VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State men's and women's tennis teams continue on the road as they travel to Montgomery, Ala., to battle Gulf South Conference foes Mississippi College and Auburn Montgomery this week. 
 
Fans can access links to live stats of the matches at vstateblazers.com on the men's tennis schedule page. VSU is scheduled to play Mississippi College on Friday morning at 11 a.m. ET and AUM on Saturday at 12 p.m. ET.
 
The Blazer men's team enters ranked fourth nationally and are 11-0 overall and 5-0 in Gulf South Conference play to lead the league.  VSU has qualified for the GSC Championship already as has West Florida (17-1, 6-1 GSC) and Lee (11-2, 4-2 GSC) both whom VSU has defeated this season.  Mississippi College is 2-1 in GSC play and 9-6 overall as the Choctaws enter ranked 30^th nationally.  Auburn Montgomery is 2-3 in GSC play and 6-7 overall, following a 7-0 loss to West Florida on Wednesday.  
 
Looking at the national poll, the Blazers have wins over No. 1 West Florida and No. 3 Barry and yet are still behind both in the latest ITA poll. Flagler is second this week, while Lubbock Christian is fifth to round out the top five.  Saint Leo is ninth who VSU also defeated this season, while Lee is 22^nd, Columbus State is 23^rd and Lander is 24^th – all teams VSU has beaten this season.  VSU is the only undefeated men's tennis team remaining in NCAA Division II.
 
VSU is coming off a 5-2 win at No. 30 Columbus State on Tuesday in a match where the Blazers altered the normal lineup a bit as VSU won the doubles point with a big upset win at the top spot in doubles from senior Edgar Destouet and graduate student Arthur Bord, downing No. 4-ranked duo of Andrea Sandrone and Elias Peter, 6-4.  VSU also won at No. 2 doubles as junior Jan Skerbatis and senior Boruch Skierkier won 6-3 over Benedek Szombathelyi and Yike Liu.  
 
In singles, Destouet, ranked 16^th nationally at the time, downed Samer Al Tori, 6-3, 6-2 for a 2-0 lead.  CSU rallied to tie the match at 2-2, but Skerbatis won 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) at No. 4 singles and Skierkier, ranked seventh nationally at the time, won 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 at the top spot over Camilo Cano for the win.  
 
The win stretched VSU's winning streak to its last 27 matches dating back to last season.  VSU won its final 16 matches of the season en route to its third national title in a thrilling 4-3 win over Flagler in Orlando last May.  
 
Nationally speaking, seniors Takeshi Taco and Xaveam Van Wijk are seventh nationally at 12-3 this season and 7-1 this spring at the top spot in the lineup.  In singles, Taco is No. 1 nationally as he is 17-1 overall and 7-1 this spring.  Skierkier is eighth nationally at 19-3 this year and 8-1 this spring.  Destouet is 19^th nationally at 16-1 overall and 10-0 this spring.  
 
For the Choctaws, Alex Benichou Blanchard is fourth nationally in singles at 19-7 this season and 10-3 this spring.  In doubles, Benichou Blanchard and Rafael Sabio are 12-8 this year and 5-3 this spring for 48^thnationally.  Sabio is 10-3 this spring in singles and 12-5 overall this year. 
 
The Blazers have won the last 12 meetings in the series dating back to Mar. 28, 2013.  VSU won 4-0 in the GSC Championship match last year in Montgomery, Ala., and won 5-2 in Pensacola, Fla., during the regular season.   
 
The Warhawks are led this season by Giuseppe Bonaiuti who is 27^th nationally in singles as he is 13-7 overall this year and 8-4 this spring to lead the team.  He and teammate Jami Savolainen are 26^th nationally in doubles at 11-8 this year and 7-5 this spring at the top spot in the lineup. 
 
VSU leads the all-time series with AUM 9-0 and won 7-0 in Valdosta last season on Apr. 10.  The Blazers are 3-0 at AUM, but 4-0 overall in Montgomery with a GSC Championship win on Apr. 22, 2023, 4-0.  
 
On the women's side, the Blazers enter at 3-7 overall and 2-3 in Gulf South Conference play.  VSU dropped a 5-2 decision on Tuesday at No. 31 Columbus State as the short-handed Blazers forfeited at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles, but the Blazers won the doubles point with a 6-2 win at No. 2 doubles and a thrilling 7-6 (8-6) win at the top spot by senior Olivia Pezo and freshman Alyssa Novoa.  In singles, Pezo won in three sets with a 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 win at No. 3 for the second team point.  
 
In singles, sophomore Natalie Rainke moved up to No. 14 this week for the Blazers as she is 10-5 in singles this year and 5-4 this spring.  VSU is 21-29 in singles this spring, while the team is 8-14 in doubles with Novoa/Pezo are 2-2, while senior Viktoriia Fedorova and Novoa also are 2-2, as are Rainke/Fedorova.    
 
Mississippi College enters with a 12-4 record overall and a 2-1 mark in GSC play as the Choctaws are 22^ndnationally.  MC is coming off a 4-3 loss to No. 10 West Florida last Friday.  MC's Rocio Martinez Azcarraga is 13-4 in singles this season for 51^st nationally and 8-3 this spring, while teammate Emma Roberts is 13-5 overall and 8-3 this spring for 57^th nationally.  MC is 49-18 this spring in singles and 27-12 in doubles as Roberts and Ana Julissa De Mata Rodriguez are 8-1 in doubles this spring, while Katherina Weber and Martinez Azcarraga are 8-4 in doubles.  
 
The Choctaws have a 5-4 lead in the series over the last nine matches dating back to Apr. 3, 2015.  MC has won the last two meetings and five of six.  This marks the first matchup in the series in Montgomery as the previous nine meetings all have been in Pensacola, Fla.
 
AUM enters with an 8-5 record overall and a 2-2 mark in GSC play and are 34^th nationally.  The Warhawks are coming off a 5-2 win over West Florida on Wednesday.  This spring, Nahia Izco is 8-5 in singles, while Sofia Neri is 8-2 to lead the team.  AUM is 39-30 in singles, while doubles tandem of Izco and Melissa Yakup Pour are 10-1. 
 
The Warhawks lead the series with VSU 9-2 since Feb. 20, 2011.  AUM won 4-3 in the conference tournament last season, while VSU snapped a four-match skid with a 5-2 win in Valdosta on Apr. 10, 2024.  Both VSU wins in the series have come in Valdosta with the other a 4-3 win on Mar. 3, 2020.