VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 6-ranked Valdosta State men's tennis team is scheduled to close out the 2022 regular season spring schedule with No. 47 Auburn Montgomery on Wednesday at 3 p.m. at the VSU Tennis Courts. 
 
The Blazers are coming off a heartbreaking 4-3 loss at top-ranked Columbus State last Wednesday.  In the match, CSU jumped out to a 1-0 lead winning the doubles point with wins at Nos.  2 and 3.  Top ranked duo of sophomores Luca Mack and Rodrigo Carvalho won 7-6 (7-5) at the top spot over No. 4-ranked duo of Alvaro Regalado and Javier Cueto Ramos.  
 
In singles, Mack, ranked No. 8 nationally, upset top-ranked Regalado, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) at the top spot, while freshman Lamar Bartley won at No. 3 in upset fashion over No. 25 Tommaso Schold, 7-5, 6-7, 6-4 and Carvalho, ranked No. 60^th, upset No. 37 Cueto Ramos, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, at No. 2.
 
VSU is 11-5 on the year and 7-1 in Gulf South Conference play, sitting second in the league standings behind West Florida who is 17-6 overall and 9-0 in league play.  VSU clinched the No. 2-seed in the upcoming GSC Championships already, set for Apr. 28-30 at Lagoon Park and O'Connor Tennis Center in Montgomery, Ala.
 
Last Friday the initial NCAA Region Rankings were announced and the Blazers were fourth in the poll.  Barry was atop of the rankings, followed by Embry-Riddle and Saint Leo was third.  VSU was fourth, followed by Lynn, West Florida, Florida Southern, Delta State, West Alabama and Lee was tenth.  The top eight teams in the final rankings released on Sunday, May 1 will advance to the NCAA South Regional.  The Selection Show will be broadcast on NCAA.com.  Benedict from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) won the SIAC Championship last weekend and earned the automatic bid from the conference to the regional.  
 
The regional will be contested at two sites with four teams at each site and usually the top two seeds when the bracket is announced host each of the two locations of the regional.  The winners of each site will then play to advance to the National Championship Round, scheduled for May 17-21, 2022, at Sandlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla. 
 
AUM has clinched a spot in the conference tournament, but the seed isn't known as of yet.  The Warhawks are 5-3 in league play and 10-10 overall.  AUM is coming off a 5-2 loss at West Alabama.  
 
Leading the way for the Warhawks is David Rieme in singles at 10-4 and 3-1 this spring.  He is 6-3 at the top spot in the lineup, while he is 4-1 at the No. 2 spot.  Giovanni Bellio is 9-5 this spring and 4-1 in league play, while Joao Guariente is 9-8 and 6-2 in league play.  Guariente has won his last three matches for the Warhawks' longest current winning streak in singles.  For doubles, Muhamad Bedwan and Rieme are No. 39^th nationally with a 4-6 mark this spring and a 1-2 record in GSC play.  The duo is 9-11 this year against D2 competition.  
 
VSU leads the all-time series with AUM, 7-0, dating back to 2011, and won twice last season, including in the conference tournament (4-1) and in the regular season (7-0).   This will be the fourth meeting in Valdosta as VSU is 3-0 at home against the Warhawks.  
 
This season, the Blazers are led by Mack and Carvalho in doubles as the tandem is 9-4 this spring and 5-1 in GSC play as the top-ranked team in the nation.  The duo has won seven-straight matches.  Bartley and junior Christian Felline are 8-5 at No. 2 doubles and 4-2 in GSC play, while sophomores Cameron Henricy Trigolos and Christian Wedel are 6-2 overall and 5-1 in GSC play at No. 3 doubles. 
 
Mack is 11^th nationally in singles and is 11-5 at the top spot in the lineup and 6-2 in GSC play. He has won six-straight matches overall.  Carvalho is tied for 53^rd nationally and is 12-3 this spring, while going 7-1 in league play.  Wedel is 67^th nationally at 13-2 overall and a perfect 8-0 in league play.  Trigolos is 10-4 this spring and 7-0 in league play.  
 
VSU, who is the three-time defending league champion, will be the No. 2-seed in the upcoming GSC Championship and will face No. 7-seed Lee on Thurs., Apr. 28 at Lagoon Park and O'Connor Tennis Center in Montgomery, Ala., at 11 a.m. ET. VSU has won a GSC-record 14 men's tennis GSC titles in program history.  Check back with vstateblazers.com for more information on the GSC Championship.