MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The No. 8-ranked Valdosta State men's tennis team downed No. 30 Lee University 4-0 in the first round of the 2022 Gulf South Conference Men's Tennis Championship Thursday morning at the Lagoon Park and O'Connor Tennis Center.
 
VSU (13-5) opened the match with two wins at doubles to secure the early advantage.  Top-ranked duo of sophomores Luca Mack and Rodrigo Carvalho dispatched No. 38-ranked duo of Nico Ramirez and Bruno Medeiros, 6-1, while sophomores Cameron Henricy Trigolos and Christian Wedel won at No. 3, 6-4 for the 1-0 lead.
 
The momentum carries into singles play as the Blazers won at Nos. 1, 2 and 4 to win the match.  Mack, ranked No. 9 in singles, downed No. 34 Ramirez 6-3, 6-3, at the top spot, while No. 48 Carvalho won 6-2, 6-1 at No. 2 over Jordi Dasi and Wedel won 6-4, 6-4 over Medeiros at No. 4 to clinch the victory.   Lee finished at 10-7.  
 
The Blazers move onto the semifinal round to face No. 3-seed Delta State on Friday at 11 a.m. ET at Lagoon Park.  VSU downed the Statesmen 4-3 in Pensacola, Fla., on Mar. 21 in the regular season matchup between the two teams.  Delta State defeated Montevallo 4-2.  
 
VSU now has qualified for its 30^th-straight trip to the GSC Semifinals and is searching for its league-best 15^th league championship and fourth-straight title.  Click here for the GSC Championship Central webpage.