VALDOSTA, Ga. – The top-ranked Valdosta State men's tennis team is set to open the 2024 spring season Tuesday at 2 p.m., at Georgia College in Milledgeville, Ga.  
 
The Blazers were announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) last month as the top-ranked team in NCAA Division II men's tennis heading into the spring season.  Defending national champion Barry is second, followed by Saint Leo, Flagler and Gulf South Conference rival West Florida rounds out the top five.  Columbus State sits sixth, followed by Indianapolis, Wayne State (Mich.), UT Tyler, and Wingate is tenth.  Lee is 14^th in the poll, while Auburn Montgomery is 16^th and West Alabama is 19^th.  Mississippi College is among others receiving votes.  
 
With the Top 25 announced, the Blazer men's tennis team is scheduled to face at least 11 teams this season who either are ranked or receiving votes in the preseason poll.  The Blazers, who finished 21-1 last season and won their 15^th Gulf South Conference title, return a strong lineup with senior Luca Mack and junior Rodrigo Carvalho who earned ITA All-America honors last season. 
 
Following the match at Georgia College, VSU will open the home slate on Thursday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. versus Gulf South Conference foe Shorter, followed by trips to No. 2 Barry (Feb. 10 / 10 a.m.) and No. 22 Lynn (Feb. 11 / 10 a.m.) to round out the first week of action.  
 
Individually, senior returnee Christian Wedel is 29^th in singles, while junior newcomers Takeshi Taco and Boruch Skierkier are fourth and 16^th nationally, respectively.  In doubles, Taco and Carvalho are 17^th nationally, while Wedel/Skierkier are 18^th.  Along with Skierkier and Taco, Blazer head coach John Hansen added the services of talented newcomers junior Xaveam Van Wijk, a transfer from Belmont Abbey, along with sophomore Northwest Missouri State transfer Jan Skerbatis and freshmen Jerome laconi and Matteo Castellazzi.  
 
VSU is coming off a 21-1 season in 2023, where it went 9-0 in Gulf South Conference play and won the program's league-best 16^th GSC title.  The Blazers lost 4-1 to eventual national champion Barry in the NCAA Division II Semifinals last May in Orlando, Fla.  
 
Georgia College is 0-2 on the year with a pair of 4-3 losses to both Tusculum and Francis Marion last weekend.  The Bobcats went 8-10 last season and 2-4 in Peach Belt Conference play.  VSU won 7-0 on Feb. 7, 2023, in Valdosta, in the season-opener a year ago.  VSU swept the doubles matches and five of the six singles matches were in straight-sets, while Carvalho defeated then-No. 14 Karol Malirz 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (10-8).  
 
For the Bobcats this season, Luka Sauer Jimenez is 2-0 in singles play at the No. 2 spot, while Noe Villen and Rodrigo Perez Crespo are 2-0 at the No. 3 spot in doubles to lead the team.  GC returns preseason all-PBC honoree Gabe Cizek, brother of former Blazer Robert Cizek, went 7-9 last season in singles and 3-3 in league play a year ago.  GC was picked tied for fifth in the preseason PBC poll.  Cizek did not play against either Tusculum or Francis Marion last weekend.  The Blazers are 9-2 in the last 11 meetings with GC and have won three-straight dating back to a 4-3 loss in Milledgeville on Feb. 6, 2019.  
 
Check back with vstateblazers.com for a complete recap of the match Tuesday evening.  Click here for links to live stats of Tuesday's match.