MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The No. 18 Valdosta State men's tennis team ran its winning streak to nine matches with a thrilling 4-3 come-from-behind win at No. 30 Auburn Montgomery Thursday afternoon.  VSU freshman Robert Cizek won his biggest singles match of his young career, battling back from a 1-0 deficit for a three-set win to clinch the match.
 

The Blazers now are 7-0 in league play with three matches to go, holding a one-game lead over West Florida (6-1).  VSU is 9-3 overall this season.  AUM, who is not eligible for the GSC Championship this season, fell to 9-6 overall and 4-2 in league play. 
 
The Blazers, who improved to 9-3 overall and a league-best 7-0 record in Gulf South Conference play, dropped the doubles point as AUM's top duo, No. 42 Jose Garcia and Alvaro Terron downed VSU duo of juniors Axel Holm and Yohan Nguyen, 7-6, while AUM won at No. 2 to clinch the point as Eban Straker-Meads and Santiago Veglia defeated senior Jordi Mas and sophomore Florian Simbozel, 6-4.  At No. 3 doubles, Cizek and senior Xavier Pineda were tied 6-6 in a tiebreaker. 
 
In singles, Straker-Meads, ranked No. 52 nationally, downed Simbozel in straight-sets, 6-1, 6-4, for a 2-0 lead for the Warhawks.  Pineda, ranked No. 55 nationally, downed Veglia at No. 4, 6-4, 6-3 as the Blazers got on the board. 
 
Nguyen defeated Francisco Jimenez at No. 3 singles to even the match at two in straight-sets, 6-4, 6-3, but the Warhawks used a win at No. 5 as Garcia defeated Holm, 7-5, 7-6 for a 3-2 lead. 
 
Cizek dropped the first set, 6-2 to Giovanni Bellio at No. 6, but won the second set 6-4 to force the decisive frame.  In the final set, Cizek took a 2-1 lead and ever looked back for a 6-1 win and the match. 
 
VSU heads to Pensacola, Fla., where it will conclude the regular season over the next two days as it will face Mississippi College Friday at 4 p.m. ET, followed by two matches on Saturday versus Delta State at 1 p.m. ET and Christian Brothers at 4 p.m. ET. 
 
Check back with vstateblazers.com for the latest information on the matches and a complete recap as the Blazers look to lock up the regular season title for the Gulf South Conference.