VALDOSTA, Ga. – The top-ranked Valdosta State men's tennis team defeated No. 6 Saint Leo Friday afternoon at the VSU Tennis Complex. 
 
On a cold and breezy day, the top-ranked Blazers came out on fire and took a 1-0 lead winning doubles at Nos. 1 and 3.  At No. 3 doubles, senior Boruch Skierkier and junior Jan Skerbatis won 6-0 over Enes Kocu and Leonardo Pisa, while No. 6-ranked Blazer duo of senior Takeshi Taco and senior Xaveam Van Wijk won 6-3 over Kodai Kato and Eduardo Cohen to clinch the team point.  Blazer tandem of graduate Arthur Board and senior Edgar Destouet were up 5-3 at No. 2 when the point was clinched.  
 
VSU won the first set in four of the six singles matches, as SLU's Vincent Thiel won 6-2 in the first set over No. 1-ranked Taco at the top spot in the lineup, but No. 6 singles player, Blazer senior Arthur Bord, gave VSU a 2-0 lead with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Pisa.  Taco battled back in the second set tying at 5-5, but Thiel then took a 6-5 lead.  During that time, Destouet won 6-4, 7-5 at No. 3 singles for a 3-0 VSU lead.  Thiel then won on his serve for a 6-2, 7-5 upsetting Taco and trimming the VSU lead to 3-1.  Blazer freshman Julien Doitteau clinched the match for the Blazers with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Kocu at No. 5 for a 4-1 victory.  
 
VSU improved to 2-0 on the year and won its 18^th-straight match dating back to last season and the fourth-straight against Saint Leo.  Saint Leo fell to 4-3 on the year.  The Blazers host Coastal Georgia Saturday morning at 11 a.m.  Links to live stats can be found on vstateblazers.com on the men's tennis schedule page.