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ITA Women's South Regional Championship Central

2009-09-24

Sunday, September 27

The final results can be found here. The final draw can be found here.

Gumbrecht Falls in Finals

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Natali Gumbrecht had a great regional tournament and finished higher than her fifth seed, but she could not get past Senka Softic in the championship round. Softic, the top seed from Florida Southern, beat Gumbrecht in matching sets, 6-1, 6-1. Gumbrecht was the only Lady Blazer to play in the championship round Sunday, but the team made a strong showing throughout the tournament. In addition to Gumbrecht's second place finish, her doubles team with Raphaelle Durante went to the final four of the tournament, as did Tina Trautmann in the singles.

Saturday, September 26

The full results from Saturday can be found here. The full schedule for Saturday can be found here.

Gumbrecht Advances to Finals

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Natali Gumbrecht beat second seed Angela Werschel of Barry in an easy two sets, 6-2, 6-3. Now, Gumbrecht, the fifth seed, will square off against Senka Softic of Florida Southern, the top seed. Softic was able to retire Tina Trautmann, ninth seed, in the semifinal round. Softic won, 6-3, 6-2. The last doubles team that Valdosta State had in the tournament also fell Saturday to the likes of Tessie Salome and Jessica Yanoff of Lynn. Lynn beat Gumbrecht and Raphaelle Durante by a score of 8-2. The women's first match on Sunday is as follows: Singles: Natali Gumbrecht vs. Senka Softic at 9 a.m. (Championship Round)

Friday, September 25

The full results from Friday can be found here. The full schedule for Saturday can be found here.

Two Advance to Quarterfinals

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Tina Trautmann and Natali Gumbrecht advanced to the quarterfinal round to be played on Saturday with their wins throughout Friday. Gumbrecht also teams up with Raphaelle Durante to play in the doubles semifinal round Saturday. Trautmann went through Nora Baertschi of Florida Southern, 6-0, 6-0. Then she followed that with a hard fought match against third seed Rashni Luthra of Rollins. The two went to three sets, but Trautmann won, 2-6, 6-1, 1-0 (3). She will face Maggie Ekert of Lynn, the sixth seed at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Gumbrecht made short work of Florida Tech's Stephanie Dohner, 6-1, 6-0 in her first match of the day. After that she took down Taylor Brewster of West Florida, 6-1, 6-3. She will face Katerina Jiskrova at 8:30 a.m. as well. Sonya Haggstrom fell to 11th seed Natalia Ramos by a score of 6-3, 6-1, and Durante could not make it past Tessie Salome of Lynn with a loss in three sets, 0-6, 6-2, 0-1 (4). Kristel de Groot did win her first match of the day in the consolation bracket. She took down Darina Yablonskaya of Barry, 6-1, 6-3, but could not beat Lina Beukirane of Saint Leo. She fell, 6-3, 6-2. The Lady Blazers also made progress in doubles as Durante and Gumbrecht beat Caitlyn Baines and Paulina Ojeda, 8-6, to face Tessie Salome and Jessica Yanoff at 2 p.m. Saturday. But Haggstrom and de Groot could not make it past Elonara Iannozzi and Alisson Siaci in the round of 16. The duo fell, 8-6, to the third seed. The women's first matches on Saturday are as follows: Singles: Tina Trautmann vs. Maggie Ekert at 8:30 a.m. Natali Gumbrecht vs. Katerina Jiskrova at 8:30 a.m. Doubles: Gumbrecht/Durante vs. Salome/Yanoff at 2 p.m.

Thursday, September 24

The full results from Thursday can be found here. The full schedule for Friday can be found here.

Lady Blazers Only Drop One

VALDOSTA, Ga. - In the ITA Women's South Regional Championship played throughout this weekend, the Valdosta State team made a dominating showing in the opening day. Valdosta State played host to nine schools throughout the region, but only took one loss on the day. The foursome of Sonya Haggstrom, Tina Trautmann, Natali Gumbrecht and Raphaelle Durante took care of business in two sets. Haggstrom beat Blake Bauer of Nova Southeastern, 6-1, 6-0 while Trautmann put away Federica Longo, also of Nova, 6-2, 6-1. Durante matched Haggstrom's score against Veronika Kovacikova of Florida Southern, and Gumbrecht beat Allie Steele of Rollins, 6-3, 6-1. The lone Lady Blazer to fall Thursday was Kristel de Groot, who lost to Elisa Leeder of Nova, 6-2, 6-2. De Groot, however, bounced back in doubles with teammate Haggstrom to make short work of Andrea Arguello and Veronika Kovacikova of Florida Southern. The duo won, 8-2, and followed it up with an 8-3 win over Jaqualine March and Carmel Gray of West Florida. Haggstrom and Durante teamed up to 2-0 in doubles as well, first with a win, 8-5, over Abigail Greif and Natalia Ramos of Florida Tech, and second against Daria Egorova and Cara Justine Feaster of Nova, 8-3. The women's first matches on Friday are as follows: Singles: Sonya Haggstrom vs. Natalia Ramos at 8:30 a.m. Tina Trautmann vs. Nora Baertschi at 8:30 a.m. Natali Gumbrecht vs. Stephanie Dohner at 10 a.m. Raphaelle Durante vs. Tessie Salome at 10 a.m. Singles Consolation: Kristel de Groot vs. Darina Yablonskaya at 11 a.m. Doubles: De Groot/Haggstrom vs. Ianozzie/Siaci at 5 p.m. Gumbrecht/Durante vs. Baines/Ojeda at 4 p.m.

Valdosta State Tallies Seven All-Americans

2009-06-05

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Seven Valdosta State tennis players were named to the 2009 Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) All-America Team. Four Blazers and three Lady Blazers made the team. A singles player must finish in the top 20 of the final ITA rankings while a doubles player must be in the top 10 for all-american status. Daniel Dueren, Florian Halb and Joerg Ekkenga all made the singles group with final rankings of fourth, 12th and 17th respectively. Ekkenga joined Leos Jelinek as all-americans in doubles competition. Dominique Rothlaender and Natali Gumbrecht also claimed all-american status in singles with rankings of 16th and 17th. Rothlaender teamed with Tina Trautmann to also make all-american in doubles play. The Blazers finished the season 16-4 and undefeated in Gulf South Conference play. The Lady Blazers team was one of the final four left in the nation before falling to Armstrong Atlantic State, the 2009 National Champions. The Lady Blazers finished 14-4 with just one loss in conference action.

VSU Falls to Armstrong Atlantic

2009-05-15

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. - The No. 3-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State women's tennis team put away Valdosta State by a convincing 5-1 score. It will be the 10th time in school history that AASU made it to the NCAA Division II National Championship match. Valdosta State was ranked fourth nationally and proved to be one of the final four teams playing this season. Unfortunately though, the Lady Blazers could only score one point in the match against the Lady Pirates. Natali Gumbrecht and Tina Trautmann teamed up to take down No. 7 Sona Novakova and Gabrielle Kovacs in the second doubles spot. After that, VSU would not be able to take another match. After falling behind 2-1 in doubles, the closest the Lady Blazers came in singles play was in the second singles position. Raphaelle Durante went down in the first set, 6-4, and was down in the second, 2-1, before her match was stopped after AASU clinched. Armstrong Atlantic State's 19th-ranked Kovacs defeated Kristel de Groot, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 4 singles, then top-ranked Novakova defeated No. 14-ranked Gumbrecht, 6-3, 6-0, at No. 1 singles. 30th-ranked Martina Beckmann then closed out the match with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Trautmann at No. 3 singles.

Valdosta State Wins First Round

2009-05-13

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. - Fourth-ranked Valdosta State beat No. 15 Northwood, 5-0, in the first round of nationals Wednesday. With the win, the Lady Blazers will go on to face Hawaii Pacific at 1 p.m. Thursday. Valdosta State beat HPU, 6-3, in the only match in which the teams met this season. The Lady Blazers jumped to an early 3-0 lead thanks to excellent double play by teams of Raphaelle Durante and Karine Redon, Natali Gumbrecht and Tina Trautmann, and Sonya Haggstrom and Kristel de Groot. Durante and Redon ran away from Robert Huetter and Ashley Neumann, 8-3, in the top spot. Gumbrecht and Trautmann beat Darina Berkova and Raphaela Perisic, 8-4, while Haggstrom and de Groot took care of Sabrina Kihm and Nicole Kromer in an 8-6 decision. Once the VSU set the tone in doubles, there were only two matches to secure the victory. Redon supplied the first from the fifth spot with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Perisic while Haggstrom quickly followed with a 6-1, 6-0 romp of Kromer.

VSU Advances to Semifinals

2009-05-13

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. - Play resumed Friday morning for No. 4 Valdosta State and No. 14 Hawaii Pacific. With a 2-1 lead after doubles, the Lady Blazers only allowed one more point to HPU in a 5-2 win. With the victory, Valdosta State will face No. 3 Armstrong Atlantic in the semifinal round at 3 p.m. Friday. Raphaelle Durante, No. 28, put away Nina Mihova with ease in the second slot with twin 6-1 finishes for VSU's third point. With just two points left for the win Karine Redon in the fifth spot and Sonya Haggstrom in the sixth spot each earned wins. Redon put away Aleksandra Stankovic, 6-2, 6-2, and Haggstrom won the most easily with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Sandra Wikstrom.

