After the opening singles match of the Division II Men’s Tennis Championship, Valdosta State coach John Hansen was convinced the season would end the same way each of the last 33 seasons he has coached the Blazers has — without the national title.

But his team proved him wrong, dropping only the No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles points en route to defeating Lynn, 5-2, in the title match of the 2006 championship in Kansas City, Missouri.

It was the first men’s tennis title for Valdosta State, and the third championship for the school in any sport. The Blazers football team won the championship in 2004 and the baseball team was victorious in 1979.

“I thought we were done after the first sets in singles,” Hansen said. “We had a couple of momentum swings. Our No. 4 player (Leos Jelinek) came through for us, and we didn’t count on winning No. 2 singles.”

The latter pitted Valdosta State’s 24th-ranked Mickael Andreo against 19th-ranked Julien Carsuzaa from Lynn. Though Andreo dropped the first set, 4-6, he battled back to win the last two, 6-4, 7-5. Jelinek also faced a tough matchup in the No. 4 singles spot, finally defeating Lynn’s Jan Macko, 6-7 (4-7), 6-0, 6-1.

Dominik Hansen also contributed a win for the Blazers in the No. 6 spot.

The doubles teams of Jelinek and Niko Overkemping and Andreo and Thomas Provost gave Valdosta State its first points of the day.

Valdosta State finished the year with a 26-1 record, including an upset of previously undefeated Drury in the quarterfinals of the tournament. The team’s only loss was to West Florida in the Gulf South Conference tournament championship match.

It was the first championship appearance for Lynn, which beat defending champion West Florida to earn a berth in the final. Lynn built a 21-6 record over the 2006 campaign and completed the school’s best season. The Fighting Knights return their top three singles players next year — freshman Lorenzo Cava, who won his match at No. 1 singles; freshman Carsuzaa; and junior Dennis Riegraf, who was leading his No. 3 match when play was suspended.

Lynn coach Mike Perez said the championship-match loss didn’t diminish his team’s current — or potential future — success.

“We didn’t lose today, Valdosta State just played better. These guys are all winners because of everything they accomplished this season,” Perez said. “No one ever thought we’d be in the national semifinals, let alone the championship. I’m so proud of the way this team has fought all season long and how they handled themselves on the court.”

First and second rounds

At Armstrong Atlantic — Armstrong Atlantic 5, Shaw 0; Francis Marion 5, Anderson (S.C.) 3; Armstrong Atlantic 5, Francis Marion 0. (Armstrong Atlantic advances.)

At West Fla. — West Fla. 5, Harding 0; Ouachita Baptist 5, Lincoln Memorial 1; West Florida 5, Ouachita Baptist 0. (West Florida advances.)

At Neb.-Kearney — Neb.-Kearney 5, Mesa St. 0; St. Cloud St. 5, Truman 2; Neb.-Kearney 5, St. Cloud St. 1. (Neb.-Kearney advances.)

At Northwood — Northwood 5, Lake Superior St. 0; Ferris St. 5, Grand Valley St. 1; Northwood 5, Ferris St. 2. (Northwood advances.)

At Stonehill — Concordia (N.Y.) 5, Stonehill 0; Assumption 5, Mercy 4; Concordia (N.Y.) 5, Assumption 1. [Concordia (N.Y.) advances.]

At Midwestern St. — Abilene Christian 5, Incarnate Word 0; Midwestern St. 5, Abilene Christian 3. (Midwestern St. advances.)

At Lynn — Fla. Southern 5, Fla. Gulf Coast 2; Lynn 5, Fla. Southern 2. (Lynn advances.)

At UC San Diego — UC San Deigo 5, Sonoma St. 0. (UC San Diego advances.)

At Valdosta St. — Valdosta St. 5, Tuskegee 0; Delta St. 5, North Alabama 4; Valdosta St. 5, Delta St. 0. (Valdosta St. advances.)

At Lander — Lander 5, Columbus St. 2; S.C. Upstate 5, S.C.-Aiken 0; S.C. Upstate 5, Lander 2. (S.C. Upstate advances.)

At Drury — Drury 5, Salem Int’l 0; Rockhurst 5, Indianapolis 1; Drury 5, Rockhurst 1. (Drury advances.)

At Washburn — Washburn 6, Winona St. 1; Northwest Mo. St. 5, Metro St. 1; Northwest Mo. St. 5, Washburn 2. (Northwest Mo. St. advances.)

At St. Edwards — Central Oklahoma 5, Cameron 3; St. Edwards 5, Central Okla. 3. (St. Edwards advances.)

At Kutztown — Queens (N.Y.) 5, Bentley 0; Kutztown 5, Dowling 1; Kutztown 5, Queens (N.Y.) 4. (Kutztown advances.)

At Barry — Barry 5, Carson-Newman 1; Eckerd 5, Presbyterian 2; Barry 5, Eckerd 4. (Barry advances.)

Round of 16

West Fla. 5, Armstrong Atlantic 4; Northwood 5, Neb.-Kearney 4; Midwestern St. 5, Concordia (N.Y.) 2; Lynn 5, UC San Diego 3; Valdosta St. 5, S.C. Upstate 4; Drury 5, Northwest Mo. St. 0; St. Edwards 5, Kutztown 0; Barry 5, BYU-Hawaii 4.

Quarterfinals

West Fla. 5, Northwood 1; Valdosta St. 5, Drury 3; Lynn 5, Midwestern St. 3; Barry 5, St. Edwards 2.

Semifinals

Lynn 5, West Fla. 3; Valdosta St. 5, Barry 3.

Championship

Valdosta St. 5, Lynn 2

Singles: No. 1 — Lorenzo Cava, Lynn, def. Christoph Schneider, Valdosta St., 6-4, 7-5; No. 2 — Mickael Andreo, Valdosta St., def. Julien Carsuzaa, Lynn, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5; No. 3 — Dennis Reigraf, Lynn, vs. Thomas Provost, Valdosta St., 6-4, 5-7, 2-5; No. 4 — Leos Jelinek, Valdosta St., def. Jan Macko, Lynn, 6-7 (4-7), 6-0, 6-1; No. 5 — Regnier Azevedo, Lynn, vs. Niko Overkemping, Valdosta St., 6-4, 4-6, 3-5; No. 6 — Dominik Hansen, Valdosta St., def. Raphael Koehle, Lynn, 6-3, 6-3.

Doubles: No. 1 — Cava-Macko, Lynn, def. Schneider-Hansen, Valdosta St., 9-7; No. 2 — Jelinek-Overkemping, Valdosta St., def. Reigrad-Carsuzaa, Lynn, 8-2; No. 3 — Andreo-Provost, Valdosta St., def. Azevedo-Koehle, Lynn, 8-2.