PENSACOLA, Fla. – The No. 4 Valdosta State men's tennis team opened its first of two matches in Pensacola, Fla., with a 6-1 victory over West Alabama Sunday morning.  The Blazers improved to 10-1 overall and a Gulf South Conference-best 7-0 mark in league play.
 
VSU got off to a fast start, winning all three doubles matches in quick fashion.  Top-ranked tandem of seniors Yohan Nguyen and Florian Simbozel made quick work of Christopher Bulus and Nuutti Jokinen, 6-1.  Junior Robert Cizek and sophomore Christian Felline won 6-2 at No. 2 over Noah Johansen and Ilari Vesanen, while freshmen duo of Edward Etty and Luca Mack won at No. 3, 6-3, versus Anton Lof and Patricio Nieto. 
 
The Blazers were put to the test at the top two spots in singles as Bulus, ranked No. 3, edged No. 5 Nguyen 7-6, 4-6, 10-4 after the team scoring had already be decided in the featured singles match.  No. 12 Simbozel battled back from 6-2 loss in the first set for a pair of 6-2 victories in sets 2 and 3 for a win.  No. 22 freshman Christian Wedel won at No. 3 for the Blazers, 6-2, 6-2, while Mack won 7-5, 6-2, at No. 4.  Felline posted a straight-set victory at No. 5 and freshman Cameron Henricy Trigolos won at No. 6, 6-2, 6-2, as VSU won five of six singles matches.
 
VSU returns to action Monday at 11 a.m. ET versus Mississippi College.  Check back with vstateblazers.com Monday afternoon for a complete recap and stats of the match.