MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Valdosta State men's tennis team put up a strong fight in the Gulf South Conference Championship match in Montgomery, Ala. on Sunday, but fell short in a 5-3 loss to the nation's No. 2 ranked West Florida Argonauts.
 
Valdosta State jumped out to a 3-0 start in doubles play, sparked out of the gate by Edward Nguyen and Niklas Herbring, who defeated Elio Latella and Warren Kuhn in a thrilling 9-7 win at No. 1.
 
Ramon Weil and Gereon Heitmann kept it rolling at No. 2 with an 8-4 victory over Kenny Brasil and Alex Peyrot, and Joachim Schemm teamed up with Francisco Yim Kim to defeat Pablo Borrero and Pablo Tellez 8-6 and give VSU their third straight point at the conclusion of doubles play.
 
The Argonauts denied the Blazers the title with a comeback effort that included five singles victories. Peyrot began the turn for UWF at No. 1 with a 6-2, 6-1 triumph over Leo Blay, and Kuhn followed with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Yim Kim at No. 2.
 
Herbring fell 6-3, 6-1 at No. 3 to Brasil before Heitmann took Borrero the distance in a 3-6, 6-2, 5-7 loss. The fifth and final point for the Argonauts was secured at No. 5 by Latella, who defeated Nguyen in three sets to earn the championship victory.
 
The Blazers now turn their attention to NCAA regional selections, which will determine Valdosta State's fate for the remainder of the 2015 season. Stay tuned to www.vstateblazers.com for updates as they become available.