VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State women's tennis team opens the 2023 Gulf South Conference championship facing No. 27 West Florida on Thursday morning at 11 a.m. ET at Lagoon Park in Montgomery, Ala. 
 
The Blazers are the No. 6-seed in the tournament, while UWF is the No. 3-seed.  VSU enters with a 6-9 record overall and went 5-5 in Gulf South Conference play this spring, while UWF is 12-8 and went 7-3 in league play.  The two teams just met a week ago Monday in Valdosta, with UWF winning 5-2.  
 
Click here for the GSC Women's Tennis Championship Central.
 
Despite the loss, the Blazers played tough with junior Natalie Kohoutkova and freshman Evelyn Altmaier winning in doubles at No. 3, 7-5 over Mayumi Saguchi and Guadalupe Martinez.  Kohoutkova won 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 at No. 1 singles over Saguchi, while junior Olivia Pezo won at No. 2 singles, 6-4, 6-3. 
 
The winner of the match then will face the winner of No. 2-seed Auburn Montgomery vs. No. 7-seed Montevallo on Friday, Apr. 21 at 11 a.m. ET at Lagoon Park.  The championship match is set for Saturday, Apr. 22 at 11 a.m. ET also at Lagoon Park.
 
VSU has won four conference championships with its last coming in 2010 with a 5-1 victory over West Florida.  The four titles are good for third all-time in GSC history and second-most of current member institutions.  West Florida leads the way with 19 titles.  
 
The Blazers are 46-28 all-time in the GSC Championship and has qualified for the championship match 16 times with the four victories.  VSU has played UWF 14 times in the championship match and this year marks the first time of playing the Argos prior to the championship match.  VSU is 3-11 against UWF in championship match.  VSU's first conference title came in 1994, followed with titles in 2005, 2008 and 2010.  The Blazers last reached the conference title match in 2017, falling to UWF, 5-4. 
 
The Argos have won the last 16 meetings in the series and leads 21-10 all-time.  VSU's last win came on Apr. 18, 2010, in the conference championship match.  
 
UWF enters led by No. 44 Aline Midori who is 13-5 in singles and 7-1 in GSC play.  Carlota Verdu is No. 65 nationally and 9-9 this year, while she went 6-4 in GSC matches.  Jenna Svatos is 12-7 and 8-2 in league play, while Luiza Daud, the reigning GSC Women's Tennis Player of the Week, is 12-4 overall and 7-2 in league play.  
 
In doubles, the Argos are led by Midori and Verdu who are No. 21 nationally as the duo is 10-5 this year and 5-2 in league play at the top spot.  Daud and Nathalia Mossambani are 9-1 this spring and 5-0 in league play at No. 2 doubles as they have won nine-straight, while Martinez and Saguchi are 7-3 at No. 3 doubles and 3-2 in league play.  
 
For the Blazers, junior Olivia Pezo is 8-5 overall and 7-3 in league play this season at the No. 2 position in the lineup for singles.  Freshman Kayla Greco is 8-5 overall and 7-3 in GSC play mainly at No. 3, while Kohoutkova is 7-6 at the top spot and 7-3 in conference play.  Pezo/Greco are 7-5 in doubles and went 7-3 in league play this season at the No. 2 position, while Kohoutkova and Altmaier are 6-2 this spring at the No. 3 spot.