our program. During his tenure, we have achieved one of the highest national rankings in the history of the program.

Additionally, we have had an individual qualify for the NCAA Tournament every year and a doubles team in 2007 as well.”

Borendame is married to the former Geneiveve McNeill and the couple resides in Christiansburg, Va.

t e n n i s

Tommy McDonald Volunteer Assistant Coach Tommy McDonald joins the Virginia Tech men’s tennis staff this season as a volunteer assistant coach. McDonald comes to the Hokies after serving for seven years as the men’s and women’s tennis coach at Arkansas-Little Rock.

McDonald is no stranger to the Tech men’s tennis program. He was an assistant at Virginia Tech for three seasons and helped the Hokies to the NCAA “Sweet Sixteen” in 1999 and to Atlantic 10 Conference titles in 1999 and 2000. Prior to Virginia Tech, McDonald spent two years on the International Tennis Federation’s ATP professional tour, competing throughout the U.S., Europe and Australia.

In seven seasons at UALR, McDonald built the Trojans into one of the most improved programs in the nation. After taking over a men’s team coming off a 9-13 season, he guided the program to a 18-6 record and a No. 70 national ranking. The women’s team improved from 13-12 to 17-11 during his first season.

McDonald compiled a 119-66 record with the men’s team and a 117-47 mark with women during his tenure. At UALR, he coached ten nationally ranked players including Mariano Pettigrosso who achieved a national ranking of No. 28, the highest ranking in the history of the program.

For his seven seasons at the helm of the tennis programs, McDonald’s teams had a 100 percent graduation rate for athletes who had exhausted their eligibility. The UALR men’s team was named as an ITA All-Academic Team in six of McDonald’s seven years while his women’s team achieved the honor on five occasions. He had a total of 47 student-athletes named as ITA Scholar Athletes.

McDonald is currently employed by Davenport & Co. Investment Firm. He has been married to his wife, Roseann, for ten years and they have a 6-year-old daughter, Savannah Jane, and a 3-yearold son, Charles Thomas.

The Official Website Of The Virginia Tech Hokies

17

Meet the Hokies

Nicolas Delgado de Robles Sr. • 5-9 • 150 • RH • Madrid, Spain

2 0 0 8 • 2 0 0 9 t e n n i s Fall 2008: Earned a No. 20 national doubles preseason ranking with Luka Somen ... No. 16 in the ITA Mideast preseason rankings ...

Advanced to the Round of 16 at the Southern Collegiates ... Teamed with Luka Somen to win the A-l doubles flight at the UVa Ranked Plus One tournament upsetting Virginia’s 33rd-ranked team in the finals.

2007-08: All-ACC Selection ... Ranked No. 23 in the Mideast Region at the end of the season ... Posted 24 singles victories including an 8-3 ACC record player in the top three positions ... Contributed 17 doubles wins ...

Selected to the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) All-State Second team ...

Advanced to the Round of 16 at the Wilson/ITA Mideast Regional ... Named to both the All-ACC Academic Men’s tennis team and to the ACC Academic Honor Roll.

2006-07: Teamed with Pedro Graber to advance to the NCAA Doubles Championships ...

Ranked No. 20 nationally in doubles and No. 1 in Northeast Region... Advanced to the quarterfinals of the ITA Northeast Region tournament ...

Ranked No. 11 in singles in Northeast Region ... Had a 23-15 singles record.

2005-06: Named team Rookie of the Year ... Tied for third on the squad with 20 singles wins ... Advanced to the Round of 16 at the ITA Northeast Regional ... Compiled a 20-11 singles mark with 15 doubles victories.

Junior Tennis/High School: Ranked No. 2 in Spain Under-18 behind current world No.

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Year 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 Fall 2008 Career

1 1-0 0-2 1-0 0-0 2-2

2 1-0 10-4 12-9 0-0 23-13

3 2-2 3-5 1-0 0-0 6-7

4 8-6 0-0 0-0 0-0 8-6

2 Rafael Nadal ... Won Spain Under-16 doubles national title and was a finalist in singles ...

Singles finalist in Spain national Under-18 singles ... Ranked as high as No. 80 nationally in Spain as a junior ... Played for Spain’s 2003 World Cup

championship team ... Won the European Under-16 championship in Belgium as a 15-year-old.

Odds and Ends: Born 1/2/86 in Madrid, Spain ... Son of Ignacio and Jezabel Delgado ... Majoring in finance.

Thompson on Delgado de Robles: “Nicolas has been a solid performer for three straight years and I think he is playing better than ever in his senior year. He has the skills to be one of our best players and will be called on in both singles and doubles to help us achieve our team goals.

He has some of the best volleys in college tennis which, in combination with good movement and solid groundstrokes, make him hard to play against. In addition, Nicolas knows he will also see lots of opportunities to play nationally ranked opponents and perhaps finish his career with a high national ranking.”

5 4-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 4-0

6 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

3 Sets Tie-Breaker Dual 4-4 4-4 16-8 6-3 2-7 13-11 7-3 9-5 14-9 3-2 4-1 0-0 20-12 19-17 43-28

Tourn.

5-3 10-4 10-4 8-6 33-17

Overall 20-11 23-15 24-13 8-6 75-45

Pct. 65% 61% 65% 61% 63%

Dbls.

15-16 26-8 17-14 7-3 65-41

Pct. 48% 77% 55% 70% 61%

Meet the Hokies

Brandon Corace Sr. • 6-4 • 160 • RH • Naples, Florida

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Fall 2008: Had three singles and four doubles wins.

2007-08: Had a 22-13 singles record including 7-4 in the ACC .... Had 13 doubles victories ...

