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BLACKSBURG – The 30th-ranked Virginia Tech women’s tennis team will open the 2016 dual season on Saturday, Jan. 16 in a doubleheader at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center. Matches start at 10 a.m. against Radford before taking on Western Carolina at 4 p.m.

Tech finished 2015 with a 17-10 overall record, including a 7-7 mark in an always-tough ACC to earn a final 2015 ranking of 30th. The Hokies return 12 players from last season’s team that picked up wins against ranked foes Marshall, Florida State, Wake Forest, Princeton and Miami.

The Hokies’ Ilinca Stoica enters the season ranked 104th after a solid performance in the fall which included a birth in the championship match at the USTA Collegiate Clay Court Invitational. Joining Stoica in the rankings is Caroline Daxhelet at 108th. Daxhelet advanced to the finals of the ITA Atlantic Regional. She was named the Atlantic Region Player to Watch last season.

Francesca Fusinato also returns for the Hokies after finishing last year with a 14-6 mark in duals, including 13-6 at the No. 2. Katherine Butler is also back on the court after going 11-4 in 2015 along with Elena Cerezo-Codina who finished 17-6.

Radford was picked to finish seventh in the Big South preseason poll. The Highlanders were 7-12 last season. Western Carolina finished last season 6-16 and returns the entire team including All SoCon performer Stacia Kissell who did not compete last season.

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