VALDOSTA, Ga. – After continuing their win streak last weekend against No. 11 Delta State and Christian Brothers, the West Florida Men's Tennis Team will be back in action this weekend when they take on two nationally-ranked opponents from Valdosta, Georgia.
Play will start on Friday for the No. 4 ranked Argonauts when they square off with Gulf South Conference foe and No. 7 ranked Valdosta State. Then on Saturday, West Florida will take on No. 22 North Georgia to finish up this very quick but challenging road trip.
This will be the final road trip of the regular season for West Florida as they will finish out the season with two home matches before the postseason rolls around. The Argonauts will look to continue their momentum and start this final stretch of games on a positive note this weekend.
About West Florida – The Argonauts come into the weekend with an 11-2 record including wins in their last six matches. This record includes a perfect 5-0 mark in conference play which puts West Florida atop of the Gulf South standings alongside Valdosta State and West Alabama.
West Florida is bolstered by their strong doubles play having only lost one doubles point on the entire season. This success is lead by the pairings of
Salvador Bandeira and
Gabriel Nery who are 10-2 on the season playing primarily from the No. 1 and No. 2 positions on the season.
In addition to Bandeira and Nery,
Nicolas Lecoutre and
William Shkrob have also put up a 10-2 record in doubles play mainly serving as a dominant force from the No. 3 position on the season.
Lluis Miralles Miro has been a key rotational player in the Argonauts doubles lineup going 7-1 with multiple partners throughout the season.
In singles play, West Florida is paced by
Juan Cabrera who is leading the team with a 10-0 singles record playing from five different positions on the year.
Serdar Bojadjiev is beginning to hit his stride in singles play winning his last four matches from the No. 1 position including two wins over nationally-ranked opponents. This success has led Bojadjiev to be named GSC Player of the Week for this past week of play and he will look to build on this success against two very difficult matchups in Valdosta State and North Georgia.
About Valdosta State – The Blazers are once again playing great tennis this season as they come into the weekend with an 8-1 record and ranked No. 7 in the country in the latest ITA poll. With their only loss coming to top-ranked Columbus State earlier in the week, the Blazers will be a tough matchup with whomever they go up against.
As another strong doubles team, Valdosta State is 7-2 on the season in doubles and will give the Argonauts a run for their money right out of the gate. Yohan Nguyen and partner Florian Simbozel have led the charge for the Blazers going 7-1 as a pair from the top of Valdosta State's doubles lineup.
Singles play has been phenomenal for the Blazers as well this season as they are currently 39-10 as a team and are led by Christian Wedel and Simbozel who are each unbeaten on the season. Wedel, who has the best individual record on the season, is currently 9-0 having played primarily from the No. 3 position. Simbozel is another feature piece in the top half of the Blazers lineup as he has gone 7-0 primarily from the No. 2 position.
About North Georgia – The Nighthawks come into Saturday's contest with a 6-1 record after falling to only Valdosta State earlier in the season. This includes a perfect 3-0 start in the Peach Belt Conference to put them atop of the standings alongside Columbus State and Lander.
In doubles play, the Nighthawks have won the lone point in 5 out of their 7 matches and are led by Zach Waldow and Joaquin Benoit who are 7-0 on the season. In addition to this pair, Ryan Gaskin and partner Kevin Candido Magnusson are 5-2 on the season playing as the No. 1 pairing.
Singles play sees the Nighthawks have five players who are currently on a five-match or longer win streak. Ryan Gaskin is one of three players on the team with a 6-1 singles record and holds down the top of the Nighthawks lineup playing from the No. 1 position.
Overall North Georgia is 35-5 in singles on the season and will need another good performance on Saturday when they look to knock off No. 4 West Florida.
Weekend Schedule – Action is slated to begin from Valdosta, Ga. at 1 PM (ET) on Friday when the Argonauts take on Valdosta State in the first match of the weekend. Then on Saturday, play kicks off bright and early with West Florida squaring off with North Georgia at 9 AM (ET) also from Valdosta.
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