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LUBBOCK, TX – The 34^th-ranked Virginia Tech women’s tennis team will open up play in the 2016 NCAA Championship against No. 21 Mississippi State on the campus of Texas Tech in Lubbock at 3:00 ET (2:00 CT) on Friday.

The Hokies (14-10, 7-7 ACC) enter Friday’s match seeking their second ever NCAA Tournament road victory, with the first coming last season in Los Angeles against Long Beach State. This season marks the first time the team has made consecutive NCAA Championship appearances in program history and will be the team’s second appearance since 2000.

The squad most recently fell to Wake Forest about two weeks ago at the ACC tournament in Cary, N.C. Tech has already won matches over higher-ranked opponents this season, including victories over then-No. 6 Duke and then-No. 16 Georgia Tech in Blacksburg. Francesca Fusinato and Elena Cerezo-Codina will look to help lead Tech to another big win after being named second and third team All-ACC last week.

State enters the tournament at 17-8 overall (second-most wins in program history and most since 1986) and carries four ranked players in singles, including First Team All-SEC selection Jasmine Lee at 13th, Second Team All-SEC selectionGeorgiana Patrasc at 36th, freshman Anastasia Rentouli at 101st and sophomore Madison Harrison at 115th.

The junior Lee finished the regular season at 28-11 overall at the No. 1 position, and also earned a bid to the NCAA Singles Championship as a top 16 seed, becoming State’s first singles ITA All-American ever. Patrasc has also earned a bid to the NCAA Singles Championship and posted an 18-3 dual match record and 27-7 overall.

Live stats for the match will be available here.

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