Sports Shorts

Ferris Volleyball Travels to Tampa
Early last week, the Ferris State women’s volleyball team went on the road to participate in the Tampa Invitational. The Bulldogs lead off with an evening match on Sept. 4 against the 2nd highest ranked team in the nation, the Tampa Trojans. While the Bulldogs ended up losing the game, they did take one match, and battled hard through the others.

The next day, the Bulldogs took on Tusculum, and won their first game of the season, sweeping the Pioneers 3-0 in three decisive matches. Though the Bulldogs breezed through day two of the three day tournament, the competition during day three was to be far fiercer.

To finish off the weekend, Ferris was matched up against two of the top 25 teams in the nation in 5th ranked Central Missouri and 24th ranked Indianapolis. They split the day, losing the first game against Central Missouri 3-0, but won the second against Indianapolis rather comfortably 3-1. The Bulldogs now have almost a week to rest up before their next road test at Saginaw Valley State.

Cross Country is off to the Races
The Ferris State men’s and women’s cross country teams joined several other college programs and prep schools to run in the Ray Helsing Bulldog Invitational. As the name suggests, the invitational meet was held right here in Big Rapids, on the Katke Golf Course. Although the meet was non-scoring, the fortieth running of the invitational featured strong competition nonetheless.

FSU’s own Kyle Richardson placed first in the 8k men’s race, with teammates Logan Hammer, Andrew Harper and Trevor Holowaty taking three of the remaining top six spots just moments behind. The ladies also made an impact on the day, with Kristie LeSage taking fourth place in the women’s 5k race with a trio of fellow Dawgs right on her tail. Emily Haynes, Samantha Humphrey and Ashley Hamilton finished sixth, seventh and ninth, respectively.

While the Bulldogs got to open their season at home, they will not be returning for the remainder of the season. This Friday, the Bulldogs will begin their long series of road trips by heading to East Lansing to run in The Michigan State Spartan Open.

Ferris Tennis Take Third at Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Warhawk
On Sept. 5, the men of Ferris State’s tennis team took part in the Warhawk Invitational in Whitewater, Wisconsin. The two day tournament was hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks.

Ferris’ own Raleigh Grossbaum took the final round over Warhawk Micheal Schnarr in the fifth flight of singles play. Teamate Laurent Galarneau advanced all the way to the finals in the first flight of singles matches, but fell to Grand Valley State’s Francis Bertrand. Unfortunately, GVSU just seemed to have the Bulldogs’ number that day, as they also edged out both Simon Levy and Jordan Helderman in a final round of their own.

The Bulldogs often performed well in doubles competition, advancing to the finals three times out of the four flights. Yet they once again had trouble getting it done, as they lost each time. The tennis team will return home next week as Ferris State hosts the Bulldog Invitational this Friday.

Women’s Soccer Season Kicks Off
The Ferris State women’s soccer team started their season in a contest against Truman State at the Ramada Plaza Invitational. The girls fell to a tough team who had reached the NCAA tournament last season, 2-0.

A two hour portion of the game was delayed by weather. This made for a long day for the Bulldogs, as even when the clock was running, they had trouble producing any offense, recording only three shots on the day.

The Bulldogs had to quickly recover from this loss, as they played Quincy the next day to conclude the Invitational. Following this past weekend, the team will not see any action until Sunday when they take on Saginaw Valley State at home.