VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State men's and women's tennis team are set to conclude the regular season this week as both teams will host Lynn on Friday at 2 p.m. at the VSU Tennis Complex, while the women's team then will battle Tampa on Saturday at 11 a.m., also at the VSU Tennis Complex.
 
On the women's side, the Blazers enter with a 9-7 record overall and went 5-3 in Gulf South Conference matches this season and are 20^th nationally.  The Blazers will be the No. 4-seed in the upcoming Gulf South Conference championship, scheduled for April 23-25 at the Tuscaloosa Tennis Center in Tuscaloosa, Ala. VSU will battle Lee in the quarterfinal round as the Blazers defeated Lee 6-1 in the conference opener in Valdosta on Mar. 4.  
 
Heading into this weekend, the Blazers are coming off a 1-2 weekend with a 5-2 loss to No. 2 West Florida and a 7-0 loss to No. 4 West Alabama, before closing the weekend with a 7-0 win over Christian Brothers.  Lynn enters the week at 11-7 overall and went 5-4 in Sunshine State Conference play.  The Fighting Knights will face No. 2 West Florida in Valdosta on Friday at 10 a.m., before battling VSU Saturday morning.  Tampa is 6-13 overall and went 1-8 in SSC play this season.  The Spartans will battle Ave Maria in Tampa on Thursday, before heading to Valdosta for Saturday's match.  
 
On Friday prior to the match versus Lynn, VSU will honor two seniors for Senior Day on the women's side in Lena Beckx and Carmelle Vial.  The men's team also will honor two seniors in Wilson Igbinovia and Jerome Iaconi.  Also graduating, are graduate assistants Luca Mack and Estee Widdershoven who both played outstanding tennis for the Blazers as undergraduates.  VSU Athletics wishes each of these seniors the best in their future endeavors.  The Senior Day festivities will be at 12:15 p.m., prior to warmups at 1 p.m. for the 2 p.m. matches against Lynn.
 
For the Blazer women's team this season, is sophomore Ivana Castillo Hurtado who is 9-6 this spring in singles at the No. 3 spot, while she is 13-8 overall this year in singles.  In doubles, she is 11-5 on the year and 11-2 this spring.  Castillo Hurtado is ranked 58^th nationally in singles this week.  Beckx is 70^th nationally this year.  Junior Charleigh Fay is 10-6 in singles this spring and is 5-3 in GSC play mainly at the No. 4 position.  She and Castillo Hurtado are 9-2 this spring in doubles, while Fay is 13-7 overall in singles this year and 11-6 in doubles.  Doubles duo of Vial and junior Kitti Nemeth are 9-3 this spring, while Nemeth is 11-3 in doubles for the year and Vial is 10-6.  
 
Lynn enters ranked 17^th nationally and has won 11-straight matches against VSU dating back to 2005.  VSU's last win came on May 13, 2005, in a 5-3 win in the NCAA regional.  The Fighting Knights are led by Salma Djoubri who is No. 2 nationally this season.  She is 20-1 in singles this year and 10-3 in doubles.  Kristin Younes is 53^rd nationally and is 12-8 in singles, while she is 14-8 in doubles this year.  Carla Galmiche is 10-5 on the year in singles and 12-6 in doubles, while she and Meadow Garcia are 40^thnationally in doubles.  The tandem is 5-2 this spring, while Garcia is 11-9 in doubles this year and 11-7 in singles.  
 
The Spartans are led by Karine Kulidjian who is 7-12 on the yea and 7-11 in doubles.  Rebecca Presley is 5-9 in singles, but 10-6 in doubles to lead the team.  Tampa leads the series 2-1 as VSU won 4-0 in Valdosta last season, while UT won in 2024 and in 2020 all in Valdosta.
 
On the men's side, the Blazers have struggled to stay healthy this season, but came up with a 4-3 win over Christian Brothers on Sunday to snap a six-match skid.  VSU is 5-10 on the year and 3-5 in GSC play as it qualified for the conference tournament.  The Blazers will be the No. 7-seed in the tournament and battle No. 2-seed Lee also in Tuscaloosa, Ala.  
 
For the season, Blazer junior Philipp Bosse is 34^th nationally as he is 9-5 on the year in singles, but hasn't played since Apr. 3.  Bosse is 6-3 this spring and 4-1 in GSC play. Iaconi is 7-4 this spring and 5-3 in league play as he is 7-6 this year in singles and 4-3 in doubles.  Freshman Pietro Casciola is 5-7 this spring in singles and went 3-2 in league play, while he is 5-7 this year. 
 
Lynn enters ranked 23^rd nationally at 10-8 overall and 3-4 in SSC play.  The Fighting Knights also will play West Florida in Valdosta while they are in Valdosta this weekend.  Louay Makke is 25^th nationally in singles as he is 13-8 on the year and 13-5 in doubles mainly with Davide Cortimiglia.  The duo are 10^th nationally in doubles this season and are 12-2 playing together.  
 
VSU leads the all-time series 5-4 since Mar. 2, 2013.  VSU has won three-straight in the series.  Lynn's last victory came on Mar. 1, 2020, 4-3.  The teams have not played since Feb. 11, 2024, with a 4-1 win by VSU in Boca Raton, Fla.