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Virginia Tech Tennis Reaches New High

Virginia Tech senior, Joao Monteiro, became the first Hokie to reach the semifinals in the NCAA Men's Singles Tennis Championships.

By jayjohnson09
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Al Bello/Getty Images

Virginia Tech senior, Joao Monteiro, achieved something that no Hokie had before during the 2016 NCAA Men’s Singles Championship.

Late last month the 2016 Men’s Tennis Championships were held in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Then ranked No. 14 Monteiro defeated Tulsa’s No. 48 Ram-Harel to become the first Hokie, in two decades, to advance into the men’s singles Sweet 16.

The Porto, Portugal native wasn’t finished though.  He next faced the defending national champion and in-state rival, No. 8 Ryan Shane.  Joao defeated the Virginia Cavalier and moved up to the Elite 8, where he would face Illinois University’s No. 4 Aleks Vukic.

Vukic and Monteiro played an exciting match that was ultimately determined in a tie-breaker.  Joao defeated Vukic, and continued his tear through the field, becoming the first Hokie ever to reach the men's singles semifinals .

In the Final Four Monteiro faced No. 6 Mackenzie McDonald.  The UCLA Bruin is a three time All-American, and unfortunately he was able to defeat Monteiro two sets to one.  McDonald would go on to win the singles championship.

Joao Monteiro finishes the season with a 37-12 overall record and 15-11 over nationally ranked opponents, including the No. 4 and No. 8 players during the Men’s Singles Championship.  In addition to being the first Hokie to reach the Final Four, he also finished ranked No. 9 in singles play, which is also the highest end-of-season ranking in VT’s men’s singles tennis.

Mr. Monteiro, Gobbler Country thanks you for the years of fantastic athletic display and wishes you the best in your future endeavors!  Go Hokies!

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