WOMEN'S TENNIS IMPRESSES AT HOKIE INVITATIONAL
The Tech women's tennis team finished the fall season at the 15th- annual Hokie Fall Invitational, winning three singles titles and one doubles title.
The Hokies opened up the event on a high note Friday, winning all 15 singles and doubles matches. More impressively, they didn't lose a single set.
Coming into the match, the team had struggled in conference play, winning only two of 11 matches with an overall record of 14-13.
The Hokies extended their success into Saturday, winning five singles matches and three doubles matches. Sophomore Yasmin Hamza defeated East Tennessee State's Andra Voinea in two sets and then defeated Marshall's Catherine Kellner in the semi-final.
On Sunday, two freshmen -- Martha Blakely and Shannon Betts -- won their respective singles brackets while senior Abby Walker won her respective match. Walker also won the doubles title alongside Hamza.
Blakely defeated teammate Courtney Rauscher on Sunday in the Flight C singles final, winning in three sets.
Betts defeated Hannah Fick of Liberty University in two sets, wrapping up a dominating weekend in which she didn't lose a single set.
Walker also didn't lose a set in the tournament, defeating Chattanooga's Brianna Wishing in two sets. Virginia's Neela Vaez defeated Hamza in two sets in the Flight B final.
However, Hamza was able to rebound with Walker in the Flight B doubles final by defeating teammates Betts and Katie Blow, 8-5.
Blakely, who won the singles Flight C title on Sunday against teammate Rauscher, was excited to have a tournament on the Tech campus.
Although the team has struggled, Coach Terry Ann Zawacki-Woods had a very positive attitude about the upcoming spring season. Blakely has high expectations for the spring season.
This tournament included 82 players from 13 teams, and represented 20 different countries. The Hokies will open their spring season on Jan. 28, when they host Elon and Longwood.
--by Justin Cocchiola
VOLLEYBALL FALLS TO GEORGIA TECH, CLEMSON
The Virginia Tech volleyball team continued to struggle over the weekend, dropping matches to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Clemson Tigers.
On Friday night, Virginia Tech traveled to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech, losing in straight sets, 24-26, 24-26, 19-25.
While the sets were close, Virginia Tech only managed a .191 hitting percentage and committed 18 errors in the match.
In the nine-player rotation, only sophomore Felicia Willoughby and junior Taylor Parrish managed to hit over a .200 percentage.
The Hokies remained on the road Saturday, traveling to Clemson to face the Tigers. Tech's play did not improve, again losing in straight sets, 20-25, 20-25, 11-25.
The Hokies tallied only 27 kills in the match and picked up 24 errors, totaling an anemic .030 hitting percentage. Clemson had a .322 hitting percentage, the highest total the Hokies have allowed all season.
Tech has now lost four out of their last five matches and has dropped to 17-7 overall and 8-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
With the two losses this weekend, the Hokies have fallen from first tied for fifth in the ACC, but are only two games behind first place. The Hokies return to Cassell Coliseum this weekend to face North Carolina State at 7 p.m. Friday and North Carolina at 6 p.m. Saturday.
--by Joe Crandley
MEN'S SOCCER SUFFERS ROAD SHUTOUT
The Tech men's soccer team lost its final road contest of the season to the North Carolina State Wolfpack, 2-0, Saturday night in Raleigh. With the loss, Tech fell to 5-11-1 on the season and to 0-7-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
The Wolfpack capped the victory with a goal in the 88th minute from midfielder Chris Zuerner, who was able to dribble through the Tech defense and net the ball past goalkeeper Thomas St. Germain.
St. Germain started his fifth game of the season for the Hokies and made four saves.
Wolfpack midfielder Alan Sanchez got NC State on the board in the 24th minute of the game when he propelled a long shot off a loose ball into the back of the net.
The Hokies tallied 11 shots against the Wolfpack and freshman defender Tobias Hottner led with four shots.
Junior forward Brendan Dunn had three shots off the bench while freshman midfielder Hunter Cheatham contributed with two.
With one match left on the season, the Hokies secured last place in the final conference standings.
--by Ed Lupien
WOMEN'S SOCCER UPSETS NO. 11 DUKE
The women's soccer team stunned the No. 11-ranked Duke Blue Devils, shutting them out 1-0 on Sunday afternoon at Thompson Field.
Tech never beat Duke in their four previous tries. Tech improved to 4-4-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and 10-7-2 overall. The Blue Devils fell to 12-4-3 overall, 4-3-3 in conference play. With 16:58 left to go in the first half, senior Laurie Beth Puglisi headed a ball into the net past Duke senior goalkeeper Cassidy Powers to give the Hokies the first lead. Junior Robin Chidester assisted the goal. It was the second assist on the season for Chidester and the fifth goal for Puglisi.
With just under 10 minutes left to play in the first period, the Hokies came within inches of taking a two-goal lead when sophomore Jennifer Harvey headed the ball off the left post off a throw-in from Junior Julian Johnson.
At the half, the Hokies had seven shots. The Blue Devils had just two. Redshirt senior Ashley Owens had one save for Tech, compared to two for Powers. Tech had four corner kicks, while Duke compiled two. Owens got the start and played the entire game in goal for Tech, recording the shutout. Neither goalkeeper needed to make a save in the second period of play. At the end of the game, the Hokies tallied 11 shots in the game, compared to just six shots by the Blue Devils. Tech committed 14 fouls in the game and Duke committed seven.
It was the third time the Hokies defeated a ranked opponent this season. Other wins include a 3-0 win over Cal State-Fullerton and a 1-0 win over Virginia. The win improves Tech's resume for a possible NCAA Tournament bid. Tech's next match will be in the ACC Tournament against the Florida State Seminoles. They will try to get revenge from their 3-1 loss in Tallahassee, Fla. on Sept. 28. Tech is the No. 7 seed and will travel to Cary, N.C. this Wednesday, for the ACC Tournament.
--by Justin Long
MEN THIRD, WOMEN SEVENTH AT CROSS COUNTRY'S ACC EVENT
The Tech men's cross country team made history this weekend, placing third at the ACC Championships in Chapel Hill, N.C. - its highest finish since joining the conference.
The women's squad came home in seventh place. Leading the way for the men was junior Devin Cornwall, who finished in third place in the 8,000-meter event. Cornwall crossed the line with a time of 24:30.8. Senior Billy Berlin was the next highest-placing Hokie in 11th, while freshman Michael Hammond came in 15th. Overall, in the men's event, Tech wound up behind winner Virginia and second-place North Carolina State.
For the women's side, Tasmin Fanning was the top Tech runner. The 2007 All-American placed second among 107. Fanning came within 50 meters of winning the 6,000-meter race before Florida State's Susan Kuijken edged her out by less than a tenth of a second. Fanning recorded a time of 20:11.6.
Other Hokies behind Fanning included senior Erin Reddan in 21st, Jessica Fanning in 34th and junior Natalie Kretzer in 41st. Florida State captured the women's event overall easily beating Boston College. Wake Forest was third, while Duke and Virginia tied for the fourth position.
Both the men and women will be major players in the Hokie Open, which will take place at the Tech Cross Country Course. The event, held on Nov. 8, comes one week prior to the NCAA Southeast Regional meet in Winston-Salem, N.C.
--by Brian Wright