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BLACKSBURG – Senior Francesca Fusinato and juniors Caroline Daxhelet and Elena Cerezo-Codina will represent the Virginia Tech women’s tennis team at the 2016 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Women’s All-American Championships this week.

The tournament is hosted by the Riviera Tennis Club in Pacific Palisades, California. The qualifying rounds will take place on Oct. 4-5, followed by the main draws on Oct. 6-9.

Qualifying Singles Draw | Qualifying Doubles Draw

"This tournament provides a great opportunity for our players to compete with the best players in college tennis," said 14th-year coach Terry Ann Zawacki-Woods. "It not only helps us continue to improve, but it also is great preparation for our very competitive spring schedule."

No. 96 Daxhelet, who earned a spot in the draw when the selections were first released, will battle Northwestern’s Maddie Lipp in the qualifying singles bracket on Tuesday, Oct. 4, at 10:45 a.m. ET. Lipp is slotted as the No. 30 singles player in the nation and is listed as the No. 3 seed in the qualifying round.

Joining Daxhelet in the qualifying singles bracket is No. 94 Cerezo-Codina. Cerezo-Codina will take on Pepperdine’s Mayar Sherif Ahmed in singles action at 12:30 p.m. ET. Ahmed transferred from Fresno State last season and is ranked No. 48 nationally as a junior.

In all, 64 student-athletes will compete for the top eight spots, advancing to the main singles draw of 32. The main draw will be held over a four-day span, as the top 32 players from across the country will battle for the 2016 Riviera/ITA All-American crown.

Additionally, a Tech women’s tennis player was selected to compete in the main singles draw for the first time in program history, as No. 42 Fusinato will participate in the event starting on Thursday, Oct. 6.

"We are extremely proud of Francesca for being selected to the main draw," Zawacki-Woods said. "For her to reach this milestone, it is a testament to all of her hard work during the past three years. It definetly sets a great bar for others to follow."

At the 2015 championships, Fusinato competed in the qualifying singles bracket, defeating Texas Tech’s Lynn Kiro in straight sets to advance to the round of 32. The Feltre Belluno, Italy, native recorded an 11-11 singles mark at the No. 1 slot last spring, earning All-ACC Second Team honors.

In doubles action, the duo of Cerezo-Codina and Daxhelet will square off against Illinois’ Louise Kwong and Ines Vias in the qualifying doubles bracket at 9 a.m. ET. Of note, the doubles pairing of Kwong and Vias sit at No. 25 in the ITA Preseason Poll.

The top four teams will advance to the main doubles draw, where the final draw of 32 players also commence on Thursday, Oct. 6. Cerezo-Codina and Daxhelet will compete as a duo for the first time this season. Last year, the duo recorded a 2-2 mark in dual-match play.

A recap will be available following each day of competition at HokieSports.com. For more information on the Riviera ITA Women’s All-American Championships, visit ITAtennis.com.

Of note, all action from the main draws will be streamed live on FloTennis.com.

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