MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Valdosta State men's tennis team used a dramatic comeback in the Gulf South Conference semifinal match to come from behind and claim a 5-3 victory over the West Alabama Tigers on Friday in Montgomery, Ala. at the Lagoon Park Tennis Center.

The Blazers faced unfavorable results across the board in doubles action to open up the day. No. 13 ranked Julius Kaverinen and Linus Holthey handled No. 20 Jordi Mas and Florian Simbozel with an 8-4 win at No. 1 doubles, before Henrik Sinkko and Andrii Stratiienko toppled Fernando Rivas and Francisco Yim Kim, 8-6, at No. 2.

After a quick 8-3 victory for Anton Lof and Erick Nordblom over Axel Holm and Davis Stewart at No. 3, the day looked bleak for the Blazers, as they fell behind 3-0.

The red and black regained their composure, however, and went to work in singles action, starting with a 6-1, 6-3 victory for Rivas over Nordblom at No. 3. Shortly after, Simbozel lived up to his new GSC Freshman of the Year title with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Holthey at No. 2, and Mas pulled the match even with a 6-2, 6-3 win over No. 23 ranked Kaverinen on court No. 1.

With the match tied at 3-3, Yim Kim gave the Blazers the lead at No. 4 with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Stratiienko. The match rested on the shoulders of Stewart at No. 6, and after winning the first set, 6-3, the Valdosta, Ga. native fell in the second set, 4-6. In the final set, Stewart slipped to a score of 0-3 before mounting a comeback and clinching the match with a 6-4 set win over Sinkko.

The win lifted the No. 11 ranked Blazers to 17-3 overall, while the No. 34 ranked Tigers fell to 16-5 on the year.

The Blazers will play in the GSC Championship against top-seeded West Florida on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. in Montgomery, Ala. Look for results at www.vstateblazers.com, or follow the match with live updates on Twitter (@BlazerAthletics).