PENSACOLA, Fla. - The Valdosta State men's tennis team cruised to a 5-1 Gulf South Conference over Delta State to kick off a string of matches in Pensacola, Fla. over the next two weekends.

The victory marked the fifth straight for the Blazers and improved the team's record to 8-3 on the year and 5-1 in GSC play. Meanwhile, the Statesmen fell to 4-4 overall and 2-2 against league opponents.

Head Coach John Hansen's squad jumped ahead with a point at No. 1 doubles after Edward Nguyen and Niklas Herbring secured an 8-2 win at No. 1 doubles over Niko Ptasinski and Arthur Berthiaux.

No. 2 went in favor of the Statesmen, as Francisco Yim Him and Joachim Schemm fell 8-5 to Lionel Gazzo and Clement Depreeuw. But the Blazers quickly rebounded and finished doubles action with a 2-1 lead, thanks to Leo Blay and Andrew Harvin's 8-5 win at No. 3 over Guillermo Cerrato-Saura and Joao Yamacita.

The Blazers quickly and efficiently finished off DSU with wins at each of the top three singles positions. Blay edged out Ptasinski 6-3, 7-6 (5) at No. 1, before Herbring picked up a convincing 6-0, 6-4 win against Berthiaux. The deciding match went in favor of Gereon Heitmann at No. 3, as he defeated Gazzo 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 at No. 3.

The victory set the stage for what the Blazers hope will be a big weekend in Pensacola. Fla. The next contest is scheduled to begin at noon on Saturday against the Bucs of Christian Brothers. Follow results at www.vstateblazers.com.