By: Lloydrica Hudson, Sports Editor

The VSU women’s tennis team battled to secure a victory, while the men’s team came up short against No. 42 Columbus State on Wednesday afternoon. 

The women’s match came down to the final court in a tense finish, something head coach John Hansen said it reflected how competitive the day was. 

“Neither match was even close to being over,” Hansen said. “It’s going to come down probably to one match on each of them. It gets a little exciting, a little nail-biting.” 

VSU opened strong in doubles, earning the team point. The duo of Charleigh Fay and Ivana Castillo Hurtado got the point with a 7-6 7-4 comeback win, while Kitti Nemeth and Carmelle Vial added a 6-4 victory at No. 3. 

Columbus State responded in singles to take a 3-1 lead, but the Blazers came. Fay won 6-4, 7-6 7-2 at No. 4 and No. 70 Castillo Hurtado secured a 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 3 to tie the match at 3-3. 

The deciding point came at No. 2, where Milica Prokic fought through a three-set battle to defeat Monika Temkova 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, sealing the team victory and giving the Blazers their third straight win. 

Hansen said the team’s recent success followed a difficult stretch earlier in the season.  

“When we played those matches that they lost, we didn’t even have enough girls,” Hansen said. “But once everyone got healthy, you could tell we had a good enough team to win some matches.” 

Hansen also pointed to consistent performances from players like Nelly, Fay and Vial as key factors in the team’s improvement. 

“They’ve been playing very consistent,” Hansen said. “The more they play, the better they get.” 

On the men’s side, Valdosta State fell 4-0 to the nationally ranked Cougars. 

Columbus State claimed the doubles point and carried that momentum into singles play, winning three matches to win the contest despite several Blazers splitting sets when play ended. 

Both VSU teams will return to action Friday at 2 p.m. against Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville