CLEVELAND, Tenn. – The No. 3-ranked Valdosta State men's tennis team battled back from an early deficit and won 4-3 at No. 25 Lee in a Gulf South Conference match Wednesday afternoon running its winning streak to 25 matches dating back to last season.
 
The Blazers (9-0, 4-0 GSC) dropped the doubles point for the first time this season as Lee's (6-2, 1-2 GSC) top tandem of Quinn Groenendijk and Jip Langerhuizen upset No. 5-ranked duo of seniors Takeshi Taco and Xaveam Van Wijk to claim the team point, 7-5.  Lee's No. 3 duo of Wilhan van der Merwe and Stefan Mos downed senior Boruch Skierkier and junior Jan Skerbatis, 6-3, while Blazer duo of senior Edgar Destouet and graduate student Arthur Bord won 6-4 at No. 2 doubles over Filipe Krohn and Jackson Vaughan. 
 
VSU quickly erased the deficit with wins at Nos. 1-3 singles as Taco, ranked No. 2 nationally, won 6-3, 6-4 at the top spot over van der Merwe, while Skierkier, ranked No. 5 nationally, bested Groenendijk 6-2, 6-4 at No. 2 singles and Destouet, ranked No. 17, downed Krohn 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) for a 3-1 lead. 
 
Things then got tense at Nos. 4-6 as Langerhuizen won 6-4, 6-2 over Skerbatis at No. 4 for a 3-2 score, but Van Wijk kept his poise at No. 6 and won 7-6 (7-3) in the first set and posted a 6-4 win the second set for the match clinching point.  Stefan Mos defeated freshman Julien Doitteau in three sets as Mos wo the opening set 6-4, but Doitteau won the second set in a thriller 7-6 (8-6), while Mos won the third set 6-2.
 
VSU continues on the road as it travels to Montgomery, Ala., for a neutral site matchup with Christian Brothers on Mar. 24 at 1 p.m. ET.  The Blazers then return home to host Georgia College on Mar. 30 at 2 p.m.