VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State men's and women's tennis teams are set to host nationally ranked Saint Leo on Friday at 3 p.m. at the VSU Tennis Complex.  The Blazer men's team enters the match sixth nationally, while the Saint Leo men's team is atop the national poll, while the SLU women's team is No. 3 in the nation.
 
Fans can access links to live stats and streaming of the matches on the Blazer men's and women's tennis schedule pages at vstateblazers.com.
 
The VSU men's team won two matches last week with a pair of 7-0 victories over Montevallo and Delta State to improve to 7-0 on the year and 3-0 in Gulf South Conference play, yet somehow dropped from No. 3 nationally to No. 6 in the latest ITA Top 25.  Saint Leo remained in the top spot for the second-straight week, while UT Tyler (Texas) moved from eighth to second, followed by Indianapolis in third.  VSU, who has defeated both Nos. 4 and 5 in the ranking sits sixth behind Barry (4^th) and West Alabama (5^th).  West Florida is seventh in the rankings, followed by Columbus State, Cameron (Okla.) and Wayne State (Mich.) is tenth.  Lee, who VSU travels to next Tuesday, is 14^th, while Mississippi College sits 19^th and Auburn Montgomery is 30^th.  
 
Individually, junior Luca Mack, who is 15-1 this year in singles, won both of his matches last week and moved from top in the nation to second.  Columbus State's Santiago Perez, who was second last week, moved to first in the poll.  Mack is the only Blazer ranked in the singles top 75.  He and junior teammate Rodrigo Carvalho moved into the top 50 for doubles this week as they are 42^nd.  The duo is 6-1 this spring and 3-0 in GSC play at the top spot in doubles.  Carvalho is 7-0 this spring in singles and 3-0 in league play, while junior Christian Wedel is 6-1 in singles and 3-0 in league play. Wedel and junior Pedro Cordeiro are 5-1 in doubles at the No. 3 position.  Mack was named GSC Player of the Week for the second-straight week.  
 
Saint Leo enters with a 15-0 record overall and a 2-0 mark in the Sunshine State Conference.  The match Friday will have potential NCAA postseason hosting implications.  The Lions are coming off a 5-3 victory over No. 2 Indianapolis on Mar. 16 and had their match with No. 4 Barry postponed due to weather.  SLU's Ivan Marrero was named Sunshine State Conference Player of the Week.  He is fourth nationally in singles this season at 13-0 at the top spot in the lineup.  He, teamed with Tao Castillo, are 44^th nationally in doubles are 8-2 at No. 2 doubles this season.  In addition to Marrero, Vincent Thiel (17-1) is 17^th nationally in singles, while Martin Soukal is 18^th (16-2) and Castillo is 33^rd (7-2).  In doubles, Vincent Thiel and Ghali Mensour are 17^th nationally. 
 
The Lions have won four of the last five matches in the series dating back to Apr. 6, 2013.  VSU won 4-0 on May 11, 2019, in the NCAA Regional, while SLU won 5-2 in Saint Leo, Fla., on Mar 1, 2022, in the previous meeting.  Wedel and senior Christian Felline had wins in the match, both in three sets last year as Wedel downed Mensour 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, and Felline won 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-4).  
 
The Blazer women's team has won its last two matches with a pair of 6-1 victories over Montevallo and Delta State.  VSU is 3-4 on the year and 2-1 in Gulf South Conference play.  This spring, freshman Kayla Greco is 3-2 in singles and 2-1 in league play, while junior Olivia Pezo is 3-3 and 2-1 in conference play, as is sophomore Anastasiia Vorobiova.  In doubles, Greco/Pezo are 3-2 at No. 2 and 2-1 in conference play.  
 
Saint Leo enters with a 13-2 record overall and a 3-1 mark in the SSC.  The Lions enter after a 6-1 victory over No. 19 Washburn (Kan.) and a 6-1 loss to No. 1 Barry, along with a 6-1 victory over No. 3 Indianapolis.   Marta Vicens is 14-6 in singles and seventh nationally, while Claudia Borbon is 11^th nationally at 12-8.  Luzia Obermeier is 40^th at 12-3, while Kamilya Shailina is 14-2 and 63^rd in singles.  In doubles, Lavinia Lancellotti and Vicens are third nationally at 12-3 at the top spot in the lineup this spring.
 
The Lions have won two of the last three in the series and two-straight with a 5-2 victory last season in Saint Leo, Fla., while VSU's last win came on Apr. 6, 2013, in Pensacola, Fla., 5-4.  
 
Following the matches on Friday, VSU heads to Shorter (Mar. 28) and Lee (Mar. 29), before opening the final month of the regular season with matches in Pensacola, Fla.