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BLACKSBURG – Junior Elena Cerezo-Codina and freshman Natalie Novotna of the Virginia Tech women’s tennis team set to compete at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Pro Circuit, from Sept. 26-30, in Charleston, South Carolina.

“I am excited for Elena and Natalie to compete against such a wide range of talent in this tournament and for them to demonstrate their talents as well,” said coach Terry Ann Zawacki-Woods. “The level is high here and this will be a very good way for them to start off their season.”

The duo of Cerezo-Codina and Novotna will compete against USA’s Joelle Kissell and Liza Fieldsend in the qualifying doubles draw on Monday evening. Kissell competed for N.C. State from 2010-2014, finishing her collegiate career as the all-time winningest player in Wolfpack history with 107 wins. Fieldsend, a senior at the College of Charleston, played two seasons for the Wolfpack before transferring to the College of Charleston.

In singles action, Novotna will compete against USA’s Lauren Embree in the main singles draw (32) on Tuesday, Sept. 27. The match time will be announced the day of the match, as Novotna and Embree will meet for the first time on the ITF Circuit. The Vysoka nad Labem, Czech Republic, native came to Blacksburg ranked as high as No. 227 in the ITF world juniors’ rankings and No. 976 in the World Tennis Association (WTA) polls.

Novotna was a finalist in four different ITF junior events and qualified for the 2014 Australian Open Juniors, losing to Great Britain’s Isabelle Wallace, No. 37 in the world, in the second main draw. Novotna also achieved the highest rankings in both the junior and open division as a native of Czech Republic, checking in at No. 16 and No. 57, respectively.

Embree was a standout athlete on the Florida Gators women’s tennis team from 2009-13. A native of Marco Island, Florida, Embree notched an undefeated 38-0 singles career record in Southeastern Conference (SEC) regular-season play. She was named the 2013 ITA National Senior Player of the Year and also was a three-time SEC Player of the Year honoree.

Embree currently holds a WTA singles ranking of No. 592.

Live scores can be found HERE.

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