VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 1-ranked Valdosta State men's tennis team posted a 7-0 victory over visiting Lander University Tuesday afternoon at the VSU Tennis Complex.  The marked VSU's 22^nd-straight victory as it improved to 6-0 on the year, while Lander saw its six-match winning streak come to an end (6-2).
 
The Blazers claimed the all-important doubles point in thrilling fashion as senior Boruch Skierkier and junior Jan Skerbatis won 6-4 at No. 3 doubles, while Lander duo of Harry Pugh and Brendan Jayaprakash won 6-4 at No. 2 over senior Edgar Destouet and graduate Arthur Bord with the top spot to go.  No. 6-ranked Blazer duo of seniors Xaveam Van Wijk and Takeshi Taco battled back the entire set and trailed 4-5 and 5-6, before winning to force the tiebreaker as they won 7-6 (7-5).
 
In singles, top-ranked Taco made quick work of Merlin Bellet at the No. 2 position, 6-1, 6-2 for a 2-0 Blazer lead.  Destouet won 6-3, 6-0 at No. 3 singles for a 3-0 VSU lead.  Freshman Julien Doitteau won 6-3, 6-4 at No. 5 over Ismail ElShafei to clinch the match and the win. 
 
They decided to play the match out as Van Wijk won 6-3, 6-4 over Max Barriere at No. 6 for a 5-0 lead.  At Nos. 1 and 4, Skierkier, ranked No. 3 nationally, and No. 24 sophomore Jerome Iaconi split sets with Pugh and Jayaprakash, respectively.  Skierkier took a 5-1 lead in the third set, but Pugh won three-straight games to pull within 5-4 and Iaconi also led 5-4 with both winning the final games for the victories.
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The Blazers now return to Gulf South Conference play on Friday as No. 2 West Florida visits at 2 p.m. for a huge league match.  VSU then will host Lynn on Sunday, Mar. 9 at 10 a.m. to close out the opening home stand.