Makin’ racket
Ferris’ men’s tennis team is making racket in the league starting off 5-0. The Bulldogs opened up conference play Friday, Feb. 24, and asserted their dominance in the region by defeating No. 2 Indianapolis in the first of a three-game homestand.
Ferris carried that momentum into Saturday, Feb. 25, and Sunday, Feb. 26, when they swept Findlay and Hillsdale for the Bulldogs second and third sweeps of the season.
The Bulldogs opened the season by defeating Davenport 8-1 and sweeping Aquinas. With no signs of slowing down, Ferris is 20th in the nation as of Sunday, Feb. 26. The Dawgs play away at Cameron Sunday, March 5, with hopes of further climbing the ranks.
No igloo for Brutus
Ferris hockey landed the No. 5 seed in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) tournament and missed the opportunity for home ice, going 1-0-1 over the weekend. The Bulldogs were tied with Bowling Green State for fourth going into the Dawg’s matchup with Lake Superior State Saturday, Feb. 25.
Ferris defeated the Lakers 6-4 Friday, Feb. 24. However, the Lakers won in a shootout after a 1-1 double overtime tie. Bowling Green won both of its match-ups earning six points while the Bulldogs only received four. As a result, the Dawgs will play the No. 4 Falcons at Bowling Green, Ohio.
The teams will play a best-of-three series to determine who moves on to the next round. The Bulldogs won the tournament as a sixth seed last year.
Hankins American block tour
Basketball sophomore Zach Hankins finished the regular season with the most blocks in NCAA Div. 2 competition. Hankins blocked 116 shots this year averaging 4.1 per game. He also shattered the record for most blocks for a season in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) history.
The record was previously held by Callistus Eziukwu of Grand Valley since 2005 when he recorded 69 blocks. Hankins nearly hit the century mark with 98 blocks this season in GLIAC competition.
Hankins has been the heart of the Ferris defense that’s currently top of the GLIAC. The No. 1 seed Bulldogs will host Hankins’ next block party against the No. 8 seed Hillsdale Chargers in the first round of the GLIAC tournament. The game starts 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28, in Big Rapids.