VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State men's and women's tennis teams conclude the season-opening home stand with a key Gulf South Conference matchup with West Florida Friday at 2 p.m. at the VSU Tennis Complex.  
 
Fans can access links to live stats of the matches at vstateblazers.com on the respective men's or women's tennis schedule page.  Sunday's match with Lynn has been cancelled for both the men's and the women's teams due to the threat of inclement weather for the latter half of the weekend in Valdosta.
 
The defending national champion Blazer men's tennis team somehow dropped from No. 1 in the ITA rankings to No. 6 this week, while West Florida moved from No. 2 to the top spot.  The undefeated Blazers are 6-0 on the year and 1-0 in Gulf South Conference play, while West Florida is 11-0 and 3-0 in Gulf South Conference play.  On the women's side, VSU is 1-4 overall and 0-1 in GSC play, while UWF is ranked No. 18 nationally and is 6-3 overall and 3-0 in league play.
 
On the men's side, VSU had a convincing 6-1 win over then-No. 5 Barry on Mar. 1, followed by a 4-0 win over top-ranked Georgia Gwinnett of the NAIA ranks on Monday and then a 7-0 win over Lander on Tuesday.  VSU freshman Julien Doitteau earned Gulf South Conference Freshman of the Week honors for the third time this season for his efforts last week.  
 
This season, senior Takeshi Taco remains atop the singles chart with an 11-1 record overall and a 3-1 mark this spring in singles.  Senior Boruch Skierkier is 12-2 overall this season for fifth in the national rankings and is 5-0 this spring.  Senior Edgar Destouet moved into the national rankings after a good fall and a strong start to the spring season at No. 23.  He is a team-best 6-0 this spring in singles.  Doitteau is 4-0 in singles this spring.  
 
In doubles, Taco and senior Xaveam Van Wijk remain sixth nationally with a 6-2 record overall and a 5-0 mark this spring.  Destouet and graduate student Arthur Bord are 43^rd in doubles at 6-2 this year, while they are 2-2 this spring.  
 
The Argos won the ITA D2 National Indoor Championships in February winning 4-2 over then-No. 2 Flagler, 4-3 over No. 4 Barry and 4-0 over No. 8 Washburn (Kan.).  UWF then won three matches in the GSC/Lone Star Crossover defeating then-No. 16 UT Tyler 5-2, No. 19 Midwestern State 6-1 and Cameron 7-0.  
 
In singles, Miguel Cabrera is sixth nationally at 6-1 this year at the top spot in the lineup, while Sebastian Rondon is 10-2 overall and sits 16^th this week and is 8-1 this spring mainly at the No. 2 spot in the lineup.  Diego Duran checks in at 29^th nationally with a 13-3 record this year and 7-1 in 2025 mainly at the No. 4 spot in the lineup, while Sebastian Sotelo is 35^th at 8-2 overall this spring.  Alex Maulouet is the fifth Argo in the Top 75 in singles this week checking in at 67^th with an 8-2 record and 3-0 this spring.  For doubles, Rondon and Duran are 15-5 overall this year and fourth nationally while they are 6-4 this spring at the top spot.  Sotelo and Tomas Leston are 19^th at 7-0 this spring.
 
Along with UWF at the top spot and VSU as sixth, Flagler remains second nationally, followed by Washburn, Charleston (W.Va.) and UT Tyler rounds out the top five.  Following VSU is Lubbock Christian, along with Harding, Midwestern State and Azusa Pacific is tenth.  Mississippi College is 33^rd, while Lee is 40^th and Auburn Montgomery is 48^th.  
 
The UWF/VSU match usually decides who wins the regular season title in the GSC and both have combined for 30 league championship titles with VSU having won 16 titles and UWF 14. For the series, UWF leads 24-20 and won last season during the regular season 4-3 in Pensacola, Fla., on Mar. 30.  VSU won 4-2 in Indianapolis last season in February in the ITA Indoor Championships. VSU has won three of four and the teams are 5-5 in the last ten matches.
 
On the women's side, the Blazers have been right there this season in each match, but have come up just short as they are 1-4 overall and 0-1 in league play.  VSU lost 7-0 to then-No. 1 Barry and 4-0 to Georgia Gwinnett after a 5-0 win over Coastal Georgia and a hard-fought 4-2 loss to then-No. 13 Saint Leo on Feb. 21.
 
Despite the losses, the Blazers have kept their spirits high and are improving each day.  Sophomore Natalie Rainke is 38^th nationally in singles at 6-3 this year and 2-2 at the top spot in the lineup this spring.  Senior Viktoriia Fedorova is 3-2 this spring and 1-0 in league play as the team is 7-16 in singles this spring.  For doubles, the Blazers are 3-8 as freshman Alyssa Novoa and Fedorova are 2-2 in 2025 at the top spot.  VSU is 3-8 in doubles overall this spring. 
 
The Argos enter at 6-3 overall and 3-0 in league play as they went 2-1 at the GSC/LSC crossover with a 6-1 win over No. 18 Cameron and a 4-3 loss to No. 4 Midwestern State.  On Tuesday, No. 2 Nova Southeastern handed UWF a 7-0 loss in Pensacola.  
 
In singles, Carlota Verdu is 46^th nationally at 6-7 this year in singles and 2-5 this spring.  Aline Midori is 8-4 this year and 63^rd nationally as she is 5-3 this spring.  Guadalupe Martinez is 12-2 overall and 66^thnationally, while she is 7-2 this spring.  In doubles, Verdu and Sandra Recuento Tarin are ninth nationally at 7-3 this year and 5-3 this spring at the top spot.  Midori and Martinez are 5-2 in doubles this spring.  
 
UWF leads the all-time series 24-11, but VSU snapped a 19-match winning streak with a 4-3 win in Pensacola in 2023-24 on Mar. 30.  VSU won the doubles point and then clinched the match with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 win by senior Kayla Greco at the No. 4 spot for a 4-2 score before UWF won at No. 6 for the final 4-3 margin.  VSU has not beaten UWF in Valdosta since Apr. 9, 2010, in a 9-0 win as the Argos have won seven-straight in Titletown.