MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The No. 3-ranked Valdosta State men's tennis team blanked West Alabama on Sunday in the semifinal round of the 2024 Gulf South Conference Championship, 4-0. VSU advances to the championship match Monday versus Mississippi College, who is making its first trip to the finals in program history.
VSU improved to 19-3 overall with the win over UWA, while the Tigers finished the season 8-13. UWA won at three doubles, 6-2, as Caden Goldammer and Nuuti Jokinen upset Blazer duo of sophomore
Jan Skerbatis and
Boruch Skierkier, who were 31
st nationally, 6-2. VSU fired back with a win at No. 2 doubles with junior
Takeshi Taco and junior
Xaveam Van Wijk winning 6-2, over Wilson Igbinovia and Eita Ishikawa, setting up the pivotal matchup at the top spot. VSU duo of seniors
Rodrigo Carvalho and
Luca Mack, ranked seventh nationally, won 7-6 over No. 40-ranked Lucas Hammond and Jacob Tapia for the early 1-0 lead.
With the momentum, the Blazers used a quick 6-2, 6-0 win from freshman
Jerome Iaconi at No. 4 singles over Ishikawa and senior
Christian Wedel made the score 3-0 in favor of the red and black with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Federico Iturbe at No. 6 singles. Skierkier, ranked 20
th nationally, clinched the match at No. 2 singles with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Igbinovia.
Following the win, VSU advanced to its ninth-straight GSC Championship match and 28
th appearance overall in the finals (15-12). VSU is going for its GSC-record 16
th title on Monday and the finals on the men's side has featured either VSU or West Florida or both every year since 1994. Overall, VSU now is 74-18 all-time in the GSC postseason tournament.
The No. 26 Choctaws upset No. 4 West Florida, who also was the top-seed in the tournament, on Sunday to reach the finals in the other semifinal matchup, 4-2. MC lost the doubles point, but rallied in singles winning four of the five completed matches.
Monday's match with the Choctaws is scheduled for an 11 a.m. ET start and fans can access links to live stats by
clicking here.