Advanced to the Round of 32 at the Wilson/ITA Mideast Regional.

2006-07: Was 17-16 in singles and posted 16 doubles victories.

2005-06: Posted 12 singles victories ...

Advanced to the semifinals of the 37th Annual Farnsworth/Princeton Invitational main draw ...

Participated in the ITA Northeast Regional.

Junior Tennis/High School: Third-place in state tournament ... Two-time all-county selection.

Odds and Ends: Born 10/18/86 in West Lake Village, Calif. ... Son of Donald and Ann-Marie Corace ... Majoring in apparel, housing, and resource management.

Thompson on Corace: “Brandon brings a big game to the table. He has one of the biggest serves on the team and can be lethal off both the forehand and backhand sides. Brandon has really worked to improve his strength and fitness and I am certain that will pay off this spring. He is a veteran on the squad as one of three seniors and I expect him to play an important role in the success of this year’s team. When he is focused and competing for every point, he is a tremendous player.”

Year 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 Fall 2008 Career

1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

3 3-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 3-0

4 2-1 3-1 1-0 0-0 6-2

5 0-1 6-8 2-2 0-0 8-11

6 4-8 5-3 14-5 0-0 23-16

3 Sets Tie-Breaker Dual 4-2 2-4 9-10 7-4 4-6 14-12 6-5 8-1 17-7 1-3 0-2 0-0 18-14 14-13 40-29

Tourn.

3-2 4-4 6-6 3-5 16-17

Overall 12-12 17-16 22-13 3-5 54-46

Pct. 50% 52% 63% 38% 54%

Dbls.

1-2 16-17 13-20 4-3 34-42

Pct. 33% 49% 39% 57% 45%

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Meet the Hokies

Preston Lemon Sr. • 6-1 • 170 • RH • Roanoke, Virginia

2 0 0 8 • 2 0 0 9 t e n n i s

Fall 2008: Won four singles and two doubles matches.

2007-08: Limited to only two singles and two doubles matches due to injury.

2006-07: Limited to only one match due to injury.

2005-06: Did not see any action due to illness.

Junior Tennis/High School: Ranked fourth in the Mid-Atlantic region and was a member of the 2005 Junior Davis Cup team ... Won two junior tournaments in Sweden ... Five year letterwinner and four-time team MVP for coach Deke Andrews at North Cross High School ... Four-time All-Timesland selection by the Roanoke Times ... Timesland Player of the Year as a sophomore.

Odds and Ends: Born 2/18/87 in Salem, Va. ... Son of David and Margaret Lemon ... Father played tennis at William & Mary ... Majoring in history.

Thompson on Lemon: “Preston is in his senior year and has improved significantly. He has been healthy all fall which is a first in his career. Preston’s good health allowed him to play the fall tournaments and gain some experience before the spring season. His work ethic is contagious on the courts and in the weight room. Preston has an all-around game and has worked hard to improve both his serve and his volleys. It will be interesting to watch how far he can progress in the spring.”

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Year 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 Fall 2008 Career

1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

6 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-1

3 Sets Tie-Breaker Dual 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-1 0-0 0-1 1-1 0-1

Tourn.

0-0 0-0 0-2 4-5 4-7

Overall 0-0 0-1 0-2 4-5 4-8

Pct. 0% 0% 0% 44% 33%

Dbls.

0-0 0-0 1-1 2-3 3-4

Pct. 0% 0% 50% 40% 43%

Meet the Hokies

Pedro Graber Jr. • 6-1 • 180 • RH • Santiago, Chile

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Fall 2008: Received a No. 101 ITA national singles preseason ranking and is ninth in the Mideast Region ... Advanced to the singles quarterfinals of the Wilson/ITA Mideast Regional ... Posted a 9-3 singles mark.

2007-08: ... Had 12 singles and nine doubles victories ... ITA Scholar Athlete ... Named to both the All-ACC Academic Men’s tennis team and to the ACC Academic Honor Roll.

2006-07: Joined team in spring and posted a 13-9 dual match singles record ... Teamed with Delgado to advance to the NCAA Championships ...

Earned a No. 20 national ranking in doubles.

Junior Tennis/High School: One of Chile’s best juniors ... Ranked as high as No. 9 in the COSAT rankings and obtained a No. 93 ITF ranking ...

Has played all over the world including Germany, Belgium, England and Italy, as well as South America.

Odds and Ends: Born 3/7/88 in Santiago, Chile ...

Son of Pedro Graber and Patricia Anguita ... Majoring in industrial systems engineering.

Thompson on Graber: “Pedro is a great asset to have on our team because he brings a certain expectation of himself and others. He is a fierce competitor and adds a tremendous dimension to our team. I look for Pedro to have a great year as he is now healty and able to train at 100%.

In addition, he is a very well rounded individual, who not only excels on the court, but in the classroom as well.”

Year 2006-07 2007-08 Fall 2008 Career

1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

3 0-0 2-0 0-0 2-0

4 3-2 7-11 0-0 10-13

5 5-4 0-0 0-0 5-4

6 4-3 0-0 0-0 4-3

3 Sets Tie-Breaker Dual 4-4 4-4 13-9 2-3 5-4 9-11 3-2 3-2 0-0 9-9 12-10 22-20

Tourn.

0-0 2-3 9-3 11-6

Overall 13-9 12-14 9-3 34-26

Pct. 59% 46% 75% 57%

Dbls.

21-6 9-16 3-4 33-26

Pct. 78% 36% 43% 56%

21

Meet the Hokies

Yoann Re Jr. • 5-10 • 159 • LH • Verdun, Quebec, Canada

2 0 0 8 • 2 0 0 9

Fall 2008: Received a No. 25 ITA Mideast Region preseason singles ranking ... Advanced to the singles quarterfinals of the Wilson/ITA Mideast Regional ... Teamed with Sebastien Jacques to reach the finals of the UVa Invitational.

