VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Valdosta State men's tennis team kicked off their trip to the Division II National Championship Tournament in good form this week with a 5-0 win over Bluefield State in the opening round in Denver, Colo.

Three fairly tight doubles matchups all ended in favor of Valdosta State, with Niklas Herbring and Jordi Mas teaming up at No. 1 to set the tone with an 8-6 win over Jacob Carey and Aziz Yuldashev. Leo Blay and and Xavier Pineda also picked up an 8-5 victory over Anthony Braem and Ignacio Pulido at No. 2, while Gereon Heitmann and Fernando Rivas followed suit at No. 3 with an 8-5 win over Platon Gud and Alexandr Rudenco.

In need of just two more wins in singles action for the Blazers, No. 8 ranked Blay made quick work of Carey at No. 1 with a 6-2, 6-4 win, and Mas slammed the door with a 7-5, 6-3 victory at No. 4 over Yuldaashev.

Despite the early conclusion to the overall match, both Rivas and Herbring held leads in their respective matchups against Rudenco and Gud at No. 2 and No. 5 in singles play.

With the victory, the No. 8 ranked Blazers improved to 18-6 on the season, while Bluefield State saw their season come to a close at 21-8 overall. The win advanced Valdosta State to the quarterfinal round in Denver, Colo., where the Blazers will square off against either Lander or Hawaii Pacific. Valdosta State's next match is scheduled for Thursday, May 19th, at 4:00 p.m. EST, with live coverage links available at www.vstateblazers.com.

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