VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State men's and women's tennis teams return home to host NAIA member Keiser University on Thursday, Feb. 24 at 2 p.m. at the VSU Tennis Courts.  The VSU men's team, ranked No. 2 in the latest ITA Division II rankings, is 2-1 on the year, while the women's team is 1-3. 
 
The men's team is coming off a disappointing 5-2 loss at Embry-Riddle last Friday.  The upset-minded Eagles won all three doubles matches, including handing VSU's top duo of sophomore Luca Mack and Rodrigo Carvalho, their second-straight loss, 6-3.  The Blazers' top tandem is No. 2 nationally in the latest ITA rankings. 
 
Blazer freshman Lamar Bartley tied the match at 1-1 with a 6-1, 6-1 victory at the No. 2 position in singles, but Alexis Guedy upset No. 29 Carvalho in straight-sets at No. 3 singles.  Sophomore Christian Wedel and junior Christian Felline both dropped three-set matches, while sophomore Cameron Henricy Trigolos won 6-1, 6-2 at No. 6 singles. 
 
Keiser enters the week with an 8-2 record overall and No. 2 nationally in NAIA.  The Seahawks' two losses this season are to Barry (4-3) and Division I Florida Gulf Coast (4-3).  Keiser has NCAA Division II wins over Embry-Riddle (5-2) and Flagler (7-0) this season.  Keiser is playing the return match at Flagler Wednesday afternoon.
 
Individually, the Seahawks are led by No. 7 in singles Yassir Kilani who is 14-6 on the year and 6-3 in singles, mainly at the No. 3 position.  Geronimo Barrios is 11-5 overall and 8-2 in dual matches mainly at the top spot in singles.  He is 20^th nationally in singles, while Bart Nouws is 10-1 on the season and No. 18 nationally.  Charly Zick, ranked No. 22 nationally, leads the team with a 14-1 record overall and a 9-0 mark in dual matches.  Luke Simkiss is 20-1 on the year and 10-0 in dual matches – all at the top spot in the lineup.  
 
In doubles, the duo of Zick/Barrios is 8-1 this season, but have not played a dual match this season.  The tandem is No. 7 nationally.  Barrios and Soufiane El Mesbahi are 6-0 at the No. 2 position, while Zick and Kilani are 4-1 at the top spot. 
 
This is the first meeting on the courts between the two programs. Keiser finished national runner-up last season, losing 4-1 to Georgia Gwinnett in May. 
 
VSU is 12-6 overall in dual match singles this season as Mack, Bartley, Carvalho and Wedel each are 2-1, respectively, at the top four positions in the lineup.  Trigolos is 3-0 at the No. 6 spot, while Felline is 1-2 at the No. 5 position.  In doubles, Mack/Carvalho are 1-2 at the top spot, while Felline/Bartley are 2-1 at No. 2 and sophomore Edward Etty and graduate student Swann Flohr at 2-1 at No. 3. 
 
The Blazer women's team comes off its first victory of the season in a thrilling 4-3, come-from-behind victory at Embry-Riddle last week.  In the match, VSU battled back from a 1-0 deficit after doubles as five of the six singles matches went the distance with freshman Adriana Barrio winning 1-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-0, at the No. 6 position to clinch the match. 
 
This season, Barrio leads the team with a 3-1 record in singles, while freshman Natalie Kohoutkova is 2-2 at the top spot in the lineup, while freshman Anastasiia Vorobiova is 2-2 at the No. 3 spot.  In doubles, Kohoutkova and sophomore Rachelle Starreveld are 2-1 at the top spot to lead the team.
 
The Seahawks also are No. 2 in women's tennis and 5-1 on the year with the lone loss being 6-1 at Florida Gulf Coast in the fall.  Reigning Sun Conference Player of the Week, Nicole Coopersmith is No. 2 nationally in singles an 17-2 overall and 6-0 in dual matches this season.  Vanja Vidanovic is No. 13 nationally and 13-6 overall, while going 4-1 in dual matches.  Kanon Sorakubois 8-5 overall and 2-2 in dual matches as she is No. 26 nationally.  In doubles, the tandem of Coopersmith/Vidavonic is No. 2 nationally and 17-3 overall and 4-1 in dual matches at the top spot in the lineup.
 
Following the Keiser matches, VSU travels to Saint Leo for a Mar. 1 date at 3 p.m. Check back Thursday evening for complete recaps and box scores of the Keiser matches.