2007-08: Had an outstanding season with 26 singles and 26 doubles victories ... Won his flight at the Crimson Tide Invitational ... Named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll.

2006-07: Selected as the Northeast Region ITA Rookie of the Year ... Ranked No. 20 in the Northeast Region ... Posted a 13-9 dual match singles record ... Named an ITA Scholar Athlete.

Junior Tennis/High School: Won the 2006 Under-18 Canadian National Championship ... Qualified for the 2006 US Open where he defeated top US player Attilo Bucko in straight sets ... Also upset the ninth-ranked junior in the world and the sixth-seed at the 2006 US Open Junior Championships.

Odds and Ends: Born 10/2/88 in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada ... Son of Humbert Re and Martine Blumstein ... Majoring in finance.

t e n n i s

Thompson on Re: “Yoann has been a tremendous asset to our program the past two years and now that he is healthy again, I feel he could have a great year. He is lefthanded and plays with a lot of tenacity. He is fast on the court and is very difficult to play against. As a junior, he will provide great experience in our line up and has the potential to gain national recognition.”

22

Year 2006-07 2007-08 Fall 2008 Career

1 0-0 1-0 0-0 1-0

2 0-0 2-1 0-0 2-1

3 8-1 13-8 0-0 21-9

4 10-7 0-0 0-0 10-7

5 5-4 0-0 0-0 5-4

6 4-3 0-0 0-0 4-3

3 Sets Tie-Breaker Dual 5-4 4-1 18-8 8-4 4-2 16-9 3-1 2-2 0-0 16-9 10-5 34-17

Tourn.

0-0 10-5 6-6 16-11

Overall 18-8 26-14 6-6 50-28

Pct. 69% 65% 50% 64%

Dbls.

5-8 26-9 6-3 37-20

Pct. 39% 74% 67% 65%

Meet the Hokies

Sebastien Jacques So. • 5-11 • 160 • RH • Magog, Quebec, Canada Fall 2008: Teamed with Yoann Re to reach the finals of the UVa Invitational.

2007-08: Had an outstanding season and led the team with a 29-10 record ... Posted a 8-3 ACC singles match record... ITA Scholar Athlete ... Named to both the All-ACC Academic Men’s tennis team and to the ACC Academic Honor Roll ... Won his flight at the Southern Intercollegiate Championships.

High School/Junior Tennis: Ranked as the No. 1 junior player in 2006 in Canada ... Won both the indoor and outdoor 2006 Boys 18-under doubles Canadian national titles ... Men’s ranking of No. 93 in Canada Odds and Ends: Born 10/16/88 in Thetford Mines, Quebec, Canada ... Son of Pierre Jaques and Judith Drouin ... Played former Tech standout Angel Diankov in the 2007 Canada F1 Futures tournament ... Close friend of former Tech player Francis Huot ... Major is business.

2 0 0 8 • 2 0 0 9 t e n n i s

Thompson on Jacques: “Sebastien could be our toughest guy. He comes to play every day and for every point. I think he has really gotten stronger in weight room and he is exceptionally fast and fit. He was the rock for us last year at the number five spot and I think he has improved a tremendous amount since then. I am optimistic that he can have an even better year as a veteran sophomore.”

Year 2007-08 Fall 2008 Career

1 0-0 0-0 0-0

2 0-0 0-0 0-0

3 0-1 0-0 0-1

4 2-2 0-0 2-2

5 14-3 0-0 14-3

6 0-0 0-0 0-0

3 Sets Tie-Breaker Dual 3-2 5-0 16-6 0-2 1-1 0-0 3-4 6-1 16-6

Tourn.

13-4 4-4 17-8

Overall 29-10 4-4 33-14

Pct. 74% 50% 70%

Dbls.

21-13 6-3 27-16

Pct. 62% 67% 63%

23

Meet the Hokies

Patrick Daciek Fr. • 5-8 • 160 • RH • Severna Park, Md.

2 0 0 8 • 2 0 0 9

Fall 2008: Recorded seven singles and four doubles victories.

Junior Tennis/High School: Won the 2008 National Collegiate Clay Court Championship in Pittsburgh, Pa. ... Ranked No. 29 nationally by tennisrecruiting.com and No. 7 in the Middle Atlantic region ...

Ranked No. 2 in Mid-Atlantic 16’s and No. 1 in Mid-Atlantic 18’s ... Doubles quarterfinalists with Seakou Bangoura at the prestigious Easterbowl tournament ... Winters Supernational singles quarterfinalists ...

ITF New Jersey singles quarterfinalist and semifinalists n doubles ... Member of the 2007 Mid-Atlantic Junior Davis Cup team.

Odds and Ends: Born 3/9/90 in Linthucum, Md. ... Son of Michael and Kathleen Daciek ... Father is a Virgina Tech graduate ... Majoring in university studies.

t e n n i s

Thompson on Daciek: “Patrick is strong, fast and very athletic. He has excellent ball-striking ability off both sides and I consider him to be a shot-maker. In addition to his baseline game, Patrick has the ability to volley well which helps his singles, but makes him a good doubles player as well. His all-court game allows him to adjust and adopt at times and I am very excited about having him be a part of our program. He will certainly be a contributor on this year’s team.”

24

Year Fall 2008 Career

1 0-0 0-0

2 0-0 0-0

3 0-0 0-0

4 0-0 0-0

5 0-0 0-0

6 0-0 0-0

3 Sets Tie-Breaker Dual 1-3 1-0 0-0 1-3 1-0 0-0

Tourn.

