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BLACKSBURG – Highlighted by nine fall events and 12 home matches in the spring, the Virginia Tech women’s tennis coach Terry Ann Zawacki-Woods unveiled the 2016-17 schedule on Friday afternoon.

2016-17 Women’s Tennis Schedule

The Hokies will face 12 NCAA Tournament teams from last season, with five of those contests taking place at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center in Blacksburg.

Tech opens its fall schedule the weekend of Sept. 23-25, in Charlottesville, Virginia, as the team will compete at the UVA Fall Invite for the second year in a row. Immediately following the team’s opening weekend in Charlottesville, several Tech players will participate at the ITF Circuit in Charleston, South Carolina (Sept. 26-30).

The Hokie players then travel to Wilmington, North Carolina, to take part in the UNCW Fall Tournament set for Sept. 30 – Oct. 2, while several teammates compete at the ITA All-American Championships in Pacific Palisades, California (Oct. 1-9).

Following a week off from competition, Tech will stay in Virginia to compete in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Regionals from Oct. 14-18.

The Hokie Fall Invitational, Tech’s only fall tournament at home, takes place Oct. 28-30, as eight teams from the Mid-Atlantic Region will compete in the event. The team then splits its competition, sending student-athletes to compete at the USTA Clay Court Championships in Orlando, Florida, and the ITA Indoor Championships in Flushing Meadows, New York, on Nov. 3-6.

Tech will close the fall season at the Terrier Classic on Nov. 4-6 in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

“We are anxious to start competition this fall, and we are pleased with the variety of tournaments we are competing in,” Zawacki-Woods said. “Each of our student-athletes will have the opportunity to play multiple matches to help us prepare for the spring season.”

The spring dual-match schedule highlights 23 contests, with 12 in Blacksburg and 11 on the road. Seventy percent (16 of 23) of Tech’s matches come against teams ranked in the final ITA poll at the end of the 2016 season, including six top-25 opponents and three top-10 teams.

Tech opens its spring season with a home doubleheader against Troy and Longwood on Jan. 21. Following the doubleheader event, the Hokies will hit the road for three non-conference matches against Vanderbilt on Jan. 28, followed by Kansas on Jan. 29 and Purdue on Feb. 4

On Feb. 12, Tech will play host to another doubleheader against Marshall and Radford. The Hokies then travel to Morgantown, West Virginia, for a match against the Mountaineers on Feb. 18, closing their non-conference slate at home against Old Dominion on Feb. 24.

Tech will face all 14 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponents in the conference schedule, with seven on the road and seven at home.

ACC play starts with three challenging matches on the road vs. 2016 NCAA Tournament participants, as the squad faces Georgia Tech on March 3, followed by a short trip to in-state rival Virginia on March 5 and Clemson on March 12.

Tech returns home to take on Wake Forest on March 19, followed by a swing through North Carolina for matches against North Carolina and Duke on March 24 and March 26, respectively.

The Hokies will then square off against Notre Dame and Louisville at home on March 31 and April 2, respectively, followed by road matches at Boston College on April 7 and Pittsburgh on April 9.

Tech returns to the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center to cap its regular season with four straight home matches against Syracuse (April 13), N.C. State (April 15), Miami (April 21) and Florida State (April 23).

The 2016 ACC Championship begins with the first round of play on April 25. All matches will be played at the Cary Tennis Park, in Cary, North Carolina.

“I am excited about our spring schedule, which features many top nationally ranked programs both within the ACC and outside the conference,” Zawacki-Woods said. “Our strong schedule continues to help our program and players improve, and we are looking forward to getting started.”

Tech returns seven letterwinners from the 2015-16 squad, including two-time All-ACC second-team nominee Francesca Fusinato. Zawacki-Woods also has added six highly touted freshmen and one transfer to the veteran group.

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