MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – It took over three hours to determine a winner on Monday in Miami Shores, Fla., but the Valdosta State men’s tennis team made the wait worthwhile with a 5-4 comeback victory over No. 7 Barry to earn a trip to the NCAA Division II Men’s Tennis National Tournament in Denver, Colo.

The No. 8 ranked Blazers (17-6) fell behind in doubles action to start the day after Niklas Herbring and Jordi Mas dropped an 8-4 matchup to Ahmed Triki and Renato Lombardi at No. 1. Gereon Heitmann teamed up with Fernando Rivas at No. 3 and put up a tremendous fight during a 7-9 defeat at the hands of Franco Echenique and Nico Dreer, but Leo Blay and Xavier Pineda salvaged doubles competition with an 8-6 victory over Fabian Pronnet and Flavio Matteoli at No. 2.

The Buccaneers’ (14-7) lead at the break sparked a fire under the Blazers in singles play, starting with Heitmann, who secured a 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 win at No. 2 over Dreer. Moments later, Barry reclaimed a 3-2 advantage at No. 4 with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 win for Renato Lombardi over Mas, but Herbring evened the match up yet again with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 triumph at No. 5.

Triki overtook Blay at No. 1, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, before Rivas returned fire for Valdosta State at No. 3 singles with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-1 win over Pronnet to knot the match up at 4-4. Needing a win at No. 6 to send his squad to Nationals, Pineda answered the call with a 6-0, 2-6, 6-4 victory over Echenique.

The win marks a return to the round of 16 for the Blazers, which is slated for May 18-21. The appearance at the DII National Championships will be the first for VSU since the team won the national championship in 2011.