ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – The top-ranked and top-seeded Valdosta State men's tennis team qualified for the NCAA National Semifinals for the third-straight year following a gritty 4-1 win over No. 17 University of Indianapolis on Wednesday.  The Blazers, who are the defending national champions, will face No. 5 Lubbock Christian on Friday morning in the NCAA Division II National Semifinals at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla.
 
Fans can access links to live stats and streaming of the semifinals and championship by clicking here. 
 
The Blazers ran their winning streak to 40 matches with the victory Wednesday, as they improved to 65-28 all-time in the NCAA postseason in their 30^th appearance in the playoffs.  VSU lost in the national semifinals in 2023, but defeated Saint Leo last season in the semis and won 4-3 over Flagler in the national title match in an instant classic as the match came down to the final court.  VSU has not lost since a 4-3 setback on Mar. 30, 2024, at West Florida.  VSU has national championships in 2006, 2011 and 2024.  The Blazers finished runner-up in 2004, 2007 and 2010. 
 
Along with VSU and LCU, No. 7 UT Tyler and No. 9 Washburn (Kan.) also play at 9 a.m. Friday for a berth in the championship which is set for a 1 p.m. start on Saturday.  If the Blazers were to win the title again this year, it would mark the tenth time of a repeat champion since 1963.  The other nine include, Cal State LA, UC Irvine, Southern Illinois Edwardsville, Chapman, Lander, BYU-Hawaii, West Florida, Armstrong Atlantic State and Barry.
 
VSU cruised in the Round of 16 with a 4-0 win over Saint Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.), but UIndy provided a stiff challenge.  No. 8-ranked tandem of senior Edgar Destouet and graduate student Arthur Bord posted a 6-4 victory at the No. 2 doubles line, while the other two doubles matches went to tiebreakers with UIndy winning at No. 3 and No. 5-ranked Blazer tandem of senior Takeshi Taco and Xaveam Van Wijk won 7-6 (8-6) at the top spot to clinch the team point. 
 
Despite the 4-1 score, the singles matches were extremely competitive as the players battled breezy conditions and excessive heat with temperatures in the high 90s.  Taco, ranked No. 2 nationally, gave VSU a 2-0 lead with a 6-1, 6-4 win at the top spot, while freshman Julien Doitteau won 6-2, 6-2 at No. 6 for 3-0 lead.  UIndy won at No. 5 singles, while Destouet, ranked No. 20 nationally, won 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 6-2 to win the match.  The other two matches at Nos. 2 and 4 singles, were in the third set. 
 
The Blazers have been outstanding at doubles this season going 47-13 this spring and have lost the doubles point twice this season in a 4-3 win at Lee on Mar. 19 and a 4-1 win over Saint Leo in the regional on May 10.  In singles, the Blazers are 96-16 this season as the team won both the Gulf South Conference regular season title and the tournament title for a league-best 17^th time. 
 
Taco, a native of Lima, Peru, earned the Prestigious ITA Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award earlier this week, while Destouet was named ITA Senior Player of the Year and senior Boruch Skierkier earned ITA Player to Watch honors.  Taco became the third Blazer to earn the Arthur Ashe Award as current graduate assistant Luca Mack earned the honor in 2023, and Eduardo Rincon won it in 2004.  Taco was named to the prestigious GSC Top Ten Team and finalist for the Commissioners Trophy, while he also earned VSU Male Athlete of the Year honors.
 
This season, Taco is 24-1 in singles, while he is 19-4 in doubles with Van Wijk.  Taco earned GSC First Team honors and earned ITA All-America honors in 2024.  He is 37-13 in doubles for his Blazer career and is 55-6 in singles.  Skierkier is ranked No. 3 nationally this season as he is 28-3 in singles.  Skierkier is 16-9 in doubles with junior Jan Skerbatis.  Skierkier earned first team All-GSC honors this season and was an ITA All-America selection in 2024.  For his career, he is 41-13 in doubles and 58-4 in singles. Destouet transferred to VSU ironically from UIndy this season and is 29-1 in singles and 21-4 in doubles with Bord.  Destouet earned first team all-league honors this season, while Skerbatis was a second team all-league honoree.
 
Blazer head coach John Hansen earned his 15^th GSC Men's Tennis Coach of the Year honor and was ITA South Region Coach of the Year.  Hansen has been at the helm of the Blazer program for over 50 years.  Last month, Hansen was announced as a member of the GSC Hall Fame Class of 2025.  Hansen's induction marks the seventh-straight class of a Blazer being enshrined into the Hall of Fame, with Marti Littlefield (softball) in 2018, Dusty Bonner (football) in 2019, Morgan Faulk (softball) in 2020, Briny Baird (men's golf) in 2022, Kenny Moore II (football) and Courtney Albritton Johnson (softball) in 2023, retired Director of Athletics Herb Reinhard in 2024 and now Hansen in 2025.  
 
Former VSU baseball coach Tommy Thomas was inducted in 2015 and former Blazer quarterback and head coach Chris Hatcher was enshrined in the inaugural class in 2014 for ten total Blazers now in the GSC Hall of Fame.
 
The Blazers have never played LCU or UT Tyler on the court, but most recently played Washburn on Mar. 11, 2021, in Valdosta in a 4-0 win. 
 
Lubbock Christian is making its first trip to the NCAA semifinals at the D2 level as are UT Tyler and Washburn.  The LCU Chaps are 25-2 record this season and defeated two teams VSU has played this season with a 7-0 win over Delta State and a 4-3 win over Mississippi College.  The Chaps only two losses are a 4-3 setback to Colorado Mesa in the fall and a 4-3 loss to UT Tyler.  Both UT Tyler and LCU are members of the Lone Star Conference.  LCU defeated No. 33 Queens College (N.Y.) 4-0 and won 4-2 over No. 10 Grand Valley State on Wednesday.
 
Leading the way for LCU this season is Kelly Giese who is ninth nationally and 26-10 in singles this season at the top spot in the lineup.  Pablo Segura is 13^th in singles with a 32-7 record this year at the No. 2 spot.  Mattia Ghedin is 23-13 this season mainly at the No. 3 spot for 62^nd nationally.   In doubles, Giese and Jordan Georgiev are 35^th nationally at 9-7 at the top spot. 
 
The Chaps are a third-year program in men's tennis and head coach Hutton Jones was at Abilene Christian in 2010 when VSU defeated Abilene Christian in the quarterfinal round, 5-4, as VSU lost to Barry in the national championship that season.  Ironically the 2010 championship also was played in Altamonte Springs, Fla.