The No. 5 Valdosta State men’s tennis team secured its first-round victory in the NCAA South Region II Tournament against the No. 24 Rollins College Tars with a convincing 5-0 sweep Saturday afternoon in Miami Shores, Fla.

For the doubles competition, partners Alex Holm and Eden Peleg outshined their opponents, Patrick Sell and Sami Kirberg, with an 8-3 victory in the No. 1 slot. Teammates, Mas and Rivas outlasted Ahmed Albitar and Daniel Ferl in a thrilling 8-6 win at No. 2. For the Blazers, No. 10 Leo Blay and Xavier Pineda rounded off the doubles competition with a considerable 8-3 advantage against Francesco Racanelli and Ziad Melhaoui.

During the singles competition, No. 10 Blay got things going for the Blazers as he fashioned a 6-1, 6-3 triumph against his opponent, Sell, in the No. 1 slot. Davis Stewart kept things alive for VSU as he defeated Ferl in a 6-3, 6-2 conquest at No. 5.

With the triumph, the No. 5 Blazers boosted their overall season record to 16-5 and secured a No. 3 regional ranking on the year. Meanwhile, No. 24 Rollins closed out their season with a solid 11-12 team record and No. 8 regional ranking overall.

VSU advances to the NCAA South Region Finals to face host Barry today at noon.