7-6 7-6

Overall 7-6 7-6

Pct. 54% 54%

Dbls.

5-5 5-5

Pct. 50% 50%

Meet the Hokies

Jonathan Pine Fr. • 5-10 • 145 • RH • Vienna, Va. Fall 2008: Registered five singles and five doubles victories in first collegiate action.

Junior Tennis/High School: Played for coach Ed Jalinske at Flint Hill where he led the team to three consecutive Virginia Independent School state championships ... Two-time Virginia Independent School all-state selection (2007, ‘08) ... Named to All-Mid Atlantic Conference team three times ...

Four year singles record of 56-1, winning 56 consecutive matches ... Selected to the 2007 and 2008 Washington Post “All Fairfax” first team ... Twice named to the Washington Examiner “All Examiner” first team ... Paired with twin brother and Tech teammate, Zach, to win the 2008 USTA Boy’s 18’s National Level 3 Northeast Regional Championship and the 2005 USTA Boy’s 16’s National Level 3 Midwest Open ... Ranked in the Mid-Atlantic Section Top Five in 12’s, 14’s, 16’s and 18’s ... Member of the 2007 Junior Davis Cup Team.

Odd and Ends: Born 10/23/89 in Las Vegas, Nev. ... Son of Charles and Leslie Pine ... Majoring in business.

Thompson on Pine: “Jon plays with two hands on both sides and has the ability to create a tremendous amount of spin. When he plays heavy, he is a nightmare to go up against. Jon serves well and can get some free points at times. He works hard and is getting stronger in the weight room which is really going to help him as the year goes on. Look for Jon to have a bright career at Virginia Tech.”

Year Fall 2008 Career

1 0-0 0-0

2 0-0 0-0

3 0-0 0-0

4 0-0 0-0

5 0-0 0-0

6 0-0 0-0

3 Sets Tie-Breaker Dual 2-1 1-1 0-0 2-1 1-1 0-0

Tourn.

5-4 5-4

Overall 5-4 5-4

Pct. 56% 56%

Dbls.

2-3 2-3

Pct. 40% 40%

2 0 0 8 • 2 0 0 9 t e n n i s

25

Meet the Hokies

Zachary Pine Fr. • 5-10 • 146 • RH • Vienna, Va.

2 0 0 8 • 2 0 0 9

Fall 2008: Posted a 6-4 singles mark in first collegiate competition ... Also had six doubles victories.

Junior Tennis/High School: Four-time qualifier and participant in the prestigious Boys National Hardcourt Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich. ... Ranked in the USTA Top 75 nationally in every age group (12’s, 14’s, 16’s, 18’s) ... Ranked No. 1 in 2006 USTA Mid Atlantic Section Boys 16’s ... Represented the Mid-Atlantic Section as a member of the 2007 and 2008 Junior Davis Cup Team ... Paired with twin brother and Tech teammate, Jon, to win the 2008 USTA Boy’s 18’s National Level 3 Northeast Regional Championship and the 2005 USTA Boy’s 16’s National Level 3 Midwest Open ... Played for coach Ed Jalinske at Flint Hill where he led the team to three consecutive Virginia Independent School state championships ... Three-time Virginia Independent School all-state team ... Two-time Virginia Independent School Athletic Association Player of the Year ... Named to the Mid-Atlantic Conference team all four years ... Selected to the 2007 and 2008 Washington Post “All-Met” first team ... Three-time member of the Washington Post “All-Fairfax” first team ... Washington Examiner “All-Examiner“ first team in 2007 and 2008.

Odds and Ends: Born 10/23/89 in Las Vegas, Nev. ... Son of Charles and Leslie Pine ... Majoring in business.

t e n n i s

Thompson on Pine: “Zach has a lot of potential.

He has started to really focus on the areas of his game that need improvement and I feel he can make tremendous strides in his freshman year. He is very solid off both wings and will develop into a very good player for the Hokies!”

26

Year Fall 2008 Career

1 0-0 0-0

2 0-0 0-0

3 0-0 0-0

4 0-0 0-0

5 0-0 0-0

6 0-0 0-0

3 Sets Tie-Breaker Dual 0-1 1-0 0-0 0-1 1-0 0-0

Tourn.

6-4 6-4

Overall 6-4 6-4

Pct. 60% 60%

Dbls.

6-5 6-5

Pct. 55% 55%

Meet the Hokies

Luka Somen Fr. • 5-0 • 174 • RH • Karlovac, Croatia Fall 2008: Earned a No. 20 ITA doubles preseason national ranking with Nicolas Delgado de Robles ... Won the A1 singles Flight at the Steve Baras Collegiate Fall Classic ... Team with Nicolas Delgado de Robles to win Flight A-1 doubles at the UVa Ranked Plus One over Virginia’s 33rd-ranked team.

Junior Tennis/High School: Croatian junior outdoor singles and doubles champion in 2007 for boys under 18 ... Ranked No. 82 under 18 player by International Tennis Federation ... No. 1 ranked junior player in Croatia and No. 31 men’s adult ranking ... 2006 Croatian under 16 indoor champion.

Odds and Ends: Born 2/19/90 in Karlovac, Croatia ... Son of Darko and Natasa Somen .... Hometown is the same as former Tech players Dinko Gudlj and Davor Dupljak ... Majoring in business.

Thompson on Somen: “Luka Somen comes to us from a great line of Croatian players who have played at Virginia Tech. He is not only a great tennis player, but a good student as well. I look for him to come in and contribute right away in our lineup. He has had a very solid fall season and, with a big serve and big forehand, Luka will certainly be one of the cornerstones we will be able to continue to build around.”

