MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Valdosta State men's tennis team opened the 2024 Gulf South Conference Championship with a 4-0 victory over Montevallo, Saturday morning at Lagoon Park and O'Connor Tennis Center.  The Blazers, who are the No. 2-seed in the tournament, move onto Sunday's semifinal at 11 a.m. ET versus No. 6-seed West Alabama.
 
The Blazers, who are third nationally, improved to 18-3 overall this season and now stand at 73-18 all-time in the GSC Championship.  Montevallo ended its season with a 7-12 record overall and fell to 1-6 all-time in the GSC postseason championship.
 
VSU got things started quickly as Blazer duo of junior Boruch Skierkier and sophomore Jan Skerbatis, ranked 31^st nationally, needed just 19 minutes for a 6-0 victory at the third doubles spot.  Moments later, junior Takeshi Taco and junior Xaveam Van Wijk won 6-3 at No. 2 doubles to earn the team point.  Top duo of seniors Luca Mack and Rodrigo Carvalho, ranked seventh nationally, were tied 4-4 when the point was clinched.
 
For singles, senior Christian Wedel won 6-0, 6-3 at the No. 6 spot over Ryota Nakajima for a 2-0 lead, while Skierkier, ranked 20^th nationally, won 6-2, 6-1 at No. 2 singles and Taco, ranked sixth nationally, won 6-2, 6-3 over Vittorio Noli to clinch the match. 
 
Check back with vstateblazers.com on Sunday afternoon for a complete recap and stats of the semifinal match.  Click here for the GSC Men's Tennis Championship Central webpage.