MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Valdosta State men's tennis team claimed their second Gulf South Conference Championship in the last three years with a 5-2 win over top-seeded West Florida in the title match on Saturday afternoon at the Lagoon Park Tennis Center in Montgomery, Ala.

The Blazers set the tone early with an 8-6 upset of UWF's No. 14 team of Serdar Bojadjiev and Lucas Sanchez by VSU's No. 20 ranked contingent of Jordi Mas and Florian Simbozel at the top doubles position. Fernando Rivas and Francisco Yim Kim followed suit with an 8-6 win of their own over Alfonso Castellano and Nicholas Springer at No. 2 doubles, before Axel Holm and Davis Stewart fell to Nicolas Lecoutre and Juan Cabrera at No. 3.

Trailing 2-1 to the Blazers heading into singles play, the Argonauts fired back with a 6-0, 6-3 Juan Motta victory at No. 6 singles over Stewart to even the match at 2-2. Mas returned momentum in VSU's favor however with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) win over No. 24 ranked Lecoutre on court No. 1.

The Blazers held on to the advantage the rest of the way, thanks to a 6-1, 7-6 (9-7) win for Yim Kim over Cabrera at No. 4, before Rivas sealed the 12th title in program history with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Sanchez on court No. 3.

The victory lifted the No. 11 ranked Blazers to 18-3 on the season, while the No. 6 ranked Argonauts saw their season record fall to 23-3.

The Blazers earned an automatic berth in the 2018 National Tournament with the victory, and will now await the NCAA South Regional Selection Show, set to stream on Tuesday at 8:00 p.m., to learn where the team will play next. Stay tuned to www.vstateblazers.com this week for updates as soon as they become available, and follow us on social media for up to the minute updates.