Tweet

BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech athletics department and head women’s tennis coach Terry Ann Zawacki-Woods announced Monday the hiring of assistant coach Martin Sayer. Sayer joins the Hokies after playing and coaching at Radford, but has spent the last two years as an instructor at the Smith Stearns Tennis Academy.

"We are very excited to add Martin Sayer to our staff,” Zawacki-Woods said. “Martin has a great amount of experience both as a player and coach. We feel he will be a great asset to our program in all areas and we are looking forward to working with him."

Sayer, a former Radford men’s tennis standout and four-time Big South Player of the Year led the Highlanders to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances and four consecutive conference regular season titles during his playing days.

As an assistant with the Radford men’s tennis team for two seasons, he assisted in all aspects of the program, including recruiting. He helped the Highlanders to a 34-15 record in his two seasons as an assistant, including an 11-1 conference record. The team competed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2011, and earned individual bids during both seasons as well.

The all-time winningest men’s tennis player in Radford history, Sayer concluded his singles career with a 114-25 record. A mainstay in the national rankings since arriving on campus, Sayer posted a 17-13 mark against nationally-ranked players.

Prior to making his fourth straight NCAA Singles Championships appearance, Sayer finished his conference career with an impressive 24-1 mark.

At the end of the 2009 regular season, Sayer joined former Highlander standout James Lloyd (2005-08) as the only players in school history to earn four all-conference singles honors. He also becomes Radford’s first three-time selection to the league’s all-conference doubles team.

A member of the Hong Kong Davis Cup team, Sayer advanced to the NCAA Singles Tournament Round of 32 as a freshman and sophomore.

To go with his impressive singles’ resume, Sayer teamed with Zack Watson (Harrisonburg, Va. / Eastern Mennonite) to earn Radford’s first-ever at-large invite to the NCAA Doubles Championship.

Along with winning 41 of their 50 matches since teaming up in 2006, Sayer and Watson climbed to as high as 46th in the rankings before finishing last spring with a 19-3 mark.

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