Valdosta State Continues National Play

2009-05-12

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Lady Blazer tennis and softball along with Blazer baseball will all compete in national tournaments this weekend. Valdosta State's softball team travels to Huntsville, Ala. to face Alabama-Huntsville in a best two out of three series for the NCAA South Regional Championship and the right to go to the eight-team national tournament in Virginia. The games are scheduled for Friday at 4:30 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. if the third game is necessary. The Lady Blazers split with the Chargers in the only two games they played this season. Valdosta State won the first, 4-2, while UAH came back in the second to win 9-4. Lady Blazer tennis travels to Orlando this weekend for nationals. There are only 16 women's tennis teams left, and Valdosta State will start the tournament against Northwood at 4 p.m. Wednesday. If the red and black win, the Lady Blazers will face the winner of Montana State-Billings and Hawaii Pacific at 1 p.m. Thursday. In the case VSU wins that match as well, the team will compete against an opponent to be determined at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Lady Blazers have already beaten Hawaii Pacific, 6-3, March 29, but have yet to face any of the other teams. Blazer baseball will begin South Regional play against Barry, the Sunshine State Conference champion and second seed in the region, at 2:15 p.m. on Thursday. Southern Arkansas will host the tournament as the top seed in the region while VSU is the seventh seed. The tournament will run through Monday. Be sure to follow your Blazer and Lady Blazer action at www.vstateblazers.com or on Talk Radio 92.1.

Women's Tennis Heading to NCAA Championships

2009-05-09

Saturday

Valdosta State Takes South Regional

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Valdosta State was able to exact a little revenge against West Florida for the team's loss in the Gulf South Conference Championship. With a sweep, 5-0, of West Florida, the Lady Blazers move on to play the winner of the South Regional bracket being played at Lynn University The Lady Blazers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead thanks to teams of Raphaelle Durante and Karine Redon, Natali Gumbrecht and Tina Trautmann, and Kristel de Groot and Sonya Haggstrom. The closest doubles match took place at the third spot, with a thrilling 9-7 win for de Groot and Haggstrom. Gumbrecht and Trautmann pulled out another close one, 8-5, while Durante and Redon ran away at the top spot, 8-1. With the early 3-0 lead, Valdosta State only needed two singles victories. For the second consecutive match, Durante and Redon pulled them out for the Lady Blazers. In the second position Durante won, 6-0, 6-3. Redon pulled the first set in the fifth spot with ease, 6-1, but the second did not come so easy. In the end, Redon won, 6-1, 7-6 (1). Full results are as follows: Valdosta State beats West Florida, 5-0 Doubles: 1. Durante/Redon (VSU) beat Calvacante/Ojeda (UWF), 8-1 2. Gumbrecht/Trautmann (VSU) beat Mattos/Baines (UWF), 8-5 3. de Groot/Haggstrom (VSU) beat Brewster/Bokareva (UWF), 9-7 Singles 1. Gumbrecht (VSU) vs. Calvacante (UWF), Unfinished 2. Durante (VSU) beat Ojeda (UWF), 6-0, 6-3 3. Trautmann (VSU) vs. Bokareva (UWF), Unfinished 4. de Groot (VSU) vs. Brewster (UWF), Unfinished 5. Redon (VSU) beat Mattos (UWF), 6-1, 7-6 (1) 6. Haggstrom (VSU) vs. Baines (UWF), Unfinished The remaining bracket is set as follows: Thursday - 3 p.m.: Nova Southeastern beat Tuskegee, 5-0 (Game 1) Friday - 9 a.m.: West Florida beat Florida Southern, 5-0 (Game 2) Friday - 1 p.m.: Valdosta State beat Nova Southeastern, 5-0 (Game 3) Saturday - 9 a.m.: Valdosta State beat West Florida, 5-0 (Championship)

Friday

VSU to Meet West Florida in Finals

VALDOSTA, Ga. - In the second day of the first round of the NCAA South Regional Tournament for women's tennis, Valdosta State swept Nova Southeastern to meet West Florida in the finals at 9 a.m. Saturday. The Lady Blazers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead thanks to teams of Raphaelle Durante and Karine Redon, Natali Gumbrecht and Tina Trautmann, and Kristel de Groot and Sonya Haggstrom. The closest doubles match took place at the third spot, but de Groot and Haggstrom pulled it out, 8-6. Durante and Redon won in the top spot, 8-2, while Gumbrecht and Trautmann won, 8-4. In singles action, VSU only needed two victories. Durante and Redon supplied them. Durante won easily, 6-0, 6-0, in the second position. Redon, playing in the fifth spot, won, 6-1, 6-0. Full results are as follows: Valdosta State beats Nova Southeastern, 5-0 Doubles: 1. Durante/Redon (VSU) beat Talalenko/Feaster (NSU), 8-2 2. Gumbrecht/Trautmann (VSU) beat Kulichova/Porizkova (NSU), 8-4 3. de Groot/Haggstrom (VSU) beat Crider/Lindsley (NSU), 8-6 Singles 1. Gumbrecht (VSU) vs. Talalenko (NSU), Unfinished 2. Durante (VSU) beat Kulichova (NSU), 6-0, 6-0 3. Trautmann (VSU) vs. Feaster (NSU), Unfinished 4. de Groot (VSU) vs. Porizkova (NSU), Unfinished 5. Redon (VSU) beat Lindsley (NSU), 6-1, 6-0 6. Haggstrom (VSU) vs. Crider (NSU), Unfinished The remaining bracket is set as follows: Thursday - 3 p.m.: Nova Southeastern beat Tuskegee, 5-0 (Game 1) Friday - 9 a.m.: West Florida beat Florida Southern, 5-0 (Game 2) Friday - 1 p.m.: Valdosta State vs. Nova Southeastern (Game 3) Saturday - 9 a.m.: Valdosta State vs. West Florida (Championship)

West Florida Takes Down Florida Southern

VALDOSTA, Ga. - In the second day of the first round of the NCAA South Regional Tournament for women's tennis, two Florida teams battled it out with West Florida beating Florida Southern, 5-0. The Argonauts took two doubles matches by matching scores of 8-1. In the second doubles match, West Florida won, 8-4. Suzana Cavalcante and Naomi Higa won the two singles matches the Argonauts needed to finish off the Mocs. Cavalcante won, 6-4, 6-3, in the top spot while Higa took care of business at the sixth position with a 6-1, 6-1 win. Full results are as follows: West Florida beats Florida Southern, 5-0 Doubles: 1. Cavalcante/Ojeda (UWF) beat Softic/Hungerford (FSC), 8-1 2. Mattos/Bames (UWF) beat Conroy/Kovacikova (FSC), 8-4 3. Brewster/Bokareva (UWF) beat Baertschi/Carns (FSC), 8-1 Singles 1. Cavalcante (UWF) beat Softic (FSC), 6-4, 6-3 2. Ojeda (UWF) vs. Hungerford (FSC), Unfinished; 6-7, 3-2 3. Brewster (UWF) vs. Conroy (FSC), Unfinished; 4-6, 1-5 4. Mattos (UWF) vs. Kovacikova (FSC), Unfinished; 5-7, 2-3 5. Bames (UWF) vs. Baertschi (FSC), Unfinished; 6-2, 1-6, 3-2 6. Higa (UWF) beat Carns (FSC), 6-1, 6-1 The remaining bracket is set as follows: Thursday - 3 p.m.: Nova Southeastern beat Tuskegee, 5-0 (Game 1) Friday - 9 a.m.: West Florida beat Florida Southern, 5-0 (Game 2) Friday - 1 p.m.: Valdosta State vs. Nova Southeastern (Game 3) Saturday - 9 a.m.: Valdosta State vs. West Florida (Championship)

Thursday

Nova Southeastern Drops Tuskegee

VALDOSTA, Ga. - The competition in Valdosta started Thursday with the women's tennis tournament. The Lady Blazers are hosting Tuskegee, Nova Southeastern, West Florida and Florida Southern, but Nova Southeastern struck first blood with a win over Tuskegee. In the first round of the NCAA South Regional Tournament, Nova Southeastern ran away from Tuskegee in an easy 5-0 victory. The Sharks won two doubles matches by scores of 8-0 and the third, 8-1. After jumping out to a 3-0 lead, Karolina Porizkova and Paige Lindsley earned the victories NSU needed in singles for the win. Both players won 6-0, 6-0. Full results are as follows: Nova Southeastern beats Tuskegee, 5-0 Doubles: 1. Talalenko/Feaster (NSU) beat Aranda/Dixon (Tuskegee), 8-0 2. Kulichova/Porizkova (NSU) beat Scott/Willoughby (Tuskegee), 8-0 3. Crider/Lindsley (NSU) beat Smith/Shelton (Tuskegee), 8-1 Singles 1. Talalenko (NSU) vs. Scott (Tuskegee), Unfinished; 6-1, 1-0 2. Kulichova (NSU) vs. Dixon (Tuskegee), Unfinished; 6-2, 2-0 3. Feaster (NSU) vs. Aranda (Tuskegee), Unfinished; 6-1, 4-0 4. Porizkova (NSU) beat Smith (Tuskegee), 6-0, 6-0 5. Lindsley (NSU) beat Willoughby (Tuskegee), 6-0, 6-0 6. Crider (NSU) vs. Shelton (Tuskegee), Unfinished; 6-1, 1-0 The remaining bracket is set as follows: Thursday - 3 p.m.: Nova Southeastern beat Tuskegee, 5-0 (Game 1) Friday - 9 a.m.: West Florida vs. Florida Southern (Game 2) Friday - 1 p.m.: Valdosta State vs. Nova Southeastern (Game 3) Saturday - 9 a.m.: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 2 (Championship)

