VALDOSTA, Ga. – Following big weeks for both the Valdosta State men's and women's tennis teams, the Gulf South Conference announced VSU had swept the weekly tennis awards.  VSU sophomore Jan Skerbatis earned men's player of the week, while freshman Jerome Iaconi was freshman of the week.  On the women's side, junior Olivia Pezo was named player of the week and freshman Denisa Hanakova earned top freshman honors.
 
Skerbatis, a native of Koenigsbrunn, Germany, had another outstanding week for the red and black as he helped the No. 3 Blazers to a pair of key wins downing No. 24 Auburn Montgomery 7-0 and No. 26 Hawaii Pacific 4-0.  He went 2-0 in singles and doubles this week as he, along with junior Boruch Skierkier, ranked then-36^th nationally, downed No. 40 Alex Verdasco and Agustin Marquez of AUM, 6-4.  Skerbatis then defeated Marquez 6-1, 6-2 at the No. 6 position against the Warhawks. 
 
On Sunday versus HPU, Skerbatis/Skierkier won 6-2 over Lennard Richter and Jim Walder. And he then downed Bruno Johannes in singles, 6-2, 7-6 (7-2).  For the spring, Skerbatis is 8-4 in singles and 6-0 in GSC play.  He is 16-1 in doubles this season, while he is 13-7 overall this year in singles and 22-4 in doubles including the fall.  This is his first GSC Player of the Week accolade this season.
 
Iaconi, a native of Perth, Australia, is 12-3 this season and a perfect 7-0 in GSC play this spring.  He has won 11-straight matches in singles, including a 6-1, 6-0 decision against Verdasco of AUM and then won 6-1, 6-4 versus Walder of HPU this week.  In doubles, he is 4-5 for the season.  This is his first weekly honor of the season.  
 
Pezo, a native of Malmo, Sweden, went 4-0 in singles this week helping VSU to a 2-2 record for the week. She downed Nahia Izco at No. 5 singles of AUM 7-6 (7-5), 1-6, 6-3, in the thrilling upset victory over the No. 5-ranked Warhawks, while she won in straight-sets versus Florida Southern, No. 16 Tampa and No. 42 Hawaii Pacific.  She is 9-8 in singles this spring and 6-1 in GSC play, while she is 7-8 in doubles for the season.  This is her first weekly honor of the season.  
 
Hanakova hails from Brno, Czech Republic, and went 3-1 in singles this week for the Blazers at the Nos. 2 and 1 spot in the lineup.  She recorded wins over Ana Villalvazo of AUM, Beatriz Costa of Florida Southern and Victoria Sanchez of Tampa, before falling to No. 36-ranked Abigail Wild of Hawaii Pacific at the top spot.  She is 10-7 this spring in singles and 5-3 in GSC play, while she is 8-7 in doubles this year and 6-1 in league play.  This marks her first GSC weekly honor of the season.