Year Fall 2008 Career

1 0-0 0-0

2 0-0 0-0

3 0-0 0-0

4 0-0 0-0

5 0-0 0-0

6 0-0 0-0

3 Sets Tie-Breaker Dual 5-2 1-1 0-0 5-2 1-1 0-0

Tourn.

10-5 10-5

Overall 10-5 10-5

Pct. 67% 67%

Dbls.

7-3 7-3

Pct. 70% 70%

2 0 0 8 • 2 0 0 9 t e n n i s

27

Meet the Hokies

Corrado Degl’ Incerti Tocci Fr. • 6-1 • 189 • RH • Reggio Emilia, Italy

2 0 0 8 • 2 0 0 9

Fall 2008: Won his flight at the Crimson Tide Invitational ... Had a 6-2 singles record with five doubles victories.

Junior Tennis/High School: Advanced to the Round of 16 at the 2007 Italy Circuito Open ... Ranked as high as No. 2 among Italian juniors ... World junior ranking of No. 256 in 2006 ... Advanced to the final round of qualifying at the 2006 Cesna, Parma and Imperia tournaments in Italy .... Doubles futures semifinalist at the 2006 Modena (Italy) event ... World singles ranking of No. 1494 and doubles ranking of No. 1375 ... Qualified for the pretigious 2006 Piombino tournament.

Odds and Ends: Born 6/4/88 in Reggio Emilia, Italy ... Son of Fabrizio and Lelia Tocci .... Majoring in university studies.

t e n n i s

Thompson on Tocci: “Corrado has tremendous potential as a Hokie. Corrado brings a ton of maturity to our team as a freshman. He also possesses a solid game off both sides and has a great work ethic. He is getting stronger in the weight room and the benefits of this training are starting to show. He has excellent volleys and will be counted on to help us this spring.”

28

Year Fall 2008 Career

1 0-0 0-0

2 0-0 0-0

3 0-0 0-0

4 0-0 0-0

5 0-0 0-0

6 0-0 0-0

3 Sets Tie-Breaker Dual 6-2 1-1 0-0 6-2 1-1 0-0

Tourn.

6-2 6-2

Overall 6-2 6-2

Pct. 75% 75%

Dbls.

5-3 5-3

Pct. 63% 63%

Last Season

2007-2008 Review Hokies Make Second Consecutive Trip to the NCAA Tournament

Virginia Tech rolled into the 2007-08 campaign with a young, but talented, group with high expectations. Those preseason expectations were exceeded as the team advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season and ended the year with a No. 28 national ranking. Tech also finished ranked No. 4 in the tough Mideast Region. The Hokies concluded the year with a 16-9 record despite having faced 20 nationally ranked opponents in their 25 matches.

Close contests were the norm during the season as the Hokies split eight matches which were decided by one point after having 11 such battles during the 2006-07 season.

A deep and talented team was the key to last season’s success as five players ended the year with 20 or more singles victories. Tech was led by senior and All-ACC selection Albert Larregola who ended the year ranked No. 44 nationally and concluded his career with 84 singles victories. Larregola advanced to the second round of the 2008 NCAA Championships in Tulsa, Okla. He concluded the season ranked No. 6 in the Mideast Region.

Nicolas Delgado de Robles, another All-ACC selection, posted 24 singles victories and had a solid 8-3 record in ACC matches. He also collected

2 0 0 8 • 2 0 0 9

17 doubles wins and was ranked No. 23 in the Mideast Region.

Yoann Re had an outstanding sophomore campaign and helped the Hokies with 26 wins in both singles and doubles. Re was equally impressive in ACC matches with an 8-3 worksheet.

Brandon Corace continued to show improvement in his third year posting a career-high 22 singles wins, including a 7-4 ACC mark.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was the outstanding play of freshman Sebastien Jacques.

Leading the team with 29 victories, Jacques was a solid performer at the No. 5 position posting a 14-3 record. He also was 8-3 in ACC matches and contributed to 21 doubles triumphs.

Once again Tech tennis players displayed their Albert diligence in the classroom, as the team was one Larregola of 41 teams nationally recognized to receive the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s All-Academic Team award. Additionally, Pedro Graber, Ignaci Roca and Sebastien Jacques were named ITA ScholarAthletes. The threesome also was named to both the All-ACC Academic Men’s Tennis Team and selected to the ACC Academic Honor Roll along with Overall: 16-9; ACC: 6-5 Re and Delgado de Robles.

Home: 9-3; Away: 4-5; Neutral: 3-1

t e n n i s

2007-2008 Results

Jan. 26

30 Feb. 2

8

9

24

29 Mar. 13

15

19

21

22

28

30 Apr. 4

6

9

11

13

17

18 May 10

11 Nicolas Delgado de Robles

Charlotte † St. Bonaventure † Maryland-Baltimore County † #30 Middle Tennessee State #39 Penn State at Boston College* at #75 Brown Maryland* vs. #44 Southern Methodist at #45 Louisville at #13 Tennessee #1 Virginia* at #61 Clemson * at #41 Georgia Tech * #10 Florida State * #26 Miami * at #41 Duke * at #10 North Carolina * #26 Virginia Commonwealth #30 Wake Forest* #49 North Carolina State * vs. #69 Clemson ‡ vs. #28 Wake Forest ‡ vs. #31 Kentucky # at #8 Tennessee #

* ACC matches; Home matches in bold † The Larsen Bowker 5-1 Shootout, Blacksburg, Va. ‡ ACC Championships, Cary, N.C. # NCAA Regional, Charlottesville, Va.

