VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State men's tennis team moved to third in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Top 25, while junior Luca Mack moved to the top spot nationally in singles.  The Blazers host Montevallo on Friday at 10 a.m. at the VSU Tennis Complex and then head to Pensacola, Fla., to face Delta State Sunday.
 
The Blazers are off to a 5-0 start this season and a 1-0 mark in Gulf South Conference play after a 4-3 victory last Friday in Pensacola, Fla., versus then-No. 8 West Alabama.  VSU also has a 4-3 win over then-No. 1 Barry this season and a 4-2 victory over then-No. 10 Lynn.  
 
Saint Leo moves to the top spot in the poll this week, followed by Indianapolis, VSU, Barry and Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) rounds out the top five.  Columbus State sits sixth, followed by Northwest Missouri State, UT Tyler (Texas), Lee and Lander round out the top ten.  Following VSU and Lee, West Florida is 13^th, while West Alabama is 22^nd, Mississippi College (34^th) and Auburn Montgomery is 37^th among Gulf South Conference foes.  
 
Mack is off to a 13-1 start this season in singles and is 4-0 this spring at the top spot in the lineup.  Santiago Perez of Columbus State is second, followed by Ruben Fonga of Tiffin (Ohio), Gonzalo Fernandez of UT Tyler and Saint Leo's Ivan Marrero rounds out the top five.  For GSC players, Lee's Nicolas Ramirez is 23^rd, while Rafael Sabio of Mississippi College is 34^th, Facundo Bermejo of West Florida is 37^th and UWF's Tomas Descarrega is 44^th, while Delta State's Emiliano Elazarraraz is 59^th at 7-3 this season.  Also in the top 75 for UWF, is Sebastian Sotelo at 65^th, while his teammate Mateo Martinez is 67^th and West Alabama's Illari Vesanen is 72^nd.  
 
Descarrego and Bermejo are second nationally in doubles for UWF, while UWA duo of Lucas Hammond and Marcel Hornung are fifth nationally.  Illia Dehodiuk and Vesanen, also of UWA, are 35^th, while Mississippi College's duo of Felipe Iser and Sabio are 36^th.  
 
Montevallo enters with a 2-5 record overall and a 2-2 mark in GSC play after a 6-1 victory over Christian Brothers on Saturday.  The Falcons are led by Viktor Ek Johansson who is 3-2 in singles, while Paul Sobich and Fabricio Sosa each are 3-4 in singles this spring.
 
In doubles, the Falcons' duo of Philippe Zehender and Sosa are 3-2, including 2-1 at the top spot in the lineup.  VSU is 4-0 against the Falcons and won 7-0 in Montevallo, Ala., on Apr. 8, 2022, in the last meeting.  VSU won 7-0 in Valdosta on Mar. 23, 2021.  
 
Fans can access links to live results of the matches this week by clicking here for the men's tennis schedule page.
 
Delta State enters with an 0-6 record overall and an 0-3 mark in GSC play.  The Statesmen have losses in league play to West Florida, West Alabama and Montevallo thus far.  VSU leads the series with Delta State winning the last 12 dating back to Mar. 31, 2012.  VSU won 4-2 in the GSC Tournament on Apr. 29, 2022, and in Pensacola, Fla., on Mar. 21, 2022, 4-3.  
 
Blazer junior Rodrigo Carvalho is 5-0 this spring in singles, while junior Christian Wedel is 4-1, junior Pedro Cordeiro is 3-2 and sophomore Lamar Bartley is 2-2.  The Blazers are 22-6 in singles this spring, while they are 10-4 in doubles.  Mack/Carvalho are 4-1 at the top doubles spot, while Wedel/Cordeiro are 4-1 at the No. 3 spot.  
 
Following this week's matches, VSU then returns home to host top-ranked Saint Leo on Mar. 24 at 3 p.m. at the VSU Tennis Complex.