NCAA South Region Tournament Central

2009-05-04

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Valdosta State's spring teams have stood out this season, so much so that two teams will host NCAA South Regional Tournaments. Softball along with women's tennis will be hosting a number of teams looking to move on to the NCAA National Championship. In addition to our tournaments to be hosted at home, the Valdosta State men's tennis team will head to Lynn for the NCAA South Regional Tournament while Blazer golf is currently teeing it off at their regional tournament. VSU's baseball team is battling it out at the Gulf South Conference Tournament for a possible regional bid as well. The competition in Valdosta starts Thursday with the women's tennis tournament. The Lady Blazers will host Tuskegee, Nova Southeastern, West Florida and Florida Southern. The bracket is set as follows: Women's Tennis Bracket Thursday - 3 p.m.: Tuskegee vs. Nova Southeastern (Game 1) Friday - 9 a.m.: West Florida vs. Florida Southern (Game 2) Friday - 1 p.m.: Valdosta State vs. Winner Game 1 (Game 3) Saturday - 9 a.m.: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 2 (Championship) Meanwhile, Lady Blazer softball will host Florida Southern and Nova Southeastern like tennis, along with Tampa. Valdosta State holds the top seed in this bracket of the regional tournament with the #2 seed in the overall region. Florida Southern is the third seed while Nova Southeastern and Tampa are the six and seven seeds respectively. The schedule for the softball tournament is as follows: Softball Bracket Friday 4 p.m.: #3 Florida Southern vs. #6 Nova Southeastern (Game 1) 6:30 p.m.: #2 Valdosta State vs. #7 Tampa (Game 2) Saturday 1:30 p.m.: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 (Game 3) 4 p.m.: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 (Game 4) 6:30 p.m. Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3 (Game 5) Sunday 1:30 p.m.: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5 (Game 6) Game 7 to be played 45 minutes after Game 6, if necessary. Admission to the tennis tournament will be completely free and open to the public. Pricing for the softball tournament is as follows: Tickets Day Tickets Adult - $5 Senior (65 ) - $3 Student (Age 12 - Non-VSU College with ID) - $3 Youth (Ages 1-11) - $2 VSU Students - FREE Tournament Pass Adult - $12 Senior (65 ) - $7 Student (Age 12 - Non-VSU College with ID) - $7 Youth (Ages 1-11) - $5 VSU Students - FREE Note: VSU Season Passes are not valid for this tournament. There will be no complimentary admissions provided to any game or session. Parking Tennis Parking will be accessible in the P.E. Complex lot (except during VSU graduation Saturday morning) and the Oak Street lot throughout the tournament. Softball The Billy Grant Field lot will be open for parking. The small lot immediately in front of the softball field house is reserved for Tournament Staff only while the parking area immediately adjacent to the softball field is reserved for umpire and handicapped vehicles only. Prohitibed Items - Weapons of any type - Flash photography - Video cameras - Outside food or drink - Tobacco and alcohol

Blazer Tennis Heads to Regional Play

2009-04-30

VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Valdosta State women's tennis team will host a 2009 NCAA South Region Tournament while the men's squad will travel to Boca Raton, Fla. and the campus of Lynn University for its regional Tournament. The women's regional play will begin Thursday, May 7 at 3:00 p.m. when Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion Tuskegee will play Nova Southeastern out of the Sunshine State conference. The winner of that match will face Valdosta State at 1:00 p.m. on Friday while Gulf South Conference champion West Florida and the SSC's Florida Southern will play at 9:00 a.m. on Friday. Friday's two winning teams will face off in the regional championship match Saturday at 9:00 a.m. On the men's side, the South Regional will begin Thursday at 11:00 a.m. when Florida Tech and Florida Southern, both out of the Sunshine State Conference, play. At 3:00 p.m., the SSC's Rollins and GSC's West Alabama will meet in an opening round match, with the winner facing Valdosta State at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Lynn will face the winner of the FIT-FSC match at 1:00 p.m. on Friday while Friday's two winners will play Saturday at 3:00 p.m.

Blazers, Lady Blazers Earn GSC Honors

2009-04-22

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Valdosta State tennis pulled a number of accolades for both teams' performances in the Gulf South Conference this season, including a sweep of the East Division Player of the Year awards. Daniel Dueren and Natali Gumbrecht both earned the honor of being named the East Player of the Year for their prospective sports. Kristel de Groot was named Freshman of the Year. A host of others made the All-GSC team. For the men, Florian Halb, Joerg Ekkenga and Leos Jelinek joined Dueren on the team. Jelinek made the team his fourth consecutive year while Ekkenga was a selection in both 2007 and 2008. Halb makes his second appearance on the team while it is Dueren's first. Dominique Rothlaender, Raphaelle Durante and Tina Trautmann join Gumbrecht on the women's All-GSC team. This is the third consecutive year Rothlaender, Gumbrecht and Durante have been named All-GSC. It is Trautmann's second such honor. Both the Blazers and Lady Blazers will look to keep their seasons alive in regional play starting May 7.

Blazers Win GSC, Lady Blazers Take Second

2009-04-18

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Valdosta State continued the team's strong play from Friday into Saturday. The Blazers swept undefeated Ouachita Baptist, 5-0, to claim the Gulf South Conference championship while the Lady Blazers gave West Florida a match that came down to the last point, eventually losing, 5-4. The Blazers put together a strong start taking all three doubles, 8-5, 8-0, 8-1, to claim an early 3-0 lead. It would only take two wins in singles play to attain the championship, and those came from Leos Jelinek and Otto Lenhart. Jelinek won, 6-3, 6-1 in the fourth position while Lenhart won the fifth spot, 6-1, 6-1. The Lady Blazers also jumped out to an early lead against West Florida with strong play in doubles. Valdosta State earned wins in the first and second spots in doubles, 8-5, 8-3, before dropping the third, 8-6. Natali Gumbrecht and Tina Trautmann both earned victories in singles action. Gumbrecht won in the second spot, 6-2, 6-1. Trautmann also won in two sets in the fourth position, 6-0, 6-3. But the Lady Blazers were not able to tally another win in the other four singles matches. Dominique Rothlaender fell, 4-0, ret. while Raphaelle Durante also did not finish and lost, 6-6, def. Kristel de Groot fell in two sets, 6-2, 6-4. In the deciding match, Karine Redon played two competitive sets, but lost, 6-4, 6-4. Both teams will continue to play in the postseason with each making an NCAA appearance.

Valdosta State Makes GSC Tennis Finals

2009-04-17

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Both the men and women of Valdosta State were favored to win the Gulf South Conference tournament, and, so far, they are doing their part. The Blazers swept through Christian Brothers until they stopped the match at 6-0. Valdosta State's strong doubles play started the day with three 8-0 sweeps from the #2 team in the nation of Leos Jelinek and Joerg Ekkenga, the team of Daniel Dueren and Michael Kuech, and the team of Ben Cattan and Frank Sickman. In singles action, the team continued to win every single game played. In the four through six spots, Kuech, Cattan and Sickman each took down their opponents by scores of 6-0, 6-0. The Lady Blazers followed suit in the first round with a 5-0 sweep of Harding to advance to play North Alabama, the same foe the Blazers would meet in the semifinals. Both VSU teams handed North Alabama the same fate. Valdosta State took both matches by a score of 5-0 to complete the day without losing one single match. In the finals Saturday, the men will play Ouachita Baptist at 9 a.m. while the women will face West Florida at noon.

Valdosta State Tennis Sweeps

2009-04-04

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Valdosta State tennis continued the team's strong season Saturday. In four matches, the Blazers and Lady Blazers teamed up to sweep four opponents. The men took down Columbus State and North Alabama by matching 5-0 scores. The women followed up the feat with a 5-2 victory over West Florida and handed the North Alabama women the third 5-0 win of the day for Valdosta State. Next up for both teams will be the Gulf South Conference Tournament on April 17-18.

Tennis Yields Mixed Results

2009-04-03

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Valdosta State tennis earned wins and losses in Montgomery on Friday. While the women beat Columbus State, they could not get past Auburn-Montgomery. The Lady Blazers fell, 7-2. The Blazers fared well against Abilene Christian with an 8-1 victory. Later in the day the men also faced Auburn-Montgomery. They did not fair much better than the Lady Blazers as VSU fell, 5-3.

Blazers, Lady Blazers Sink HPU

2009-03-29

VALDOSTA, Ga. - In a match that saw the singles action split down the middle for the Blazers, Valdosta State's performance in doubles won the match to move to 8-2 on the year. With an 8-5 win at the third spot for Florian Halb and Otto Lenhart and a 9-8 (3) win for the second ranked team of Leos Jelinek and Joerg Ekkenga in the top spot, VSU earned a 5-4 win over Hawaii Pacific. The Lady Blazers followed the men's lead. By sweeping doubles, Valdosta State was able to survive a split in singles action for a 6-3 score in the match to also move to 8-2. After gaining the edge in doubles, the men still had to toe the line in singles action. Daniel Dueren won easily in the top spot, 6-1, 6-1, over #30 Hendrik Bode. In the third spot, #10 Ekkenga followed Dueren's lead with a strong 6-4, 6-2 win over Sebastian Bader. Finally, in the fifth spot, Lenhart used three sets to put away HPU's Anton Samuilau, 6-1, 5-7, 6-0. The second, fourth and sixth spots didn't fare so well for Valdosta State. Ninth ranked Halb and #17 Jelinek put up good fights but would not earn wins. After winning the first set, Halb fell in three, losing the last in a tiebreaker, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (4). Jelinek played two close sets, but fell, 7-5, 7-5, to #39 Daniel Luedi. Michael Kuech went down to Aleksander Markov, 6-2, 6-3. In the end though, VSU did enough to earn a close victory over the sixth ranked team in the nation. The Lady Blazers held true to their #3 ranking early in the day. The closest challenge in doubles for VSU came at the two spot. Karine Redon and Natali Gumbrecht squeaked by Lauren Shin and Anastasiya Ageychik, 9-7. At the top spot #19 Dominique Rothlaender and Tina Trautmann beat Ingrid Cseh and Zora Vlckova, 8-6, while Kristel de Groot's team beat Tinka and Nina Mihova, 8-4, in the third spot. Gumbrecht went on to win at the second spot in two sets, 6-1, 6-4. Trautmann did the same but with the aid of a tiebreaker. She took down #45 Nina Mihova, 6-2, 7-6 (4). At six Sonya Haggstrom beat the other Mihova, Tinka, by a score of 4-6, 6-3, (10-1). Rothlaender, de Groot and Redine did not fare as well. The team gets back to action next weekend against a multitude of opponents in Montgomery, Ala.