W W W W W W W W W L L L L W L W W L W L W W L W L

5-2 7-0 7-0 6-1 4-3 5-2 5-2 6-1 5-2 2-5 3-4 0-7 3-4 6-1 3-4 6-1 4-3 2-5 4-2 3-4 4-3 4-3 2-4 4-0 0-4

29

Tennis Honor Roll Pablo Schurig.................................... 1993, 1995 Scott Cuppett.................................... 1993, 1995 Oliver Mayo................................................ 1995 Marek Pfeil................................................. 1995 Adam Gottfreid........................................... 1995 Chad Toleafoa............................................. 1995

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ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE

Oliver Mayo

NCAA All-Americans

Player Year Oliver Mayo................................................ 1996 Aaron Marchetti.......................................... 1999

NCAA Qualifiers SINGLES

Player Year Jack Burrows.............................................. 1969 Jim Milley.................................................. 1979 Marcus Kramer............................................ 1993 Oliver Mayo....................................... 1996, 1997 Aaron Marchetti ................................ 1998, 1999 Adam Marchetti.......................................... 1999 Saber Kadiri............................................... 2002 Andreas Laulund ........................................ 2003 Andreas Laulund......................................... 2004 Stephane Rod............................................. 2005 Arvid Puranen............................................. 2006 Albert Larregola.......................................... 2008

DOUBLES Player Year Oliver Mayo/Marek Pfeil............................... 1997 Aaron Marchetti/Adam Marchetti.......... 1998, 1999 Nicolas Delgado/Pedro Graver....................... 2007

Academic All-Americans

Player Year Bill Grassmyer............................................ 1991 Marcus Kramer................................... 1992, 1993 Onja Pavlovic............................................. 1993 Scott Cuppett............................................. 1994 Marek Pfeil................................1996, 1997, 1998

All-Conference Academic Team

Player Year Pablo Schurig............................................. 1996 Andrew Krafft............................................. 1996 Oliver Mayo....................................... 1996, 1997 Marek Pfeil................................1996, 1997, 1998 Rahul Basole.............................................. 1998 Gerard Baynham......................................... 1998 Ian Chaney................................................ 1998 John Snow................................................. 1998 Niels Oggesen............................................. 1999 Gerard Baynham......................................... 2000 Jay Bruner................................................. 2000 Davor Dupljak............................................. 2000

BIG EAST CONFERENCE

Player Year Gerald Baynham.......................................... 2001 Sam Brown................................................ 2001 Akil Burgess............................................... 2004 Ian Chaney................................................ 2001 Angel Diankov................................... 2003, 2004 Davor Dupljak.................................... 2001, 2002 David Emery............................................... 2002 Francis Huot...................................... 2001, 2003 Saber Kadiri............................................... 2002 Michael Kurz..................................... 2002, 2003 Andreas Laulund...............2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Grant Reynolds........................................... 2003 Reaves Robinette........................................ 2004 Morten Schultz........................................... 2004 Andrew Vu................................................. 2001

ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE

Player Year Adel Abbas................................................ 2005 Akil Burgess..............................2005, 2006, 2007 Angel Diankov............................................ 2005 Albert Larregola................................. 2006, 2007 Eduardo Pinto............................................. 2007 Arvid Puranen............................2005, 2006, 2007 Ignaci Roca...............................2005, 2006, 2007 Reaves Robinette............................... 2005, 2006 Alexei Sergeev................................... 2006, 2007 Albert Larregola.......................................... 2008 Nicolas Delgado de Robles............................ 2008

National Rankings SINGLES

Player Ranking Marcus Kramer.................................... 96 Marcus Kramer.................................... 72

Year 1990 1992

30

DOUBLES

Players Ranking Scott Cuppett/Miki Pusztai................... 38 Aaron Marchetti/Adam Marchetti........... 33 Aaron Marchetti/Adam Marchetti........... 35 Andreas Laulund/Stephane Rod............. 58 Andreas Laulund/Stephane Rod............. 59 Nicolas Delgado/Pedro Graber............... 20

Jack Burrows

Year 1994 1998 1999 2002 2003 2007

Year Ranking 1996............................................................ 50 1997............................................................ 28 1998............................................................ 46 1999............................................................ 33 2000............................................................ 69 2001............................................................ 60 2002............................................................ 33 2003............................................................ 52 2004............................................................ 49 2005............................................................ 52 2006............................................................ 53 2007............................................................ 39 2008............................................................ 28

Region II Rankings (Metro) SINGLES

Player Ranking Mark Bernstein................................... 27 Marcus Kramer.................................... 17 Marcus Kramer.................................... 19 Marcus Kramer......................................3 Dinko Gudelj...................................... 19 Dinko Gudelj...................................... 24 Onja Pavlovic..................................... 17 Onja Pavlovic.......................................8 Scott Cuppett..................................... 27 Oliver Mayo........................................ 12 Oliver Mayo . ..................................... 11

DOUBLES

TEAM

Marcus Kramer

1993 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 1999 2002 2003 2003 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

TEAM

Players Ranking Butterworth / Bernstine....................... 12

METRO CONFERENCE

Player Year Bill Grassmyer............................................ 1990 Kent Paton................................................. 1990 Chip Devine............................................... 1990 Barry Row.................................................. 1990 Dinko Gudelj.............................................. 1990 Marcus Kramer..................1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 Onja Pavlovic.................................... 1992, 1993 Chris Imensek............................................. 1993 Niels Nielsen.............................................. 1993 Colin Hill................................................... 1993

