VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State men's and women's tennis teams begin a stretch of two-straight weekends in Pensacola, Fla., for Gulf South Conference matches.  The Blazers will battle West Alabama on Friday, Mar. 29 at 3 p.m. ET, followed by facing West Florida on Saturday, Mar. 30 at 11 a.m. ET.
 
The men's team enters the week with a 9-2 record overall and a 2-0 mark in GSC play, are coming off four-straight wins including a pair of victories over No. 14 Lander (6-1) and No. 16 Embry-Riddle (4-1) this past week.  West Alabama enters with a 4-7 record overall and a 2-1 mark in GSC play, while West Florida is 10-4 overall and 4-1 in league play.
 
The Blazer men's team moved to No. 2 this week in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Top 50.  VSU was No. 5 last week and was ranked earlier in the season at the top spot.  Saint Leo leads the current poll, followed by the Blazers, Flagler, Rollins and Barry rounds out the top five.  Washburn is sixth, followed by UIndy, Columbus State, West Florida and Florida Southern is tenth.  Mississippi College is 13^th, while Auburn Montgomery is 22^nd and Lee is 26^th.  
 
In singles, junior Takeshi Taco is fifth nationally with a 16-4 record this school year, while he is 9-2 this spring.  Junior Boruch Skierkier is 15^th at 15-1 this year and a team-best 11-0 this spring, while senior Luca Mack, who was named GSC Player of the Week for the second time on Wednesday, is 26^th with a 9-2 record this spring.  In doubles, Skierkier and sophomore Jan Skerbatis are 6-0 and ranked No. 40 nationally.  VSU is 24-5 this spring in doubles, while the team is 45-16 in singles in 2024.  
 
West Alabama plays at No. 4 Rollins on Wednesday before facing the Blazers Friday.  UWA is coming off a 4-3 loss to Embry-Riddle on Sunday in Valdosta and a 4-0 loss to No. 10 Florida Southern on Tuesday.  UWA's Lucas Hammond is 5-6 this spring and 52^nd nationally in singles.  
 
VSU has won 15 of the last 17 meetings in the series dating back to Mar. 12, 2010.  VSU has won nine-straight also.  Last season, VSU won 4-3 on Mar. 10, 2023, in Pensacola, Fla., marking the closest finish in the series since VSU won 5-4 on Feb. 24, 2013.
 
UWF is led by Sebastian Rondon who is 16-3 in 2023-24 and is 21^st nationally in singles, while Sebastian Sotelo is 27^th at 11-6.  The Argos and Blazers met at the ITA Indoor National Championships in February with VSU winning 4-2.  In that match, VSU won the doubles point, but UWF took a 2-1 lead with wins at Nos. 5 and 6 singles.  Skierkier won 6-3, 6-1 over Mateo Martinez for a 2-2 score, while Mack defeated Bernardo Costa 6-2, 7-5 and Taco won 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) to clinch the match.  
 
The Argos lead the series 23-20 since Feb. 26, 2006, but the Blazers have won the last three in the series, including the meeting earlier this season.  The top two teams the GSC year-in-year-out have combined for 30 GSC titles since the league began in 1972, with VSU winning a league-best 16 titles and UWF with 14.  
 
On the women's side, UWA enters seventh nationally with an 8-7 record overall and a 4-0 mark in the GSC.  The Tigers are coming off a pair of losses to No. 18 Embry-Riddle (4-1) and a 4-1 loss to No. 2 Nova Southeastern.  In singles, Khim Iglupas is 10-1 this season and is sixth nationally to lead the team, while Shaira Rivera is 8-1 in singles.  For doubles, tandem of Hardja Vidnere and Rivera are 8-2 and ranked ninth nationally, while Iglupas and Heden Ly are 9-1 in doubles. 
 
VSU owns a slim 9-8 lead in the last 17 meetings, but UWA has won seven-straight dating back to a 5-1 victory by VSU on Apr. 21, 2017 in Montgomery, Ala.  UWA won 6-1 last season in Pensacola on Mar. 10, 2023. 
 
The Argos are 14^th nationally and 9-5 this season overall and 5-1 in GSC play.  UWF is coming off a 5-2 loss to No. 6 North Georgia on Saturday.  For the Argos, Aline Midori is 63^rd nationally in singles with a 10-4 record at the top spot in the lineup, while Guadalupe Martinez is 11-3.  In doubles, Midori and Martinez are 8-5, while Luiza David and Carlota Verdu are 7-1. 
 
UWF has won 24 of the last 34 matches in the series and 19-straight dating back to Feb. 26, 2006.  VSU's last win came on Apr. 18, 2010, in a 5-1 victory in Montgomery, Ala. 
 
For the Blazers, freshman Aneta Poborilova earned GSC Freshman of the Week honors for the second time, going 1-0 in singles in a 4-1 loss to No. 18 Embry-Riddle on Saturday.  She won 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 at No. 3 singles over Laura Cuesta Bret.  Poborilova is 4-4 in singles this spring and 3-1 at the No. 3 position, while she is 5-2 in doubles this spring at the top spot with fellow freshman Natalie Rainke.  VSU is 3-6 overall and 2-0 in GSC play. 
 
The Blazers then return to Pensacola for more matches the following weekend, before returning home to host Auburn Montgomery on Wednesday, Apr. 10 at 3 p.m. at the VSU Tennis Complex.