RADFORD, Va. – After two weeks of training in the Sunshine State, head coach Mike Anderson and his nationally-ranked Radford Highlanders will open their 2009 season with a noon match at Florida Gulf Coast Friday.

“Our match against Florida Gulf Coast will be a good opportunity for our team to see how prepared we are for the upcoming season,” commented Anderson, who is in his 13th season at the helm. “We have had two pretty intense weeks of training and hopefully our guys aren't too tired.”

The Highlanders, who enter the campaign No. 68 in the most recent ITA Collegiate Rankings, return five starters from last year's club that went 15-2 overall and a perfect 6-0 against league competition. To go along with its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance, Radford won its third consecutive regular season crown a year ago. The Highlanders climbed to as high as No. 55 in the nation before concluding 2008 ranked 69th.

Among those returning include three-time Big South Player of the Year Martin Sayer (Hong Kong/Sagemont Virtual), who enters his senior slate just six wins shy of 100 for his career. Also back for the preseason favorite is Ivan Salec (Oroslavje, Croatia/Secondary School Oroslavje), last year's league and VaSID Freshman of the Year.

The Highlanders also return senior Mehdi Benhammou (Rabat, Morocco/Descartes) and junior Zack Watson (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite). The 2006 Big South Freshman of the Year, Benhammou is a two-time all-league performer in both singles and doubles with 55 wins to his credit. Watson, who has recorded 18 singles victories in each of the past two seasons, partnered with Sayer a year ago to earn conference doubles recognition.

In addition to its talented group of returnees, Radford welcomes Igor Ogrizek (Daruvar, Croatia/Grammar School, Birotehnika) and Stefan Bojic (Novi Sad, Serbia) to the lineup. Both newcomers climbed to as high as sixth and fourth, respectively, in the national junior rankings of their native countries before joining the Highlanders.

The last three seasons have re-established Radford among the elite in the Big South Conference and regionally. The Highlanders have posted a 53-12 overall record and 18-1 mark in league play. Radford has also held court at home winning 27 straight matches.

Tomorrow's match with the Eagles is the first of 24 regular season matches for Radford. The Highlanders' first 14 contests will be played away from home before they open their home slate on March 15 against Lees McRae.

“Florida Gulf Coast is an up-and-coming Division I program that competes in the Atlantic Sun and we expect them to be well-prepared and a tough opponent,” said the three-time Big South Coach of the Year.