ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – Following the rest day on Thursday, the top-ranked Valdosta State men's tennis team defeated No. 5 Lubbock Christian 4-0 in the NCAA Division II Semifinals on Friday morning at Sanlando Park.  The Blazers now will look to defend their 2024 national title on Saturday at 1 p.m. versus No. 7-seed Washburn (Kan.) in the 2025 National Championship.
 
The Blazers improved to 25-0 on the year and won their 41^st-straight match with the commanding victory.  After a hard-fought victory against upset-minded University of Indianapolis on Wednesday, the Blazers responded nicely on Friday with a dominating performance. 
 
VSU made quick work of the doubles as No. 5-ranked duo of seniors Takeshi Taco and Xavem Van Wijk quickly dispatched top duo from LCU of No. 35 Kelly Giese and Jordan Georgiev, 6-1.  The Blazers then won 6-3 at No. 2 doubles as senior Edgar Destouet and graduate student Arthur Bord, ranked No. 8 nationally, won 6-3 over Mattia Ghedin and Marco Seccia to claim the team point.  At No. 3 doubles, Blazer tandem of senior Boruch Skierkier and junior Jan Skerbatis held a 5-4 lead over Pablo Segura and Andres De Los Rios when the point was clinched.
 
The dominating performance carried over to singles as the Blazers won all six first sets.  Destouet was the first two finish at No. 3 singles posting a 6-3, 6-1 win in a ranked matchup with Ghedin as Destouet is 20^th nationally and Ghedin entered 62^nd.  Taco, ranked No. 2 nationally won 6-1, 6-2 over No.9-ranked Giese at No. 1 singles for a 3-0 lead.  Blazer freshman Julien Doitteau continued his outstanding play as he won 6-4, 6-1 at No. 6 singles over Blas Ruiz Romero to win the match. 
 
In a top 15 battle, Skierkier, ranked No. 3 nationally, held a 7-5, 3-2 lead over Seguara, who was 13^th nationally at No. 2 singles, while sophomore Jerome Iaconi won 7-5 in the first set over De Los Rios at No. 4 singles and trailed 2-3 in the second set.  Skerbatis won the first set at No. 5, 6-2 over Seccia and was tied 6-6 (4-3) in a second set tiebreaker. 
 
Washburn, ranked No. 9 nationally, defeated No. 7 UT Tyler 4-0 in the other semifinal matchup.  The Ichabods are making the championship match for the first time and are 23-3 on the year as they have won 13-straight matches with a 4-0 loss to West Florida in the ITA Indoor National Championship in February, along with a loss to Azusa Pacific and Cameron. 
 
The Blazers are making their seventh appearance in the national championship match as the team has wins in 2006, 2011 and 2024.  Washburn is in its 19^th trip to the NCAA postseason and fifth straight trip and is 18-18 all-time in the postseason.  The Blazers are in their 30^th postseason and are 66-28 all-time. 

Saturday's championship match will have live stats and streaming.  Check back with vstateblazers.com for links to stats and streaming on the men's tennis schedule page.