MONTGOMERY, Ala. – For the sixth-straight year of the championship, the Valdosta State men's tennis team will be in the Gulf South Conference Men's Tennis Championship Match, following a 4-1 victory over Auburn Montgomery Friday afternoon at Lagoon Park & O'Connor Tennis Center in Montgomery, Ala. The was no championship in 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
 
The No. 3 Blazers (14-1) and winners of six-straight matches, battled back from a 1-0 deficit through doubles play, winning four singles matches to claim the victory.  VSU will face No. 2-seed and No. 8 nationally West Florida in the final.  The Championship Match is scheduled for 11 a.m. ET Saturday Morning.  Fans can access a link to live results to the right of this story.  This will be the sixth consecutive season the two teams have met in the championship match with VSU leading 3-2.
 
The upset-minded Warhawks (12-7) came out on fire with a pair of doubles victories at Nos. 2 and 3 as Jonathan Judy-Hansen and Nino Portugal upended VSU duo of freshmen Edward Etty and Luca Mack at No. 3, 6-2.  Muhamad Bedwan and Francisco Jimenez defeated sophomore Christian Felline and junior Robert Cizek, 6-3 to claim the point.  Top-ranked Blazer tandem of seniors Yohan Nguyen and Florian Simbozel were trailing 5-4 to David Rieme and Joao Guariente when the point was clinched.
 
Momentum quickly swung in favor of the Blazers in singles as Felline won at No. 5 over Portugal, 6-4, 6-4 and freshman Cameron Henricy Trigolos won at No. 6 singles, 6-2, 6-3, for a 2-1 lead.  Simbozel, ranked No. 12 in the latest ITA rankings, dispatched GSC Freshman of the Year David Rieme, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), for a 3-1 lead.  Nguyen, ranked No. 5 nationally, defeated Bedwan, ranked No. 43 nationally, 6-3, 7-6 (7-0), to clinch the match.
 
Simbozel improved to a perfect 13-0 in singles this season and defeated Rieme for the second time this season.  VSU freshman Christian Wedel, who didn't finish his match at No. 3, also is undefeated at 13-0 this season.  Wedel was up 2-1 in the third set (3-6, 6-1) over Guariente when the match clinched. 
 
Check back with vstateblazers.com Saturday afternoon for a complete recap of the championship match as the Blazers go for their GSC-record 14^th conference title, and fourth in six years.