Blazers, Lady Blazers Take Down West Florida

2009-03-15

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Both Valdosta State tennis teams earned Gulf South Conference wins over West Florida Sunday. The Blazers finished off the Argos, 7-2, while the Lady Blazers won even more convincingly, 8-1. After dropping two doubles matches, the Blazers bounced back to win everything else. Florian Halb and Otto Lenhart ran away with an 8-1 win over West Florida's Nathan Rosenfeld and Jose Ycaza to start the winning. None of the singles matches even saw a third set as the Blazers made quick work of the Argonauts. At the top spot, Daniel Dueren beat Kevin Ducros convincingly, 6-1, 6-0. In the second and third spots, #9 Halb and #17 Leos Jelinek followed Dueren's lead. They won, 6-2, 6-0, and 6-2, 6-1, respectively. In the closest match of the day for the men, Lenhart was pushed to a tiebreaker to win the second set by Patrick Bateman. Lenhart responded to take the match, 6-4, 7-6 (4). Ben Cattan and Michael Kuech cleaned up the match from the five and six spots. Cattan took Rosenfeld, 6-4, 6-0, and Kuech beat Ycaza, 6-1, 6-2. For the Lady Blazers, #23 Dominique Rothlaender was the only one to drop a match. She was beat by #3 Suzanna Cavalcante, 6-2, 6-0. The other ranked players for VSU showed up strong though. Raphaelle Durante, No. 44, beat UWF's Paulina Ojeda easily, 6-1, 6-0. Both ranked doubles teams also performed up to par. Rothlaender and Tina Trautmann, No. 19 doubles team, beat Cavalcante and Ojeda in a close match, 8-6. Meanwhile, #25 Karine Redon and Durante beat Renata Mattos and Taylor Brewster, 8-5. The final doubles match was also close, but Natali Gumbrecht and Kristel de Groot pulled it out, 8-6. In other singles action Gumbrecht won in the second spot, 6-2, 6-3. Trautmann and Sonya Haggstrom took care of business in the fourth and sixth spots with a 6-3, 6-0 win and a 6-2, 6-1 victory respectively. The closest match for the Lady Blazers took place in the fifth spot between de Groot and Brewster. After dropping the first set, 6-7, de Groot bounced back in the second to win, 6-4. The final set was played as a tie breaker and de Groot caught fire to win 10-4. Both teams were set to play Anderson Monday, but, due to weather, that match will be postponed. Instead, VSU will next be in action will be Friday in Pensacola, Fla. against North Alabama.

Valdosta State Sweeps UAH, Women Fall to Lynn

2009-03-14

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Saturday the Valdosta State Blazers and Lady Blazers put on a clinic against conference opponent Alabama-Huntsville. Both the men and women swept the Chargers in matching 9-0 results. Earlier in the day, the Lady Blazers finished the match against Lynn. In the final pairing, VSU fell to let #4 Lynn earn a 5-4 victory. Both teams will face West Florida Sunday.

#3 Lady Blazers Sweep Montevallo, Wait on #4 Lynn

2009-03-12

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Valdosta State hosted Gulf South Conference rival, Montevallo, Thursday. The #3 Lady Blazers made a strong showing with a 9-0 sweep of the Falcons in Valdosta. Valdosta State started Friday off in a competitive match against the #4 Lynn Fighting Knights. Both evenly matched teams played to a 4-4 tie before the weather forced a postponement. The teams will meet Saturday for the final point of the match. The Lady Blazers are also scheduled to face Gulf South Conference foe Alabama-Huntsville along with the men. Both teams square off at 1 p.m. Saturday in Valdosta.

Lady Blazers Down UT-Martin 9-0

2009-03-06

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Valdosta State dropped just one set as the Lady Blazers defeated UT-Martin 9-0 in women's tennis action at the VSU Tennis Courts Friday morning. VSU (4-0) claimed all three doubles points, two with little trouble as Dominique Rothlaender and Tina Trautmann defeated Belisa De Brito and Martie Wahl 8-1 at No. 1 while Natali Gumbrecht and Kristel de Groot downed Ernestine Koornhof and Alycia La Merie 8-0 at No. 3. VSU's Raphaelle Durante and Karine Redon built a 6-2 lead over Sara Leavy and Jodie Tiley at No. 2 before hanging on for a 9-8 (3) victory. Gumbrecht opened singles play with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Levy at No. 2 while Trautmann downed Tiley 6-1, 6-2 at No. 4. Durante followed with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over De Brito at No. 3 and Sonya Haggstrom downed La Merle 6-0, 6-1 at No. 6. De Groot picked up the eighth point with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Koornhof at No. 5 while Rothlaender closed out the match with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win over Wahl at No. 1. Valdosta State returns to action Sunday, March 8 when it travels to Savannah, Ga. to face Armstrong Atlantic at 1:00 p.m.

Lady Blazers Down AUM 5-3

2009-03-05

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Valdosta State won four of the six singles matches to claim a 5-3 victory over Auburn-Montgomery in women's tennis action at the VSU Tennis Courts Thursday afternoon. AUM (1-2) jumped out to an early lead as it claimed two of the three doubles matches. Tereza Veverkova and Gabriela Bermanova claimed an 8-2 victory over Dominique Rothlaender and Tina Trautman at No. 1 while Julia Verdy and Delia Sesioveanu downed Karine Redon and Raphaelle Durante by the same score at No. 2. VSU (3-0) got on the board at No. 3 as Natali Gumbrecht and Kristel de Groot defeated Dominika Zululova and Whitney Byrd 8-4. Sesioveanu pushed the Senator lead to 3-1 with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Rothlaender at No. 1 singles before the Lady Blazers began their comeback. Trautman downed Byrd 6-4, 6-3 at No. 4 to give Valdosta State its second point of the match before Gumbrecht tied the score at 3-3 with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Bermanova at No. 2. Durante put VSU in front with a 6-1, 6-7, 6-1 win over Verdy at No. 3 while Redon defeated Ching Chen 6-1, 6-1 at No. 6 to close out the match. VSU returns to action Friday, April 6 when it hosts Tennessee-Martin at 10:0 a.m. on the VSU Tennis Courts.

Tennis Teams Sweep West Alabama

2009-02-28

VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Valdosta State men's and women's tennis teams remained perfect as both VSU squads blanked West Alabama 9-0 in Gulf South Conference tennis action at the VSU Tennis Courts Saturday morning. The Lady Blazers (2-0) were dominant on the day as they dropped just two games in the eight matches. The women were perfect in doubles play as they won all three points 8-0. In singles action, Dominique Rothlaender defeated Nicole Shanahan 6-2, 6-0 while Natali Gumbrecht, Raphaelle Durante and Tina Trautmann claimed 6-0, 6-0 wins at No. 2, 3 and 4 respectively. The final two matches were deteremined by single sets, with Kristel de Groot winning 6-0 at No. 5 and Sonya Haggstrom winning by the same score at No. 6. The Blazers (3-0) also claimed all three doubles points, with Leos Jelinek and Joerg Ekkenga winning 8-0 over James Gardner and Lucas Cruz at No. 1 while Daniel Dueren and Michael Kuech won 8-1 over Renat Shaykhelislamov and Benny Delgado Rochas at No. 2. Florian Halb and Otto Lenhart closed out doubles with an 8-3 victory at No. 3. Dueren downed Gardner 6-0, 6-1 at No. 1 singles while Halb defeated Shaykhelislamov 6-2, 6-0 at No. 2. Ekkenga claimed a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Delgado Rochas at No. 3 and Ben Cattan claimed a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Danish Ahmad at No. 4. Lenhart and Kuech closed out the win with a pair of 6-0 victories at No. 5 and 6. Both Valdosta State squads return to action Thursday, March 5 when they host Auburn-Montgomery at the VSU Tennis Courts. WOMEN'S SINGLES No. 1 Dominique Rothlaender d. Nicole Shanahan 6-2, 6-0 No. 2 Natali Gumbrecht d. Victoria Jones 6-0, 6-0 No. 3 Raphaelle Durante d. Mariana Freitas 6-0, 6-0 No. 4 Tina Trautmann d. Brittany Williams 6-0, 6-0 No. 5 Kristel de Groot d. Amanda Morgan 6-0 No. 6 Sonya Haggstrom d. Cori Waters 6-0 WOMEN'S DOUBLES No. 1 Rothlaender/Trautmann d. Shanahan/Williams 8-0 No. 2 Durante/Redon d. Jones, Freitas 8-0 No. 3 Gumbrecht/de Groot d. Morgan/Waters 8-0 MEN'S SINGLES No. 1 Daniel Dueren d. James Gardner 6-0, 6-1 No. 2 Florian Halb d. Renat Shaykhelislamov 6-2, 6-0 No. 3 Joerg Ekkenga d. Benny Delgado Rochas 6-2, 6-1 No. 4 Ben Cattan d. Danish Ahmad 6-1, 6-1 No. 5 Otto Lenhart d. Lucas Cruz 6-0 No. 6 Michael Kuech d. Carlin Tighe 6-0 MEN'S DOUBLES No. 1 Ekkenga/Leos Jelinek d. Gardner/Cruz 8-0 No. 2 Dueren/Kuech d. Shaykhelislamov/Delgado Rochas 8-1 No. 3 Halb/Lenhart d. Tighe/Ahmad 8-2

Lady Blazers Sweep Season Opener

2009-02-08

VALDOSTA, Ga. - In the Valdosta State's season opener, the women's tennis team ran away against Georgia College, 9-0. In the top spot for VSU, Dominique Rothlaender, 23rd in the nation, took down Marjorie Ceppo, 6-1, 6-0. She teamed up with Tina Trautmann to beat Ceppo and Gabby Acuna, 8-1. Trautmann also took down Acuna in two sets, 6-2, 6-3, at the fourth spot in singles play. Not to be outdone by Trautmann and Rothlaender, 19th nationally, Karine Redon and Raphaelle Durante, #25, put together another 8-1 victory over Diane Danna and Bertille Lion. Duranted, 44th nationally, won 6-1, 6-0 over Bertille Lion in singles action while Redon used matching 6-0 sets to beat Adriana Acuna. In the second spot in singles, Natali Gumbrecht beat Diane Danna, 6-0, 6-4, and Kristel de Groot won against Angie Cuellar, 6-0, 6-1. The two teamed up to sweep Acuna and Cuellar in doubles play, 8-0. The women will face West Alabama in a conference match next. The two teams meet up at 10 a.m. February 28.