Marcus Kramer.................................... 25 Onja Pavlovic..................................... 72 Oliver Mayo........................................ 96 Oliver Mayo........................................ 72 Oliver Mayo........................................ 49 Oliver Mayo........................................ 34 Aaron Marchetti.................................. 21 Aaron Marchetti.................................. 15 Adam Marchetti.................................. 45 Saber Kadiri....................................... 68 Francis Huot..................................... 124 Saber Kadiri..................................... 107 Andreas Laulund................................. 92 Andreas Laulund................................. 42 Stephane Rod..................................... 71 Arvid Puranen..................................... 54 Arvid Puranen..................................... 91 Albert Larregola.................................. 44

Year 1989 1991 1992 1993 1991 1993 1992 1993 1994 1994 1995

Year 1989

Year Ranking 1989............................................................ 13 1990.............................................................. 5 1991.............................................................. 7 1992.............................................................. 6 1993.............................................................. 8 1994.............................................................. 9 1995............................................................ 10

Tennis Honor Roll Region I Rankings (Atlantic 10, BIG EAST, ACC) SINGLES

Player Ranking Oliver Mayo....................................... t-1 Aaron Marchetti....................................6 Marek Pfeil......................................... 21 Oliver Mayo..........................................1 Aaron Marchetti.................................. 13 Marek Pfeil......................................... 16 Andrew Krafft..................................... 30 Francis Huot....................................... 10 Davor Dupljak..................................... 12 Andreas Laulund................................. 25 Saber Kadiri.........................................1 Francis Huot.........................................8 Andreas Laulund................................. 12 Stephane Rod..................................... 20 Davor Dupljak..................................... 26 Andreas Laulund...................................4 Francis Huot.........................................5 Saber Kadiri.........................................6 Stephane Rod.......................................9 Andreas Laulund...................................2 Soren Spanner.................................... 10 Stephane Rod..................................... 19 Arvid Puranen..................................... 26 Stephane Rod.......................................3 Arvid Puranen.......................................5 Albert Larregola.................................. 16 Arvid Puranen.......................................3 Albert Larregola....................................8 Nicolas Delgado.................................. 15 David Rosenfeld.................................. 28 Arvid Puranan.......................................1 Albert Larregola....................................6 Nicolas Delgado.................................. 11 Yoann Re........................................... 20 Albert Larregola....................................6 Nicolas Delgado de Robles.................... 23

DOUBLES

Players Ranking Oliver Mayo/Marek Pfeil...................... t-1 Andreas Laulund/Stephane Rod...............4 Andreas Laulund/Stephane Rod...............3 Arvid Puranen/Stephane Rod..................3 Nicolas Delgado/Pedro Graber.................1

TEAM

Year Ranking 1996...................... 2 1997...................... 2 1998...................... 2 1999...................... 2 2000...................... 2 2001.....................14

Year 1996 1996 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997 2001 2001 2001 2002 2002 2002 2002 2002 2003 2003 2003 2003 2004 2004 2004 2004 2005 2005 2005 2006 2006 2006 2006 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 2008 Year 1997 2003 2003 2005 2007

Year Ranking 2002...................... 1 2003...................... 3 2004...................... 2 2005...................... 4 2006...................... 4 2007...................... 1 2008...................... 4

All-Atlantic Coast Conference

Stephane Rod............................................. 2005 Arvid Puranan............................................. 2007 Albert Larregola.......................................... 2008 Nicolas Delgado de Robles............................ 2008

BIG EAST Conference Honors COACH OF THE YEAR

Jim Thompson............................................ 2003

MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER

Andreas Laulund......................................... 2004

All BIG EAST Tournament

Andreas Laulund................................ 2003, 2004 Francis Huot............................................... 2003 Andreas Laulund/Stephane Rod..................... 2003 Stephane Rod/Soren Spanner........................ 2004

Arvid Puranan

Team Awards Iron Cupp (Toughest Player)

Player Year Chad Toleafoa......................................1995 Aaron Marchetti...................................1996 Oliver Mayo.........................................1997 Adam Marchetti.......................... 1998, 1999 Michael Kurz.......................................2000 Francis Huot............................... 2001, 2002 Angel Diankov............................ 2003, 2004 Albert Larregola...................................2005 Nicolas Delgado...................................2006 Nicolas Delgado...................................2007 Sebastien Jacques/Albert Larregola.........2008

Bernstine Award (Team Spirit)

Atlantic 10 Conference Honors Andrew Krafft 1996, 1997 All-Conference team Aaron Marchetti 1997, 1998, 1999 Player of the Year 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 All-Conference team 1996 Rookie of the Year Adam Marchetti 1998, 1999 All-Conference team 1998 Rookie of the Year Oliver Mayo 1996 Player of the Year 1996, 1997 All-Conference team Niels Oggesen 1999 Rookie of the Year 1999 All-Conference team Marek Pfeil 1996, 1997, 1998 All-Conference team Davor Dupljak 2000 Most Outstanding Player 2000 All-Conference Gerard Baynham 2000 All-Conference Jay Bruner 2000 All-Conference

Individual Metro Champions

Player Year Jeff Player................................................. 1980 Jon Ramthun.............................................. 1982 Alex Ortiz.................................................. 1990 Marcus Kramer/Onja Pavlovic........................ 1990

All-Metro Conference

Player Year Jimmy Milley.............................................. 1979 Jeff Player................................................. 1980 Dean Channel............................................. 1982 Scott Sherman............................................ 1982 Alan Cannaday............................................ 1983 Jon Ramthun.............................................. 1983 Mark Bernstein .......................................... 1989 Ed Butterworth........................................... 1989 Marcus Kramer...........................1990, 1992, 1993 Dinko Gudelj.............................1990, 1992, 1993 Onja Pavlovic.................................... 1992, 1993 Scott Cuppett............................................. 1994 Miki Pusztai............................................... 1994 Oliver Mayo....................................... 1994, 1995

