MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The No. 8-ranked Valdosta State Blazer men's tennis quest for a fourth-straight Gulf South Conference title and 15^th GSC title in program history, came up short in a 4-1 loss to No. 11 West Florida on Saturday. 
 
The Argos won their 13^th GSC title in program history as it marked the 22^nd time the Blazers and the Argos battled in the championship match in league history and the sixth-straight season of both teams playing for the title. 
 
UWF (20-6) took the early lead winning two of three doubles matches as the Argos won at No. 2 with Salvador Bandeira and lluis Miralles Miro downing junior Christian Felline and freshman Lamar Bartley, 6-4.  VSU evened the doubles at No. 3 with a 6-3 win by sophomore tandem of Cameron Henricy Trigolos and Christian Wedel over Pedro Codeiro and Bernard Costa. 
Leaving the top doubles match remaining for the all-important team point, UWF's No. 18-ranked duo of Tomas Descarrega and Facundo Bermejo upset top-ranked tandem of sophomores Rodrigo Carvalho and Luca Mack, 7-5 in a tight set throughout. 
 
Heading to singles, VSU tied the match at 1-1 as Bartley, ranked No. 70 nationally, downed Descarrega, 6-4, 6-0, but UWF had wins at Nos. 4-6 to clinch the match.  Cordeiro defeated Henricy Trigolos, 6-0, 6-4 at No. 6, while Sebastian Sotelo won at No. 5 over Felline, 6-4, 6-1 and Bandeira defeated Wedel, 7-6, 6-4 at No. 4. 
 
At the top two spots in the lineup featuring outstanding matches between ranked opponents, both went to three sets and were unfinished as the match was clinched.  No. 9-ranked Mack and No. 14 Cabrera split the first two sets as Mack won the opener 6-2, while Cabrera won the second, 7-5.  At No. 2 singles, Carvalho, ranked 48^th nationally battled back from a 6-4 loss to No. 17 Bermejo for a 6-2 victory in the second. 
 
VSU entered the GSC Championship Weekend fourth in the latest NCAA South Regional rankings, released on Friday and should be in a good position to earn an at large berth to the regional, when the NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Championship field is announced on Tuesday, May 3 at 8 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.  UWF earns the GSC's automatic berth to the regional as the Argos were sixth in Friday's announcement.