Women's Tennis Takes Third

2008-10-17

MOBILE, Ala. - After a regional winning performance two weeks ago, Dominique Rothlaender and Tina Trautmann continued their great play to a third place finish at the ITA Small College National Championships. The duo entered regionals as a second seed, but outperformed the label to finish first. They were again second seed at nationals, but couldn't quite finish on top again. Trautmann and Rothlaender cruised through the first round at nationals, but were faced with a tough task against Clayton State in the semifinals. Fighting a tough team and a rain delay, the Lady Blazers forced a third set. After falling, 7-6, in the first, they played another marathon of a set to win 7-6 in the second. They couldn't sustain the momentum though, and fell 10-5 in the tiebreaker. It was a different story in the next match against Northwood-Michigan. The VSU team showed why they belong in the conversation of national powers with an easy 6-1, 6-1 victory. The girls will look to team up in the spring to see what kind of damage they can levy against the Gulf South Conference.

VSU Takes Doubles, Shows Up Solid in Singles

2008-10-05

LAKELAND, Fla. - One week after the men's regional tournament, Valdosta State's women proved they are a force to reckon with in the southeast region over the weekend in Lakeland, Fla. at Florida Southern. The Lady Blazers only had two teams enter doubles play, but they dominated all opponents to an all VSU final. Raphael Durante teamed with Karine Redon (3rd seed) to cruise through the top half of the bracket, only challenged by West Florida's team. Still, they would overcome with a 9-8 score to face Dominique Rothlaender and Tina Trautmann (2nd seed) in the final. The two teams played a heated match, but in the end, Rothlaender and Trautmann would win by a close margin of 8-6. In singles play, VSU entered the tournament with three seeded players: Rothlaender (4th), Durante (7th) and Natali Gumbrecht (9th). It would be the lowest seeded Blazer that made the most impressive showing. Gumbrecht flew through Flagler's Krista Bastien in two sets, 6-1, 6-0, and made short work of Ashley Hungerford of Florida Southern, 6-3, 6-2. To get to the quarterfinals, Gumbrecht would face Lynn's Maggie Eckert who would prove to be a challenge. Eckert took the second set but Gumbrecht would relinquish no more, as she took the match, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3. Gumbrecht gained another two set win over another Lynn player, Alisson Siaci, 6-4, 6-1 to reach the semifinals. She met her match in the semifinals against Suzana Cavalcante (top seed) of West Florida, the eventual champion. Gumbrecht fell in two sets, 6-1, 7-6, but challenged through the entire second set. Gumbrecht had company in the semifinals, as Trautmann had played her way to the final four as well. Natalie Aleman of Palm Beach Atlantic, Katerina Jiskrova of Lynn, Ulia Talalenko of Nova Southeastern and Jessica Yanoff of Lynn all fell to Trautmann. The only one to push to a third set was Yanoff. Trautmann came out strong against the second place player, fifth seed Eleonora Ianozzi of Lynn, by taking the first set, 5-7. Trautmann continued to compete through the second and third sets to force a marathon of a match, but Ianozzi won, 5-7, 7-6, 7-5. Ianozzi also took down Rothlaender en route to the championship match. Rothlaender made it to the quarterfinals, but couldn%u2019t get past Ianozzi. Durante and Redon joined Trautmann, Gumbrecht and Rothlaender in the round of 16, to make a total of five in the round, the most of any school. Singles Draw Doubles Draw

VSU Tennis Makes Good Showing at Thomasville Invitational

2008-09-15

THOMASVILLE, Ga. - The Valdosta State tennis team set the tone for the team's fall season this past weekend at the Thomasville Collegiate Invitational at the Glen Arven Country Club. The tournament saw VSU's Dominique Rothlaender take the women's singles while the Blazers owned doubles play with wins from Raphaelle Durante and Karine Redon in the women's division and Otto Lenhart and Leos Jelinek in the men's. Later in the tournament, Florian Halb battled Auburn-Montgomery's Francisco Redondo in a tight three-set match. Halb would fall by a score of 2-6, 6-2, 10-8 to claim second at the tournament. Rothlaender started strong with a 6-0, 6-1, victory over Florida A&M's Alexis Brown. She was challenged by Georgia State's Kiara Powell, but pulled out the win, 6-3, 4-6, 10-2. Rothlaender took the third round in two sets from another Georgia State player, Dariana Kozmina, 6-3, 7-6 (4). For the championship, Rothlaender disposed of a player she will see in conference play this season, Suzana Cavalcante of West Florida, in just two sets, 6-0, 7-5. VSU's Natali Gumbrecht almost made it an all Blazers final as she advanced to the semifinals with wins against Florida A&M's Kathline Durden and Georgia State's Martina Nitkova. In the semis she fell to Cavalcante in three sets, 2-6, 7-6, 10-6. Sonya Haggstrom and Durante fell in earlier rounds. Durante bounced back to team with Redon to form the championship doubles team. They beat teams from Florida A&M and Georgia State en route to the championship with three matches won by a score of 8-3. Rothlaender teamed with Tina Trautmann to form a semifinals team. With a first round bye, the duo advance to the semifinals with an 8-2 win over Kristi Kegerreis and Molly Maddox of Georgia Southern. Lenhart and Jelinek took down Florida State's duo of Drew Bailey and Bobby Deye as well as Florida A&M's team of Henri Mangan and Jackson Moore en route to a championship match against a team made up of Florida State's Michael O'Shea and South Alabama's Aaron Krisan. They were no match for VSU's duo as Lenhart and Jelinek put together an 8-5 victory. Halb beat Evandro Rsindo of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College handedly, 6-2, 6-1 to get to a matchup against conference foe Sean Gunnels of West Florida. Halb disposed of him easily in a 6-1, 6-0 win. In a marathon match to get to the finals, Halb and Artiom Podgainii of Florida A&M may have played the best match of the weekend. Halb won the first set 7-5, but dropped the second by the same score. He took the third set 10-7 to get the opportunity to play Redondo in the final. Michael Kuech fell to Henri Mangan of Georgia State in three sets, 3-6, 6-4, 13-11. The team will next be in tournament action September 25-28 at Valdosta State.

VSU Falls 5-2 in National Semifinals

2008-05-16

HOUSTON, Texas - Lynn built a 4-0 lead before staving off a Valdosta State comeback bid as the Knights defeated the Lady Blazers 5-2 in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament Friday morning at Memorial Park. LU raced out to a 3-0 lead as it claimed all three doubles points. Alisson Siaci and Eleonora Ianozzi opened the scoring with an 8-4 victory over Hollie Bees and Natali Gumbrecht at No. 3. At No. 2, Magdalena Ekert and Katerina Jiskrova raced out to a 6-1 advantage over Raphaelle Durante and Karine Redon before dropping the next three games. The Lynn duo recovered to eventually claim an 8-5 win for the matches second point while Victoria Weltz and Alexandra Schunk won five of the final six games for a 9-7 victory over Dominique Rothlaender and Tina Trautmann at No. 1. Ekert pushed the Knight lead to 4-0 with a 6-0, 6-2 lead over Bees at No. 5 singles before VSU began its comeback bid. Gumbrecht quickly defeated Jiskrova 6-2, 6-1 for the first VSU point while Rothlaender downed Weltz 6-4, 6-3 at No. 1. Durante was serving for match point over Schunk at No. 2 and Trautmann won her first set and was leading 6-5 in the second at No. 4 when Ianozzi ended the match with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Redon at No. 6 singles. Valdosta State ended its season with a 17-6 record.

Lady Blazers Win 5-0 to Advance to Final Four

2008-05-15

Houston, TEXAS - The Valdosta State women's tennis team advanced to the school's second-ever NCAA Semifinal appearance as the Lady Blazers defeated Hawaii Pacific 5-0 Thursday at Homer Ford Park. VSU easily won the three doubles points, beginning with an 8-1 victory at No. 3 where Natali Gumbrecht and Hollie Bees downed Tinka Mihova and Elena Hudzikova. Dominique Rothlaender and Tina Trautmann also won 8-1 over Ingrid Cseh and Lauren Shin at No. 1 while Raphaelle Durante and Karine Redon claimed an 8-2 victory over Anastasia Ageychick and Nina Mihova at No. 2. Redon put VSU up 4-0 with a straight set 6-0, 6-0 win over Shin at No. 6 while Bees closed out the match with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Tinka Mihova at No. 5. The Lady Blazers' only other Final Four appearance came in 2004. Valdosta State will face Lyn at 9:00 a.m. on Friday at Memorial Park.

Women's Tennis Advances with 5-0 Win

2008-05-14

Houston, Texas - Valdosta State lost just one game as the Lady Blazers defeated Slippery Rock 5-0 in the third round of the NCAA Championships Wednesday at Memorial Park. VSU won all three doubles matches, including a pair of 8-0 sweeps at No. 1 and 3. Dominique Rothlaender and Tina Trautmann defeated Kayla Blackburn and Laura Handy at No. 1 while Natali Gumbrecht and Hollie Bees downed Chelsea Gibson and Lara Rizzi at No. 3. Raphaelle Durante and Karine Redon finished off doubles play with an 8-1 win over Samantha Blackburn and Jessica Hilborn at No. 2. Bees and Sonya Haggstrom closed out the match with a pair of straight set victories in singles action. Bees claimed a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Wilborn at No. 4 while Haggstrom defeated Rizzi by the same score at No. 6. Valdosta State advances to Thursday's Elite Eight round where it will face Hawaii-Pacific at 9:00 a.m.

