VALDOSTA, Ga. – Coming off two key Gulf South Conference wins over No. 30 Mississippi College and Auburn Montgomery last weekend in Montgomery, Ala., the No. 2-ranked Valdosta State men's tennis team heads to Pensacola, Fla., to face West Alabama Thursday at 3 p.m. ET and then return home to host No. 11 Florida Southern on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the VSU Tennis Complex.  
 
VSU enters with a 13-0 record overall and a 7-0 mark in Gulf South Conference play as the team has won its last 29-straight matches dating back to last season.  West Alabama enters at 6-10 overall and 2-4 in GSC play and dropped a 4-1 decision to No. 25 North Georgia on Tuesday, before facing VSU on Thursday.  No. 19 Florida Southern enters the week with a 13-5 record overall and the Mocs are 3-3 in Sunshine State Conference play.  FSC will battle No. 18 Rollins on Thursday, before heading to Valdosta for Saturday's match.
 
The match with West Alabama was originally scheduled for March, but was postponed due to inclement weather.  VSU is coming off a 3-0 week with wins at No. 30 Columbus State, 5-2, and a pair of wins on Montgomery, Ala., versus No. 30 Mississippi College, 5-2, and at 6-1 win at Auburn Montgomery.  VSU has locked up the No. 1-seed in the upcoming Gulf South Conference Championship, Apr. 24-26, at Lagoon Park & O'Connor Tennis Center in Montgomery, Ala.  
 
Blazer senior Boruch Skierkier and freshman Julien Doitteau were named Gulf South Conference Player and Freshman of the Week, respectively, the conference office announced Wednesday. Skierkier went 3-0 this past week at the top spot in the lineup with wins over No. 30 Columbus State, No. 30 Mississippi College and Auburn Montgomery.  Skierkier helped lead the No. 4-ranked Blazers to their 29th-straight victory dating back to last season and a perfect 13-0 as a team this year.  Skierkier, teamed with Jan Skerbatis, went 3-0 in doubles as well at the No. 2 spot helping VSU clinch the doubles point in all three matches.  
 
In singles, he defeated Camilo Cano of Columbus State (6-4, 4-6, 6-4) and upset No. 4-ranked Alex Benichou Blanchard of Mississippi College 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 and won 6-0, 6-4 over No. 27-ranked Giuseppe Bonaiuti of AUM 6-0, 6-4.  In doubles, the tandem didn't drop more than three games in each match and defeated Blanchard/Rafael Fabio of MC who were ranked No. 48, 6-3.  Skierkier is 21-3 this year in singles and 11-6 in doubles, while he is 10-1 in singles this spring and 5-1 in GSC play, while he is 9-2 in doubles this spring and 4-2 in league play.  
 
Doitteau also went 3-0 in singles this week as he played at the No. 5 spot and needed three sets versus Elias Peter of Columbus State (3-6, 6-2, 7-5) and versus Alvaro Saint Martin of MC (4-6, 6-3, 7-6), while he won 6-3, 6-1 over AUM's Augustin Wallert.  He played doubles at No. 3 with Xaveam Van Wijk against Columbus State, but the Blazers already clinched the doubles point before their match was finished.  Doitteau is 9-1 this year and 8-1 this spring, including 4-1 in GSC play.  Doitteau earned his fifth GSC weekly honor of the season and Skierkier earned his second. 
The Blazers moved up two spots in this week's ITA Rankings to second.  Somehow VSU is still behind West Florida, who the Blazers defeated 5-2 in Valdosta on Mar. 7.  Flagler is third this week, followed by Barry and Lubbock Christian is fifth. Azusa Pacific is sixth, followed by Washburn, UT Tyler, Saint Leo and Catawba rounds out the top ten.  
 
VSU senior Takeshi Taco is second in the rankings this week as he is 17-1 in singles and 12-3 in doubles this year with Van Wijk.  Skierkier moved up to fourth this week as he is 21-3 in singles and 11-6 in doubles this year.  Senior Edgar Destouet is 21^st in singles this week as he is 18-1 in singles and 13-3 in doubles.   For doubles, Taco and Van Wijk are eighth this week, while Destouet and graduate student Arthur Bord are 13^th as the duo is 13-3 in doubles this year.
 
The Tigers are led in doubles by Alfonso Portugal and Tomas Almeida who are 14^th nationally in doubles with a 5-7 record.  Federico Iturbe and Jacob Tapia who are 33^rd in the latest rankings.  The duo is 12-4 this year.  In singles, Iturbe is 6-4 this spring, but 0-3 in GSC play, while Portugal is 7-7 in singles and 1-4 in league play and Tapia is 7-6 overall and a team-best 3-1 in league play.  Francisco Oliveira is 45^th in singles with a 6-8 record this year.  
 
VSU leads the all-time series with UWA 17-2 dating back to Mar. 12, 2010, and has won 11-straight dating back to a 5-4 win by UWA on Apr. 5, 2014.  During the winning streak, VSU has outscored UWA 59-14 in team points.  
 
Florida Southern enters the week with a 13-5 record overall and a 3-3 mark in SSC play, following a 4-3 win over No. 35 Lynn and a 6-1 win at Eckerd College.  Prior to facing No. 15 Rollins on Thursday, the Mocs' Mario Garoz is 56^thnationally at 24-3 in singles this year, while he is 16-10 in doubles.  Samuel Frizzelle is 63^rd in singles with a 17-8 record and a 15-10 mark in doubles.    Chris Fok Kow and Garoz are 44^th nationally in doubles at 16-10.
 
The Blazers lead the all-time series with Florida Southern 8-4 and have won the last five in the series, but the team have not met since Mar. 28, 2015.  The Blazers are 5-2 all-time against FSC in Valdosta and have won three-straight at home versus the Mocs.
 
Following the two matches this week, the Blazers play at No. 20 Embry-Riddle on Tuesday, Apr. 15 at 2 p.m., before returning home to close the regular season on Friday, Apr. 18 at 2 p.m. versus Georgia College.