ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 2 Valdosta State men's tennis team defeated No. 5 Barry Monday afternoon at the USTA Training Center in Orlando, Fla, 4-3.  Due to the threat of rain, the match played singles first, followed by doubles.  In gutsy performances by both teams and a feel of a NCAA postseason matchup, which saw three singles matches go to ten-point tiebreakers, VSU came out on top in two of the three to claim the victory. 
 
VSU improved to 5-3 on the year and handed Barry its third loss of the season (8-3).  It marked the first win for VSU over the Buccaneers since May 9, 2016, with a 5-4 victory in the NCAA South Regional.  The win Monday also was the first for VSU against Barry during the regular season since Feb. 25, 2011, in Valdosta. The teams also played later that season as VSU won its second national title with a 5-2 victory over the Buccaneers on May 14, 2011.  Prior to Monday, Barry had won 11 of the last 12 and five-straight.  This season, Barry's only setbacks were a 4-3 loss to top-ranked Columbus State and a 4-3 loss to No. 13 Lynn. 
 
The Blazers, who were not to be denied this time, came away with singles victories at the top four spots in the lineup with No. 12 sophomore Luca Mack winning at the top spot in dramatic fashion with a 6-3, 0-6, 13-11, as the third set was a ten-point tiebreaker, over No. 9 Alejandro Ortego Palacios.  Freshman Lamar Bartley continued his strong start to the season with a 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 10-6 win at No. 2 over No. 25 Allesandro Giuliato.  No. 29 sophomore Rodrigo Carvalho won at No. 3, defeating Hugo Cazaban, 6-3, 6-3, as it gave the Blazers the early lead marking the first match completed.  Sophomore Christian Wedel also won in straight-sets at No. 4, with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Arnau Rodriguez.  
 
Barry won at No. 5 as Ignasi Forcano defeated junior Christian Felline, 6-3, 2-6, for the second match done, tying the team score at 1-1.  Mack's dramatic win at No. 1 followed for a 2-1 VSU lead, followed by Wedel at No. 4 for a 3-1 advantage.  Barry regained some momentum and pulled within 3-2 with a win at No. 6, also in a ten-point tiebreaker as Tim Buttner downed junior Cameron Henricy Trigolos, 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 10-7.  That left Bartley to clinch the victory at No. 2 with his three-set heroics.
 
The teams then were able to get the doubles portion in as Carvalho/Wedel won at No. 3 over Cazaban/Rodriguez, 6-1.  Barry's top two tandems won to claim the doubles point. 
 
VSU returns to action on Saturday, March 12, at 2 p.m. at No. 18 Flagler College.  Check back following the match for a complete recap and stats.  The Blazers next home match will be Friday, Mar. 25 at 2 p.m. versus Lynn at the VSU Tennis Complex.