VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 1-ranked Valdosta State men's tennis team made quick work of its 2024 Gulf South Conference-opener in a 7-0 victory over Shorter Thursday afternoon at the VSU Tennis Complex.  
 
The Blazers (2-0, 1-0 GSC) needed just 29 minutes to win the doubles point, dropping a combined five games.  Senior Christian Wedel and sophomore Jan Skerbatis won at No. 2, 6-2 over Sebastian Gamez and Carlos Tublo, while top duo of junior Rodrigo Carvalho and senior Luca Mack won 6-1 to clinch the point.  Junior Takeshi Taco and freshman Jerome Iaconi won 6-2 at No. 3 for the sweep.
 
Heading to singles play, the Blazers won all six matches in straight-sets beginning with No. 16-ranked junior Boruch Skierkier winning at No. 5, 6-0, 6-0 over Frederico Roman for a 2-0 lead.  Skerbatis won 6-0, 6-1, at No. 6 for a 3-0 lead and the Blazers clinched the match at No. 3 as Taco, ranked No. 4 nationally, won his second-straight match this spring without dropping a game over Tublo.  Wedel, who entered No. 29 nationally, won 6-1, 6-0, at No. 4 singles, while Mack dispatched Gamez at the top spot, 6-0, 6-2, and Carvalho won 6-2, 6-1 at No. 2 for the sweep.  
 
With the win, VSU now has won 31 of its last 34 matches overall and 22 of the last 23 regular season matches.  Impressively, the Blazers have won 15-straight Gulf South Conference matches during the regular season dating back to a 4-3 loss at West Florida on Mar. 22, 2022, and have won 74 of its last 79 GSC regular season matches since 2015. 
 
The Blazers head to South Florida for a pair of matches this weekend, facing No. 2 Barry on Saturday at 12 p.m., in Miami, Fla., and then head to Boca Raton, Fla., to battle No. 22 Lynn on Sunday at 10 a.m.
 
Check back with vstateblazers.com for links to live stats and streaming of the matches.