MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – The Nationally Ranked No. 5 Valdosta State men’s tennis team closed out their season after a tough fight against the Nationally Ranked No. 2 Buccaneers of Barry and ultimately fell 5-1 during the Championship round of the NCAA South Region II Tournament on Sunday afternoon in Miami Shores, Florida.

Valdosta State aimed to get on track with doubles competition, but Barry remained consistent. Alex Holm and Eden Peleg put up a good fight, but ultimately fell 5-8 against No. 2 Ahmed Triki and Pierre Montrieul. Jordi Mas and Fernando Rivas displayed tremendous efforts against No. 25 Carlos Gomez and Vivien Versier, but were finally defeated 8-9 in the No. 2 spot. Leo Blay and Xavier Pineda teamed up as they worked together to defeat  Nico Dreer and Fernando Tous in an 8-5 victory at No. 3.

For the Blazers, No. 40 Mas fought hard against opponent, Montrieul, but eventually fell short with a 2-6, 6-7 loss during the singles competition in the No. 2 spot. Rivas aimed to get Valdosta State back on track, but came up shy, 5-7, 4-6 against No. 47 Dreer at No. 4. Davis Stewart got off to a slow start and it proved to be costly as he was defeated by opponent Fabian Pronnet 1-6, 5-7 in the No. 5 slot.

With the loss, the No. 5 Blazers finished their season with a stellar 16-6 overall record and clinched the No. 3 spot in Regional rankings. Meanwhile, No. 2 Barry improved to 23-1 on the year and will advance to the NCAA Championships Round of 16 in Altamonte Springs, Fla.