Valdosta State, West Florida to Battle for Men and Women's Tennis Titles
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – West Florida and Valdosta State were the No. 1 and 2 seeds, respectively, in both the men's and women's brackets of the GSC Tennis Tournaments this weekend and when both tournaments followed seeding on Saturday, it put both these schools on a collision course in the finals.
The Argonauts and the Blazers will simultaneously battle for both titles Sunday at Lagoon Park beginning with doubles play at 10 a.m. The winners will take home their respective GSC titles and qualify for the South Region Tournament.
In the women's tournament, the Argonauts advanced with a 5-0 wins over No. 8 seed Christian Brothers and No. 4 West Alabama, which reached the semifinals with a 5-1 win over No. 5 Delta State. The Lady Blazers' path to the finals included a 5-0 win over No. 7 West Georgia and a 5-1 win over No. 4 North Alabama, which defeated No. 5 Alabama-Huntsville 5-0 in the quarterfinals.
On the men's side, the Blazers quickly dispatched No. 7 Christian Brothers (5-0) and No. 3 West Alabama (5-1). The Tigers rolled into the semifinals after sweeping No. 6 North Alabama. The Argonauts, after getting a first round bye, did not play until 6:30 p.m. but swept Delta State to reach the finals.
The best match of the day was between No. 4 Delta State and No. 5 Alabama-Huntsville. After splitting the first two doubles matches, the No. 3 doubles battle between the Statesmen tandem of Clement Depreevo and Sebastian Rajaonary and the Chargers' Guillermo Reyes Thales Castro went to a tiebreaker that was interrupted by a two-hour rain delay. When action resumed, DSU was able to get the doubles point with a 9-8 (7-4) win and the Statesmen won several hard-fought points for a 5-2 victory.
2012 GULF SOUTH CONFERENCE MEN’S TENNIS TOURNAMENT
(April 21-22 @ Lagoon Park/Olean Black Underwood Tennis Center, Montgomery, AL)
SATURDAY, APRIL 21
Quarterfinals (#1 seed receives a bye)
Match 1 - #4 Delta State 5, #5 Alabama-Huntsville 2
Match 2 - #2 Valdosta State 5, #7 Christian Brothers 0
Match 3 - #3 West Alabama 5, #6 North Alabama 0
Semifinals
Match 4 - #1 West Florida 5, #4 Delta State 0
Match 5 - #2 Valdosta State 5, #3 West Alabama 1
SUNDAY, APRIL 22
Finals
Match 6 (LP) - 10 a.m. - # 1 West Florida vs. # 2 Valdosta State
Notes: (LP)—Lagoon Park Tennis Center; All Times Central and Subject to Change
2012 GULF SOUTH CONFERENCE WOMEN’S TENNIS TOURNAMENT
(April 21-22 @ Lagoon Park/Olean Black Underwood Tennis Center, Montgomery, AL)
SATURDAY, APRIL 21
Quarterfinals
Match 1 - #1 West Florida 5, #8 Christian Brothers 0
Match 2 - #4 West Alabama 5, #5 Delta State 1
Match 3 - #2 Valdosta State 5, #7 West Georgia 0
Match 4 - #3 North Alabama 5, #6 Alabama-Huntsville 0
Semifinals
Match 5 - #1 West Florida 5, #4 West Alabama 0
Match 6 - #2 Valdosta State 5, #3 North Alabama 1
SUNDAY, APRIL 22
Finals
Match 7 (LP) -- 10 a.m. -- #1 West Florida vs. #2 Valdosta State
Notes: (LP)—Lagoon Park Tennis Center; All Times Central and Subject to Change