Lady Blazers Advance with 5-0 Win over UNA

2008-05-09

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Valdosta State won its seventh straight match as the Lady Blazers defeated North Alabama 5-0 in the NCAA Women's Tennis South Regional at the VSU Tennis Courts Monday. VSU opened the match by claiming all three doubles points, including a come-from-behind victory at No. 1. Phillipa Reakes and Jessica Strucher jumped out to a 7-4 advantage at No. 1 before Dominique Rothlaender and Tina Trautmann staged their comeback. The Lady Blazer duo won the next five games to eventually claim a 9-7 win. Things were easier for Valdosta State at No. 2 and No. 3 as Raphaelle Durante and Karine Redon swept Yuliya Zelenskaya and Louise Klasen 8-0 while Natali Gumbrecht and Hollie Bees downed Mallory Waites and Arrie Moore 8-1. Reakes jumped out to a 2-0 lead over Rothlaender at No. 1 in singles action before being forced to retire while Redon closed out the match with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Moore at No. 6. The victory propels the Lady Blazers into their fifth straight NCAA Championship appearance. VSU awaits the finish of the East Regional, being hosted by Bryant University, to learn its opponent for its next match, which will be Wednesday, May 14 at 8:00 a.m. at Homer Ford Park in Houston, Texas.

Women's Tennis Wins Gulf South Conference Championship

2008-04-20

MONTGOMERY, Ala.- The Valdosta State women's team came from behind to defeat West Florida, 5-4, to win the Gulf South Conference Championship. The Lady Blazers (14-5) were down 2-1 after doubles play, with only #2 doubles, Karine Redon and Raphaelle Durante were victorious winning 8-4. In singles play, #1 Dominique Rothlaender lost 6-1, 6-2 while Durante also fell 6-4, 6-4 at #2 singles. Natalie Gumbrecht won 6-3, 6-4 at #3 and Tina Trautman won at #4 6-1, 6-2. Hollie Bees won easily at #5 6-1, 6-2 while Karine Redon won in three sets at #6 6-3, 2-6, 6-3. This is the second time this season that VSU has defeated West Florida. Women's tennis' next match will be during Regional play. Check the VSU website later this week for more information.

Four Lady Blazers Earn Conference Recognition

2008-04-18

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.- The Gulf South Conference announced its 2008 Women's Tennis All-Conference Team today and four Valdosta State women's tennis players earned the conference honor, including Tina Trautman, who won the GSC Freshman-of-the-Year award. For the second time in two years, sophomore Dominique Rothlaender was named to the All-GSC First Team as well as sophomore Raphaelle Durate. Sophomore Natali Gumbrecht and Trautman were named to the All-GSC Second Team. The Lady Blazers travel to Montgomery, Ala. this weekend to compete in the GSC Tournament, where they are the #1 seed. They will take on the #4 seed in the West Division, Arkansas Tech, at 9:30 am on Saturday.

Women's Tennis Beats Embry-Riddle 8-1

2008-04-13

VALDOSTA, Ga.- After winning all three doubles matches, the Valdosta State women's tennis team went on to defeat Embry-Riddle 8-1 on Sunday afternoon. The VSU men's tennis team lost a heart breaker to Embry-Riddle, 5-4. On the women's side, Dominique Rothlaender and Tina Trautman won 8-2 at #1 doubles while Raphaelle Durante and Karine Redon won 8-4 at #2 doubles. Hollie Bees and Natali Gumbrecht won 8-1 at the #3 spot. In singles competition, five-of-six Lady Blazers (11-5, 4-0)) were victorious, with Rothlaender winning 6-3, 6-3 at #1 and Durante winnining 6-2, 7-6 (5) at #2. Trautman easily defeated her opponent at #3 6-1, 6-0 and #5 Bees won 6-2, 6-3. Sonya Haggstrom won soundly at #5 6-0, 6-0. After falling to West Florida on Friday night, the men's tennis team lost their second consecutive match to #4 Embry-Riddle. Down 2-1 after doubles,with only Floridan Halb and Richard Malobicky winning at #2 8-6, VSU (10-5, 1-1) knew they had their work cut out for them. Joerg Ekkenga breezed through his match, winnning 6-1, 6-3 and Jelinek, who has only lost two singles matches all season, defeated his opponent 4-6, 6-4, 6-1. Halb fell at #1 6-0,6-0 and Malobicky was defeated 6-3, 6-2. Michael Keuch was the only other Blazer with a victory, winning 2-6, 6-3, 1-0 (ret) at #6. VSU will compete in the Gulf South Conference Tournament, beginning on April 19th.

Women's Tennis Smashes West Florida 7-2

2008-04-11

VALDOSTA, Ga.- After winning two-of-three doubles matches, the Valdosta State women's tennis team defeated Gulf South Conference opponent, West Florida, 7-2 on Friday afternoon. The men's team fell 5-4. Karine Redon and Raphaelle Durante won at #2 doubles 8-5 while Natali Gumbrecht and Hollie Bees were victorious 8-6. Up 2-1 after doubles, the Lady Blazers (10-5, 4-0) needed to win three of the six singles matches to clinch a victory. They did even better than that, winning five-of-six matches. At #2 singles, Durante defeated her opponent 6-1, 6-3 and Gumbrecht won 6-3, 6-0 at #3. Tina Trautman won at #4 7-5, 6-1 while Bees was victorious 6-2, 6-4 at #5. Redon won at #6 easily at #6, 6-0, 6-2. The VSU men (10-4, 1-1) were down 2-1 after doubles play, with only #1 doubles, Joerg Ekkenga and Leos Jelinek, winning 8-3. Ekkenga and Jelinek were also victorious in singles play, winning 6-2, 6-0 and 6-4, 6-4 at the #2 and #3 spots, respectively. Richard Malobicky fell at #4 6-4, 6-4 and Otto Lenhart lost 6-0, 6-2 at #5. Michael Keuch won 6-4, 7-5 at #6 singles. Tied at four matches a piece, it all came down to #1 singles. Florian Halb lost his first set 3-6 but came back and won 7-5 in the second set. With the game on the line, Halb fell 6-4 in the third set as the Blazers lost to rival UWF 5-4. VSU takes on Embry-Riddle on Sunday, April 13th at 10:30 am.

Men's and Women's Tennis Smash Georgia College

2008-04-08

MILLINGTON, Ga.- With both teams winning all three doubles matches, the Valdosta State men's and women's tennis teams defeated Georgia College & State 8-1 on Tuesday afternoon. On the men's side, Joerg Ekkenga and Leos Jelinek won 8-6 at #1 doubles while Florian Halb and Richard Malobicky won at the #2 spot 8-5. Otto Lenhart and Michael Keuch won 8-3 in #3 doubles. In singles play, Ekkenga and Jelinek easily defeated their opponents 6-2, 6-1 and 6-1, 6-1, respectively. Malobicky won his match in three sets, 3-6, 6-4, 10-7 and Keuch won at #4 singles 6-4, 6-4. Ben Cattan easily won at #6 singles 6-1, 6-1. On the women's side, Dominique Rothlaender and Tina Trautman were victorious at #1 doubles 8-3. Raphaelle Durante and Karine Redon won 8-6 at #2 and Natali Gumbrecht and Hollie Bees won at #3 8-2. In singles play, Durante won 6-3, 6-4 at #2 while Gumbrecht competed at #3 and won 6-2, 6-4. Trautman won at #4 6-3, 7-6 (10) and Bees and Redon won their matches at #5 and #6 6-2, 6-4 and 6-3, 6-2. Both teams return to action on Friday, August 11th when they take on rival West Florida in Gulf South Conference action at 2 pm.

Men's and Women's Tennis Win at Final Day of Blue-Gray Tourney

2008-03-29

MONTGOMERY, Ala.- On the third and final day of the Blue-Gray Tournament, the Valdosta State men's and women's tennis teams were victorious. On the men's side, the Blazers (9-3) defeated Columbus State 5-1. The Lady Blazers (8-4) defeated Samford 5-4. Both teams travel to Pensacola, Fla. to participate in the White Sands Invitational April 4-6.

Women's Tennis Defeats Columbus State 6-1

2008-03-28

MONTGOMERY, Ala.- The Valdosta State women's tennis team won the first round of the Blue-Gray Tournament yesterday, defeating Columbus State 6-1. All three VSU(7-3, 3-0)doubles partners were victorious, with Dominique Rothlaender and Tina Trautman winning at the #1 spot 8-5 while Natali Gumbrecht and Hollie Bees won 8-1 at #3. Raphaelle Durante and Karine Redon won at #2 8-6. Redon was quick to defeat her opponent at #6 singles, winning 6-3, 6-0 while Bees won an easy 6-2, 6-3 match at #5. Rothlaender was the only one to fall in singles, losing the first set 6-2 but winning the second 6-4 and lost (10-1) in the tie break. Durante and Trautman did not finish play. The Lady Blazers take on Auburn-Montgomery today, Friday, at 10 am. The men play today at 1 pm against the host Auburn-Montgomery.

Women's Tennis Falls To Auburn-Montgomery

2008-03-28

MONTGOMERY, Ala.- For the second time this season, the Valdosta State women's tennis team fell to Auburn-Montgomery, 7-2, at the second day of the Blue-Gray Tournament. VSU (7-4, 3-0) went 2-1 in doubles play, falling at #1 and #2 doubles but came out with a win at the #3 spot with Natali Gumbrecht and Hollie Bees winning 8-6. The only singles player to be victorious was Karine Redon, winning at the #6 slot, 6-0, 6-1. Dominique Rothlaender fell 6-3, 6-2 at #1 and Raphaelle Durante lost 6-4, 6-2 at #2. In the #3 position, Gumbrecht was defeeated 6-4, 6-3 while Tina Trautman fell 6-4, 6-4 at #4. Bees also lost at #5, 6-0, 6-3. The Lady Blazers play Saturday morning at 8:30 am.