Player Year Ed Butterworth....................................1987 Phil Payne..........................................1988 Bill Grassmyer.....................................1989 Mark Bernstine....................................1990 Kent Paton..........................................1991 Lou Belt.............................................1992 Scott Cuppett......................................1993 Abe Helal.................................. 1994, 1995 Andrew Krafft......................................1996 Aaron Marchetti...................................1997 John Snow..........................................1998 Chris Roache.......................................1999 Davor Dupljak............................. 2000, 2002 Jay Bruner..........................................2001 Francis Huot........................................2003 Angel Diankov............................ 2004, 2005 Brent Wilkins.......................................2006 Pedro Graber.......................................2007 Pedro Graber.......................................2008

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Oliver Mayo Award (MVP)

Player Year John Wooldrige....................................1987 Ed Butterworth........................... 1988, 1989 Marcus Kramer.....................................1990 Dinko Gudelj.......................................1991 Marcus Kramer............................ 1992, 1993 Oliver Mayo.............. 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 Aaron Marchetti...................................1998 Adam Marchetti...................................1999 Jay Bruner..........................................2000 Francis Huot........................................2001 Saber Kadiri........................................2002 Andreas Laulund......................... 2003, 2004 Stephane Rod......................................2005 Arvid Puranen............................. 2006, 2007 Albert Larregola...................................2008

Most Improved Player Award

Player Year Phil Payne..........................................1988 Bruce Reistle.......................................1989 Alex Ortiz.................................. 1990, 1991 Dinko Gudelj.......................................1992 Todd Koning........................................1993 Chris Imensek......................................1994 Chad Toleafoa......................................1995 Chirag Patel........................................1996 Rahul Basole.......................................1997 Jay Bruner..........................................1998 Niels Oggesen......................................1999 Jay Bruner..........................................2000 Andreas Laulund ............... 2001, 2003, 2004 Saber Kadiri........................................2002 Arvid Puranen......................................2005 Albert Larregola...................................2006 Brandon Corace...................................2007 Yoann Re............................................2008

31

Tech Tennis Center

Burrows-Burleson

2 0 0 8 • 2 0 0 9 t e n n i s

32

Tech Campus Is Home to a First-Class Tennis Facility

The Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center is one of many first-class facilities at Virginia Tech. The Hokies have an athletic complex that is among the best in the nation and an administration that is dedicated to seeing the facilities continue to improve.

The tennis center, located near Lane Stadium, offers six outdoor courts with bleacher seating, six indoor courts with a mezzanine viewing area with chair back bleachers which were added in 2008, locker rooms, coaches’ offices, a team room and a social area. The Hokies’ locker room in the facility was upgraded and remodeled in the spring of 2004. Six additional outdoor courts are currently under construction and are expected to be completed in Spring 2009.

The tennis center is one of the few in the nation featuring digital video cameras on each indoor court. The system, created by XOS Technologies, records competition and team practices simultaneously on all six courts. The cameras are mounted at the back of each court in the center and are connected to a DVD recorder located in the tennis coach’s office. The Virginia Tech system is one of the first all-digital systems in the nation. The system is also used by members of the tennis center and other local patrons for stroke analysis.

In 2007, two large scoreboards were added indoors which allow spectators to follow the action on all six courts. The scoreboards are a product of Santech, Inc., the supplier of scoreboards at Disney’s Wide World of Sports, Orlando, Fla. The approximated $40,000 expense was paid in part by a generous donation from Kent James and family.

The tennis center, which opened in 1992, was made possible by gifts from Dave and Betty Burrows of Roanoke; their son Jack Burrows and his wife Lee, of Roanoke; and their daughter Beverly and her husband, Bobby Burleson, of Tallahassee, Fla. Jack Burrows and Bobby Burleson were teammates on Tech’s tennis team in the late 1960s.

Burrows was an NCAA participant and is a member of the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.

Greig Denny Director of Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center Greig Denny is in his first year as director of the BurrowsBurleson Tennis Center at Virginia Tech. When the varsity teams are not using the facility, the tennis center is operated as a self-sustaining club with over 275 members.

Denny comes to Virginia Tech from nearby Radford University where he had over 24 years of experience in NCAA Division I athletics, the last 12 years as Director of Athletics. While at Radford, he served terms on the NCAA Division I Strategic Planning Cabinet, the NCAA Division I Championship/Competition Cabinet and the NCAA Division I Management Council.

Denny earned his bachelor’s degree at SUNY Cortland in 1979 and a master’s from Virginia Tech in 1983. He and his wife, Ellen, have three children, Madalyn, Alexis and William.

From the stunning scenery, to a classic college town, to the excitement of big-time collegiate athletics, Virginia Tech and its surroundings have much to offer.

2008 SCHEDULE Jan. 23-25 Jan. 31 Feb. 1 Feb. 7 Feb. 13 Feb. 13 Feb. 20 Feb. 21 Feb. 27 Mar. 1 Mar. 6 Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 20

at Auburn Invitational vs. New Mexico vs. Stetson/Ohio State at Penn State College of Charleston St. Bonaventure Boston College * Brown at Virginia * at Maryland * Louisville at TCU at Baylor Georgia Tech *

Mar. 22 Mar. 27 Mar. 29 Apr. 3 Apr. 5 Apr. 10 Apr. 11 Apr. 16-19 Apr. 25 May 8-9 May 14-25

* Indicates ACC match Home matches in CAPS

Pedro Graber

Sebastien Jacques

Clemson * at Florida State * at Miami * North Carolina * Duke * at NC State * at Wake Forest * at ACC Championships at VCU at NCAA 1st and 2nd Rounds at NCAA Championships

Yoann Re