INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – For the second time in three years, the Valdosta State men's tennis team earned the top overall seed at the NCAA Division II National Championship rounds, announced by the NCAA Wednesday afternoon.
The Blazers (22-0) will face No. 16-seed St. Thomas Aquinas Spartans (17-6) on Tuesday, May 20 at 8 a.m. at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla. The Spartans are making their first trip to the national final site in program history in men's tennis.
Along with VSU, South Region foe Barry is the No. 2-seed, while UT Tyler (Texas) is the No. 3-seed and Lubbock Christian (Texas) is the No. 4-seed. Grand Valley State (Mich.) is the No. 5-seed, followed by Azusa Pacific (Calif.), Washburn (Kan.), University of Indianapolis (Ind.), Charleston (W.Va.) and Concordia Irvine (Calif.) rounds out the top ten seeds. North Georgia sits 11th, followed by Columbus State (Ga.), Queens (N.Y.), Edinboro (Pa.), Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) and St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.).
If the Blazers were to win Tuesday, they would face the winner of the UIndy versus Charleston match on Wednesday, May 21 at 3 p.m.
VSU was the No. 2-seed last season in the NCAA National Championships as it won the program's third national title with a thrilling 4-3 win over No. 1-seed Flagler College last May. The match came down to the final court as former Blazer Christian Felline battled back from a 1-2 deficit in the third set to win five of the last six games to claim the title.
In 2023, the Blazers also were undefeated heading into the national championship rounds and earned the top overall seed as they lost to eventual national champion Barry University in the national semifinals.
VSU won the Gulf South Conference regular season and tournament titles this season as it now has a league-best 17 conference titles. The Blazers hosted South Regional #1 last week defeating No. 8-seed Spring Hill College 4-0 and then winning 4-1 over No. 4-seed Saint Leo to qualify for the final site.
St. Thomas Aquinas won 4-3 over Jefferson, who VSU defeated in the opening round last season, for the Spartans' seventh victory in the last ten matches. STAC raced out to a 3-1 lead only to see Jefferson win at Nos. 1 and 3 to tie the match before Don Vinz Lominoque won 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4) at No. 4 singles for the Spartans to clinch the match.
The Spartans went 4-2 in East Coast Conference play this season, losing to Queen's 4-1 in the conference championship match.
Check back next Monday with vstateblazers.com for a preview of the championship.