Tennis Falls at Auburn-Montgomery

2008-03-06

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - NAIA power Auburn-Montgomery swept Valdosta State in men%u2019s and women%u2019s tennis action Thursday, defeating the Blazers 9-0 and the Lady Blazers 8-1. Karine Redon proved to be the only VSU player to earn a point on the day as she defeated Nadia Lysak 7-5, 6-2, 10-7 at No. 6 singles action. AUM%u2019s Delia Sescioreanu-Delea defeated Dominique Rothlaender 6-2, 6-1 at No. 1 while Kamila Dadkhodjaeva downed Raphaelle Durante by the same score at No. 2. Tereza Veverkova claimed a 6-4, 0-6, 11-9 win over Natali Gumbrecht at No. 3 while Natalie Sienkob defeated Tina Trautmann 6-1, 6-3 at No. 4 and Dominika Zuzulova downed Hollie Bees 6-4, 6-1 at No. 5. In doubles action, Sescioreanu-Delea and Dadakhodjaeva topped Rothlaender and Trautmann 8-4 at No. 1 while Veverkova and Zuzulova defeated Durante and Redon 8-3 at No. 2. Sienkob and Lysak rounded out the match with an 8-2 win over Gumbrecht and Bees at No. 3. In men's action, the Senators Victor Sanakai Papi and Daniel Plasa defeated Leos Jelinek and Joerg Ekkenga 8-4 at No. 1 while Alberto Gonzales and Francisco Redondo topped Florian Halb and Richard Malobicky 8-6 at No.2. Nikola Miskovic and Monte Tucker closed out doubles play with an 8-2 victory over Michael Kuech and Ben Cattan at No. 3. Sanakai Papi topped Halb 7-6, 6-4 at No. 1 singles while Plasa defeated Jelinek 6-2, 6-3 at No. 2. Gonzales downed Malobicky 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2 and Tucker claimed a 6-4, 6-1 win over Otto Lenhart at No. 4. Redondo claimed a 6-3, 4-6, 10-5 win over Kuech at No. 5 and Tim Mudrick closed out the match with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Michael Millner at No. 6. Valdosta State returns to action Friday morning when it takes part in the GSC East Round Robin at Alabama-Huntsville.

Women's Tennis Falls to Armstrong Atlantic 7-2

2008-02-28

VALDOSTA, Ga- The Valdosta State men's and women's tennis teams fell to Armstrong Atlantic on Thursday afternoon at the Tennis Complex. The men lost 6-3 and the women fell 7-2. Both teams were down after doubles play, with the men winning one match and the women losing all three. Joerg Ekkeng and Leos Jelinek were the only successful pair, winning 8-3 at #1. Going into singles play down 2-1, the VSU men's team (4-1) tied it up at two with a win from Ekkenga at #2, winning 6-3, 6-3. AASU regained the lead after Florian Halb lost at the #1 spot 7-5, 6-0 but Jelinek picked up a win in straight sets, 6-0, 6-3 at #3. Richard Malobicky lost at #4 singles, 6-4, 6-1. Otto Lenhart lost 6-2, 6-2 at #5 while Ben Cattan fell 6-1, 6-3 at #6, allowing Armstrong to hand VSU their first loss of the season, 6-3. On the women's side, the Lady Blazers (3-2) were down 3-0 after doubles and things continued to get worse with Dominique Rothlaender falling 6-0, 6-2 at #1 singles while Raphaelle Durante fell 6-2, 6-0 at the #2 spot. Tina Trautman was defeated at #3, 7-4, 6-3 and Karine Redon fell 6-1, 6-0 at #6. Two Lady Blazers were victorious; Natali Gumbrecht won 6-3, 6-1 at #4 while Hollie Bees pulled out a win 7-6 (7), 4-6, 1-0 (7). Valdosta State tennis travels to Huntsville, Alabama to compete in the GSC Crossover March 6-8th.

Lady Blazers Down Barry 6-3

2008-02-19

MIAMI, Fla.- Cruising to a 4-0 overall record, the second best team in the nation, the Valdosta State men's tennis team, defeated Barry 7-2 on Monday night. The women's tennis team also pulled out a 6-3 win, after winning two out of three doubles matches. The Blazers, coming off a 6-3 win over the #1 nationally ranked Lynn University, won two of three doubles matches at Barry. Joerg Ekkenga and Leos Jelinek won 8-3 at #1 doubles while Florian Halb and Otto Lenhart, the #3 pair, were victorious 9-8. In singles play, Halb lost his first match of the season, 6-0, 6-1 at #1, but the rest of the Blazers were all victorious. Ekkenga won 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 at #2, Jelinek won at #3 singles 6-0, 0-6, 6-3 and Richard Malobicky won 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 at #4. At the #5 spot Lenhart was victorious 6-3, 2-6, 10-6 and Ben Cattan easily won #6 singles 6-1, 6-3. On the women's side, Tina Trautman and Dominique Rothlaender lost their second straught doubles match at #1, 8-2. At the #2 spot, Raphaelle Durante and Karine Redon won 8-2 and Natali Gumbrecht and Hollie Bees won 8-2 at #3. Four of six Lady Blazers won at singles play, including Rothlaender who won at #2 6-1, 7-6. Gumbrecht played at #4 singles, winning 6-3, 6-2, Bees won at #5 6-1, 6-4 and Redon won 6-0, 6-0 at #6 singles. Both men's and women's tennis take on Georgia Southwestern at the Tennis Complex on Friday, February 22 at 2 pm.

Lady Blazers Defeat Flagler 7-2

2008-02-16

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla.- The Valdosta State men's and women's teams defeated Flagler College in a non-conference match on Saturday night, with the men winning 8-1 and the women winning 7-2. The Valdosta State men (2-0) won two-of-three doubles matches. Joerg Ekkenga and Leos Jelinek won 8-5 at #1 doubles while Florian Halb and Otto Lenhart were victorious at the #3 spot. Halb and Jelinek each picked up another win at singles, with Halb winning 7-5, 6-2 at #1 and Jelinek with a 6-4, 6-2 win at #2. Richard Malobicky was victorious at #3 singles with a 6-3, 6-0 win while Lenhart almost pulled off a sweep at #4 with a 6-0, 6-1 win. Ben Cattan defeated Flagler at #5 singles, 6-2, 6-0 while Michael Keuch only played one set at #6 singles and won 8-3. VSU took home an 8-1 victory, picking up their second win of the season. The Lady Blazers (2-0) were just as victorious, with all three doubles teams defeating the Lady Saints. Dominique Rothlaender and Tina Trautman won 8-2 at #1, Karine Redon and Raphaelle Durante won at #2 8-3 and Natali Gumbrecht and Hollie Bees were victorious at #3, 8-2. Going into singles play with a 3-0 lead, the Lady Blazers did not let down. Rothlaender crushed her competition with a 6-0, 6-2 win at #1 singles while Sonya Haggstrom swept #5 singles, 6-0, 6-0. Redon went 6-1, 6-2 at #4 singles and Bees was victorious at the #3 spot, 6-2, 6-2. The Lady Blazers extend their record to 2-0 with a 7-2 defeat of Flagler. Both teams travel to Lynn University tomorrow for 10:30 am matches.

Women's Tennis Falls to Lynn 7-2

2008-02-16

BOCA RATON, Fla.- The #3 Valdosta State women's tennis team fell to #4 Lynn University on Sunday afternoon, 7-2. All three VSU (2-1) doubles teams were unsuccessful at picking up wins. The #6 team in the nation, Karine Redon and Raphaelle Durante, were close at #2 doubles, falling 9-8 (2) to the #16 doubles team in the nation. Down 3-0 at doubles, two Lady Blazers were able to pull out wins in singles play. Tina Trautmann defeated #17 Katerina Jiskrova 7-5, 5-7, (10-3) at the #3 spot while #16 Natalie Gumbrecht beat #14 Alisson Siaci 6-1, 6-0 at #4 singles. The loss drops the Lady Blazers to 2-1 on the season as they women travel to Barry on Monday night for a 2 pm match.

Tennis Sweeps USC Aiken

2008-02-02

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Valdosta State opened its 2008 tennis season with a pair of victories as the men's team defeated USC-Aiken 8-1 while the women blanked the Lady Pacers 9-0 at the VSU Tennis Courts Saturday. The VSU men (1-0) jumped out to an early lead as they claimed two of the three doubles points. Joerg Ekkenga and Leos Jelinek blanked Dagoberto Darezzo and Ed Horne 8-0 at No. 1 while Florian Halb and Benjamin Cattan claimed an 8-1 win over Diego Duran and Nathan Berlyn at No. 3. USC-Aiken (1-1) claimed their only point at No. 2 doubles, where Bruno Seves and Chris Kaetz defeated Michael Kuech and Otto Lenhart 8-2. In singles action, Halb downed Darezzo 6-1, 6-1 while Ekkenga defeated Seves 6-2, 6-2. Jelinek claimed a 6-3, 6-3 win over Horne at No. 3 while Richard Malobicky defeated Kaetz 6-2, 6-1 at No. 4. Kuech defeated Duran 6-4, 6-2 at No. 5 and Lenhart closed out the match with a 6-0, 3-6 (10-6) over Berlyn at No. 6. On the women's side, Valdosta State (1-0) won 8-2 at both No. 1 and No. 3 while claiming an 8-5 victory at No. 2. At No. 1 Raphaelle Durante and Karine Redon topped Kristin Hunter and Maria Soledad Angel while Lady Blazers Tina Trautmann and Sonya Haggstrom downed Marianne Blattes and Mathilde Gienet at No. 2. Hollie Bees and Clair McKinnon defeated Brittany Telford and Stephanie Humphrey at No. 3. Hunter gave USC-Aiken (1-1) its best shot at No. 1 in singles play, claiming a 6-4 win in the first set, but Durante rebounded with a pair of 6-3 wins in the next two sets. Trautmann defeated Grenet 6-1, 6-2. Redon downed Blattes 6-1, 6-1 at No. 3 while Bees claimed a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Humphrey at No. 4. Haggstrom topped Telford 6-1, 6-1 at No. 5 and McKinnon claimed a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over Angel to end the match. Both Valdosta State teams returns to action Monday, February 11 when they host Abraham Baldwin at 3:00 p.m.

