VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 19 Valdosta State men's tennis team downed visiting Shorter 7-0 Tuesday afternoon in the Gulf South Conference opener for both teams.  VSU improved to 2-2 on the year, while Shorter fell to 0-1.
 
The Blazers made quick work of the Hawks in doubles as sophomore Robert Cizek and junior Adam Kalivoda downed Blakeley Bottegal and Oratile Lekoko, 6-0 at No. 3, while Blazer duo of senior Yohan Nguyen and junior Florian Simbozel won 6-2 to clinch the point.  Freshmen Luca Mack and Edward Etty won at No. 2, 6-3.  
 
VSU improved to 8-3 this year in doubles with the three wins, while the duo of Nguyen and Simbozel is 3-0 in doubles this season at the top spot in the lineup.
 
Simbozel dropped just one game in a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 2 singles, coming off the court first for a 2-0 VSU lead.  Kalivoda won at No. 6 over Bottegal, 6-1, 6-0, also for a 3-0 lead and the match was clinched at No. 5 as Cizek didn't drop a game in a 6-0, 6-0 win over Lekoko.  Nguyen, ranked No. 7 nationally in singles, improved to 3-0 this season in four singles matches with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Jan Kos at the top spot for the Blazers.  Mack evened his record at 1-1 at the No. 3 position this season with a 6-4, 6-1 victory, while Etty won at No. 4 with a 6-2, 6-4 victory.
 
The Blazers continue their nine-match home stand with Rollins on Feb. 22 at 2 p.m. at the VSU Tennis Complex.