Readying for the racket

Bulldogs begin fall season 2-1 under new head coach

Ferris’ women’s tennis team members spent the weekend on the road, testing the new skills and methods taught to them by first-year head coach Chad Berryhill.

The Bulldogs began their trip south against conference foe Wayne State University Sept. 7. Ferris fell to the Warriors 7-2 in their Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference season opener.

“The team is performing well. They are learning a new system of how to play and a new set of goals and expectations,” Berryhill said. “I just wish we had more time to prepare before starting our conference season, but we will continue to grow and learn as a team.”

Though Berryhill’s debut would have been better received if it had been a win, the Bulldogs regrouped after their loss to Wayne State and focused on the matches ahead.

Ferris stopped at Hillsdale College Sept. 8 to give the Chargers a 5-4 defeat. The Bulldogs began the match with a 2-1 lead after capturing two of the three doubles flights. As Ferris went into singles competition, the Bulldogs dropped their first three single matches. Ferris forced its way to a win by defeating the Eagles’ bottom three singles athletes.

“We played hard and learned what we need to improve on,” Berryhill said. “We need to get tougher as a team and believe in ourselves a lot more if we are to reach our goals this season.”

Ferris finished up its trip with a match against University of Findlay Sept. 9. Findlay did not stand a chance going into singles play after the Bulldogs secured all three doubles flights, leading to an eventual 7-2 victory for the Bulldogs.

“I was impressed by our doubles against Findlay on Sunday as the team executed the way we discussed prior to the match and we played more aggressively and put away shots that we didn’t always execute in the previous two matches.”

Four Ferris athletes posted wins in singles competition. Junior Ana Jan captured the No.-one flight in three sets. Ferris junior Sydnie Sine, freshman Janie Sell and junior Julia Fusik captured the fourth, fifth and sixth positions for the Bulldogs, respectively.

The Bulldogs are currently 2-1 in the GLIAC so far this season.

Ferris will ride its two-game unbeaten streak onto their home court where they will host Lake Erie at 3 p.m., Malone at 11 a.m. and Walsh at 10 a.m. this weekend in Big Rapids beginning Sept. 14-16, respectively.