Tennis Competes at ITA South Regional

2007-10-03

Penscaola, FLA. - The Valdosta State men's and women's tennis teams competed in the ITA South Regional Tournament held in Pensacola, Fla. last weekend where Florian Halb won the men's singles competition and will advance to the National Championships. Halb, who was ranked first, defeated Carlin Tighe from West Alabama in the round of 16 and went on to defeat Luis Arboleda in the quarterfinals. He then palyed his teammate, Leos Jelinek, who defeated Jose Ycaza, of West Florida, in the quarterfinals. Halb defeated Jelinek 6-3, 3-1 before the match was called due to injury. Halb then defeated Nicolas Barrientos from West Florida, 6-4, 6-2. Ben Cattan and Joerg Ekkenga also reached the quarterfinal round, falling to players from West Florida. Cattan was defeated 6-3, 6-4 and Ekkenga had to retire due to injury in the third set after losing the first 4-6 and winning the second, 6-2. In men's doubles, Ekkenga and Jelinek defeated two teams from West Florida to make it to the finals and beating Barrientos and Yzaca 8-4. Ekkenga and Jelinek will advance to the National Championships. Halb and newcomer Michael Keuch made it to the seminals, but lost to West Florida 9-8. On the women's side, Raphaelle Durante made it to the finals of the singles competition, falling to Suzanna Cavalante of West Florida in three sets: 3-6, 7-5, 3-6. Durante defeated girls from West Alabama and North Alabama and had to play teammate, Natali Gumbrecht in the semifinals. In doubles, Durante and Karine Redon teamed up and defeated Rachel Hardeway and Amanda Molsen in the quarterfinals before beating teammates Gumbrecht and Sonya Haggstrom. Durante and Redon fell in the finals to Cavalcante and Paola Arevaki 8-5. Anne Corten and Clair McKinnon had a bye their first round and went on to defeat Mariana Feltas and Brittany Williams from West Alabama, 8-0. The pair fell in the semifinals to West Florida. Halb, Ekkenga, Jelinek and the seven other doubles and singles winners from the other regions will compete for the ITA National Championships.

Women's Tennis Competes in Thomasville Collegiate

2007-09-24

Thomasville, GA. - The Valdosta State men's and women's tennis teams competed in the Thomasville Collegiate Invitational last weekend, with Anne Corten and Dominique Rothlaender making it to the finals of the double's play Halb defeated Matthew Holland from ABAC in the first round (6-2, 6-4) and then defeated Jason Hood from Florida State in the quarterfinals (6-0, 6-1). In the semifinals, he beat Clifford Malivert from FAMU (6-1, 6-0) and went on to defeat the #1 seed, Daniel Plasa from Auburn Montgomery (2-6, 6-4, 10-8) to win the men's singles competition. Ekkenga lost in the first round to Robert Hodel but won the rest of his matches against Anze Cevka from Georgia State (6-3, 6-3) and Holland from ABAC (6-2, 6-1) to win the men's singles consolation bracket. In men's doubles, Ekkenga and Leos Jelinek defeeated the #1 seed team from Georgia Southern in the quarterfinals. Advancing to the semifinals, they beat a team from Florida State (9-8) and then defeated the pair from West Florida (8-3) to win the men's doubles competition. On the women's side, Raphaelle Durante won in the first round against Sarah Brinkley from FAMU (6-2, 6-0) and then defeated Monika Lalewicz 6-1, 6-1. Durante was defeated by Dariana Kozmina from Georgia Southern in the semifinals, 7-5, 6-4. Dominique Rothlaender lost in the first round to the #1 seed, Kozmina, and made it to the finals of the consolation bracket before retiring due to a pulled muscle. Anne Corten won her first match against Rachel Malina (6-1, 6-3), but fell to Nitkova rom Georgia Southern (6-0, 6-0). In the consolation bracket, Corten lost to Laleqicz in the finals (6-1, 6-1). In doubles play, Durante and Karine Redon were victorious in the first round, defeating a team from Arkansas-Monticello (8-3) before beating the doubles team from Georgia Southern (8-2). The pair lost in the finals to the #1 seed from GSU, 8-4. Corten and Rothlaender were defeated in the first round, but made it to the finals of the consolation round, where they were to take on the team they defeated in the first round. Both pairs retired due to injury. The Blazers and Lady Blazers will continue play this weekend at the ITA South Regional. The winners of the regional will continue to the national tournament.

#4 Women's Tennis Blows By #14 Florida Southern

2007-03-19

VALDOSTA, Ga.-The #4 Valdosta State University women's tennis team defeated #14 Florida Southern 7-2 on Saturday afternoon at the tennis complex. All three doubles partners were victorious starting out with #1 doubles Anne Corten and Dominique Rothlaender defeating the #17 doubles team, Meritxell Gol and Senka Softic 8-1. Karine Redon and Raphaelle Durante beat Lidia Gandarias and Silje Aarum 9-7 at #2 doubles while Sonya Haggstrom and Natali Gumbrecht pulled out a win at #3 doubles, defeating Erin Conroy and Lindsey Schwartz 9-8(3). In singles play, Rothlaender defeated Gol at #2, 6-2, 6-3. #25 Corten also won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3 over Gandarias at #2 singles. Gumbrecht played at #4 singles, defeating Aarum 6-2, 6-1 while Redon won 6-0, 6-3 over Conroy at #6 singles. The Lady Blazers extend their winning record to 8-0 and 5-0 in GSC play. VSU returns to action on Sunday morning with the #3 men's tennis team taking on Lander at 10:30 a.m. at the tennis complex. Both the men and the women travel to Pensacola, Fla. to compete in the White Sands Invitational on March 29.

Lady Blazers Defeat No. 3 West Florida 6-3

2007-02-23

VALDOSTA, Ga.-The Valdosta State University women's tennis team defeated the No. 3 West Florida Argonauts 6-3 on Friday afternoon, winning all three double's matches. The VSU men were defeated by the No. 4 Argos, 6-3. The women's doubles were perfect in match play. Anne Corten and Dominique Rothlaender teamed up at the No. 1 doubles, defeating the No. 1 doubles team, Tammy Kevey and Mandy Septoe 9-8 and winning the tie breaker. Raphaelle Durante and Karine Redon defeated Suzanne Cavalcante and Renate Mattos the No. 2 doubles, 8-6, while Natali Gumbrecht and Sonya Haggstrom competed at No. 3 doubles to defeat Paola Arevalo and Anne Beard 8-5. In singles competition, Durante was up a set before UWF's Cavalcante came from behind to defeat the freshman 6-4, 2-6, 3-6. Rothlaender was successful at the No. 2 spot, defeating Kevey 6-1, 7-5. At the No. 3 spot, Corten won in three sets against No. 21 mattos, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3). Haggstrom and Kellie Sturma were both defeated at the No. 5 and No. 6 spots. On the men's side, Tom Provost and Mickael Andreo were the only VSU doubles team that was victorious at the No. 3 spot, defeating West Florida's Eduardo Vacasottie and Luiz Bernardi 8-5. In single's competition, Provost picked up another win, defeating Nicolas Barrientos at No. 3, 6-1, 6-0. Ben Cattan was also victorious with a 4-6, 6-2, 10-2 three-set thriller over Luis Arboleda. Both the men's and the women's tennis teams take on Georgia Southwestern Saturday morning at 9 am at the tennis courts

Women's Tennis Falls at Armstrong Atlantic

2007-02-17

VALDOSTA, Ga.-The top-ranked Valdosta State University women's tennis team was defeated by Armstrong Atlantic State on Saturday afternoon at the AASU Tennis Complex. The women started off strong, winning two of three doubles matches. Karine Redon and Raphaelle Durante won at No. 2 doubles to #20 Martina Beckmann and Gabriella Kovacs 8-3 while number three doubles, Sonya Haggstrom and Natali Gumbrecht defeated Johanna Dahlback and Alisa Kahukina 9-8. Anne Corten and Dominique Rothlaender were defeated by No. 4 Dziyana Nazaruk and Iuliia Stupak 8-5 at No. 1 doubles. Durante was defeated at No. 1 singles by the No. 1 Stupak 6-0, 6-0 while Rothlaender fell 6-1, 6-1 to No. 8 Nazaruk 6-1, 6-1. Gumbrecht won at the No. 4 singles stpot to No. 22 Gabrielle Kovacs 6-0, 6-4 while Redon also picked up a win over Kagukina 6-0, 6-1. Both men's and women's tennis picked up their second loss of the season, giving them each a 1-2 overall record. The Blazers take on rival West Florida next Friday, February 23, for a 2:00 pm match.

Freed-Hardeman Defeats Women's Tennis

2007-02-06

VALDOSTA, Ga.-Both the men's and women's Valdosta State tennis teams fell to NAIA opponent Freed-Hardeman on Tuesday night outside the P.E. Complex, 6-3. The afternoon started off on a sour note when all three men's doubles teams fell to the Lions. On the women's side, Karine Redon and Clair McKinnon were the only doubles teams to be victories over Freed-Hardeman, defeating Kristina Vucenov and Bello. In singles, Natali Gumbrecht defeated Jelena Jovic at the number three spot, 6-3, 6-2 while Redon added another victory on the afternoon, defeating Mary Jo Cano 7-5, 7-5. Both Blazers teams fall to a 1-1 record and look to take on Armstrong Atlantic on February 17, in Savannah, Ga. for a 1:00 match.

Lady Blazers Defeat Flagler

2007-02-02

VALDOSTA, Ga..-The Valdosta State women's tennis team opened up the 2007 season with a win over Flagler College on Friday night, sweeping Flagler in doubles competition. The women's team, coming off of a 13-11 season and advancing to the 2006 Sweet Sixteen also opened their season with a win. Anne Corten and Dominique Rothlaender played at the No. 1 doubles, crushing FC's Chelsi de Cuba and Femke Theile, 8-0. Clair McKinnon and Sonja Haggstrom were victorious at the No. 3 spot, 8-5. Newcomer Raphaelle Durante competed at No. 1 singles, defeating De Cuba in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5. Natali Gumbrecht, the No. 2 singles, was also victorious against Chelsea Marada, 6-0, 6-2. The Lady Blazers defeated the Lady Saints 8-1. VSU returns to action on Tuesday, Feb. 6, hosting Freed-Hardeman at 2 p.m.