MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The No. 2 Valdosta State men's tennis team defeated No. 1-ranked West Florida in the 2025 Gulf South Conference Men's Tennis Championship match Saturday, 4-1.
With the win, the Blazers claimed their GSC-best 17
th league title as the Blazers now have won three-straight league titles for the first time since 2018-2021, and the third time in program history as VSU won four league titles in a row from 2007-2011. The 2020 championship was not played due to COVID.
The Blazers improved to 20-0 on the year with the victory and handed UWF its second loss of the season (23-2) with both of its losses to VSU. The Blazers extended their winning streak to 36 matches dating back to the final 16 victories of last season en route to the program's third national title in 2024. Either VSU or UWF or both have played in every GSC championship match since 1994.
Marking the 22
nd time in league history VSU and UWF have met in the championship match and the first time since UWF won 4-1 in 2022, this had the makings of another classic matchup and it didn't disappoint.
Beginning with doubles, Blazer duo of senior
Edgar Destouet and graduate
Arthur Bord, ranked No. 8 nationally, defeated No. 44 tandem of Tomas Leston and Sebastian Sotello, 6-3. The Argos won at No. 3 with Miguel Cabrera and Bernardo Costa, 7-5, over junior
Jan Skerbatis and senior
Boruch Skierkier. All eyes then turned to a top ten matchup at the top spot for the all-important team point. Blazer duo of seniors
Takeshi Taco and
Xaveam Van Wijk, ranked tenth nationally, upset No. 1 tandem of Diego Duran and Sebastian Rondon, 7-6. Taco/Van Wijk trailed 2-4 in the tiebreaker and rallied to win 7-5 to claim the team point.
VSU turned up the pressure in singles as Skerbatis won 6-2, 6-4 at No. 5 for a 2-0 lead. From there, Destouet, ranked No. 21 nationally, posted a 6-3, 6-0 win over No. 32 Sotelo, 6-3, 6-0, for a 3-0 lead.
The Argos used a 6-0, 7-5 win from Duran, ranked No. 40 nationally, over sophomore
Jerome Iaconi at No. 4 for a 3-1 deficit, but in another top ten affair, Skierkier, ranked fifth, won in straight-sets over No. 9 Rondon, 6-3, 6-4, at the second singles line for the 4-1 victory.
VSU earns the GSC's automatic berth into the NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Championship and will hear its name called on the NCAA Selection Show, scheduled for Monday May 5, at 8 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.
