VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 7 Valdosta State men's tennis team completes the 2021 home slate this week with two top five matches against No. 1 Columbus State on Wednesday at 2 p.m., followed by hosting Gulf South Conference rival, No. 4 West Florida Friday at 2 p.m. Both matches will be at the VSU Tennis Complex.
 
The Blazers are 8-0 on the year and a perfect 5-0 in GSC play after a 7-0 victory over Montevallo on Mar. 23.  In the match, VSU won all three doubles matches to take the 1-0 lead.  Freshman Cameron Henricy Trigolos won at No. 6 for a 2-0 lead, while senior Yohan Nguyen won at No. 1 for a 3-0 lead, 6-3, 6-0 and freshman Christian Wedel clinched the match at No. 3 with a 6-2, 7-5 victory.  All but one match was decided in straight-sets as sophomore Christian Felline won 7-5, 6-7, 10-5 at No. 5 singles to conclude the match. 
 
Columbus State enters as the top-ranked team in the country at 11-0 and 3-0 in the Peach Belt Conference.   CSU is coming off a 7-0 victory over No. 20 Flagler on Sunday.  The Cougars won all three doubles matches and four of the six singles in straight-sets.  VSU defeated Flagler earlier this season with a 5-2 victory on Feb. 21, in Valdosta.
 
This season, the Cougars have used four doubles tandems and Tommaso Schold and Pietro Martinetti are a perfect 10-0, including 9-0 at the No. 3 spot.  Felix Steen and Christian Garay are 8-1 overall and 7-1 at the No. 2 position, while Javier Cueto Ramos and Alvaro Regalado are 9-1 at the top spot.
 
In singles, the Cougars are 51-3 for the season and 18-0 in the PBC.  Schold is 10-0 on the year and 7-0 at No. 2, while Steen is 9-0 and 6-0 at No. 5.  Martinetti is 6-0 on the year and 5-0 at No. 6.  Regalado is 4-1 at No. 1 singles. 
 
CSU has won four of the past seven matches between the two teams and won three of the last four.  VSU last won 5-4 in Valdosta on Mar. 2, 2018.  In the previous meeting on Feb. 10, 2019, CSU won 6-1 in Columbus.  Former Blazer Xavi Pineda had a 6-3, 6-7, 10-6 victory at No. 4 singles for the lone VSU point.  In the 2018 victory, current Blazer junior Florian Simbozel won at No. 2 singles over then-No. 18 Zach Whaaga, 6-1, 0-6, 6-1 as on the only current member of the Blazers to have been on the team the last time VSU defeated Columbus State.
 
The Argos enter with an 11-2 record overall and a 5-0 mark in the GSC.  UWF is coming off a -0 victory over Christian Brothers and a 5-2 victory over No. 11 Delta State last weekend.  The Argos are led in doubles by Salvador Bandeira and Gabriel Nery who are 10-2 on the year, mainly at Nos. 1 and 2.  Also 10-2 this year is the duo of William Shkrob and Nicolas Lecoutre, mainly at No. 3.  Lluis Miralles Miro is 7-1 in doubles with numerous partners and is 5-1 at No. 2.
 
In singles, Juan Cabrera is a perfect 10-0 and has played at five positions, while Nery is 7-1 and Miralles Miro is 5-0.  UWF is 47-20 in singles this season and 23-7 in league play, while it is 12-8 in doubles and 5-2 in league play. 
 
VSU and UWF have combined for 25 Gulf South Conference championships in men's tennis, while the rest of the league has a combined 22 titles.  VSU leads the conference with 13 titles, while UWF has 12. 
 
UWF has won 11 of the past 18 meetings, including ending the Blazers' season in the NCAA Regional on Mar. 12, 2019, 4-2, in Valdosta.  That year, however, VSU won both the GSC title and the regular season meeting.  VSU is 3-2 in the last five meetings.
 
Following the matches this week, VSU is scheduled to conclude the regular season Apr. 10-11 facing Mississippi College and West Alabama in Pensacola, Fla.  The Blazers also have a match against Christian Brothers, which was scheduled for early in the year and was postponed due to weather.  No makeup date has been announced for the CBU match at this time.
 
The Gulf South Conference Championship is scheduled for Apr. 22-24 in Montgomery, Ala.