WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – William & Mary men's tennis heads to the ITA Atlantic Region Championships this week, Oct. 9-13, in Blacksburg, Va. Virginia Tech will host the championship at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center and the Washington Street Courts.
 
The event starts with the 49-player qualifying singles draw on Thursday at 9 a.m. The Tribe has six players competing in the qualifying draw in senior Albert Hansen, junior Nikitia Bortnichek, sophomores Raz Katz and Theo Nilsson, and freshmen Dylan Chou and Austin Cohen. Bortnichek is the No. 9-16 seed and will receive a first-round bye. A total of 16 spots are available for the 64-player main singles draw meaning a player will have to win one or two matches to advance.

Junior Oliver Hague and sophomore Gur Trakhtenberg each received a spot in the main singles draw, which kicks off at 9 a.m. on Friday.
 
The main doubles draw also begins on Friday at noon. The Tribe has four teams competing in the event, including Hague and Takhtenberg; Bortnichek and Hansen; Cohen and Nilsson; and Chou and Katz. The pairing of Hague and Trakhtenberg is a No. 5 seed in the tournament and received an opening round bye.
 
Joining the Tribe in competing at the ITA Atlantic Region Championships are George Mason, Georgetown, Hampton, Howard, James Madison, Liberty, Longwood, Loyola (MD), Morgan State, Mt. St. Mary's, Norfolk State, Old Dominion Radford, Navy, Richmond, Virginia, VCU, and Virginia Tech.
 
The ITA Regional Championships are one of four ways for players to qualify for the NCAA Individual Championships. Two singles finalists from each region will qualify for the NCAA Singles Championship, while the doubles champion from each region will qualify for the NCAA Doubles Championship. For the second straight year, the NCAA will host its Singles and Doubles Championships at the conclusion of the fall season.
 
Here is a look at the Tribe's schedule over the opening two days of the ITA Atlantic Region Championships:
 
Qualifying Singles
Thursday
First Round
Raz Katz (W&M) vs. Edgar Vilain (Mason) - 10:30 AM - WASH
Dylan Chou (W&M) vs. Lucas Evans (Mt. St. Mary's) - 10 AM - VT
Albert Hansen (W&M) vs. Grant Kroodsma (JMU) - 9 AM - WASH
Theo Nilsson (W&M) vs. Boris Lunin (NSU) - 9 AM - WASH
Austin Cohen (W&M) vs. Zavan Fahim (Mason) - 9 AM - WASH
 
Second Round
#9-16 Nikita Bortnichek (W&M) vs. TBD - 1 PM - VT
 
Friday
Main Singles Draw
Gur Trakhtenberg (W&M) vs. Patrik Jurina (VT) - 9 AM - VT
Oliver Hague (W&M) vs. Arthur O'Sullivan (Georgetown) - 10:30 AM - WASH
 
Main Doubles Draw
First Round
Nilsson/Cohen (W&M) vs. Etterbeek/Ayinala (Navy) - 12 PM VT
Bortnichek/Hansen (W&M) vs. Sancilio/Kroodsma (JMU) - 12 PM WASH
Chou/Katz (W&M) vs. Vesantera Brandao/Iantosca (VT) - 3 PM VT
 
Second Round
#5 Hague/Trakhtenberg (W&M) vs. TBD - 3:30 PM - VT
 
Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center (VT)
Washington Street Courts (WASH)