SAINT LEO, Fla. – The No. 2 Valdosta State men's tennis team dropped a 5-2 decision at No. 9 Saint Leo, while the women's team also fell to No. 8 Saint Leo Tuesday afternoon.  
 
The Blazer men's team returns home at 2-3 to open Gulf South Conference play with a pair of matches Friday at 2 p.m. versus Shorter and on Saturday at 10 a.m. versus Lee.  The women's team is 1-5 on the year and will host the same opponents this weekend as well.
 
In the match against Saint Leo, both teams dropped the doubles point as men's duo of freshman Lamar Bartley and junior Christian Felline won at No. 2, 6-3.  SLU won all three doubles matches on the women's side.
 
Felline won at No. 5 singles after the match already had been decided, while sophomore Christian Wedel won 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 at No. 4 singles.  VSU sophomore Rachelle Starreveld won at No.4 singles for the Blazer women to tie the match at 1-1 with a 6-3, 6-2 victory, but the Lions won the next three singles matches for the victory.  VSU freshman Andrea Barrio won at No. 6, 6-4, 3-6 and 10-7 in a super tiebreaker after the team match had been decided.