Ferris tennis teams began their spring season with exhibition matches in late January and began regional play this past week.
The men’s tennis team has jumped out to an 18th place ranking in DII, whereas the women’s team continues to seek their first overall win of the season.
Men’s Tennis
Following a loss in both an exhibition match and regional play, men’s tennis bounced back this past weekend with a 5-2 win over the Findlay Oilers on Friday, Feb. 9.
Ferris secured the doubles point behind victories from their two doubles tandem of senior Jan Koupil and junior Alessandro Santangelo, and their third doubles team of sophomore Eric Kovacs and senior Yannic Mader.
The Bulldogs dominated the singles side with wins on four of their six matchups. Senior Benjamin Lortie earned a gritty three-set win at one singles and sophomore Esunge Ndumbe continued his winning streak with a straight-set victory at three singles. Santangelo and Mader captured wins at five and six singles to secure the victory for the Bulldogs.
Head coach Mark Doren praised his team for the win against a tough regional opponent.
“Very impressive win for Lortie who’s been dealing with a lingering injury and the pairing of Mader and Kovacs,” Doren said. “They pulled out the wins with tennis that had the whole building going wild. This is one of the strongest Findlay teams we’ve played during my time here at Ferris, so I’m very happy with our weekend.”
The men started off their spring season with a 6-1 exhibition loss against the DI Western Michigan Broncos on Wednesday, Jan. 17. The Bulldogs gained the doubles point with wins from their first doubles team of Ndumbe and Lortie, and their third doubles team of Kovacs and Mader. Regional play began last week on Sunday, Feb. 4 with a 6-1 loss to Indianapolis. Ferris was swept in doubles play, but Ndumbe secured the lone point for the Bulldogs with a three-set victory at three singles.
Women’s Tennis
For the women, they did not rebound following two exhibition matches against DI foes and fell to the Findlay Oilers.
The team was downed by Findlay with a 5-2 loss on the road. The duo of sophomore Ana Hernandez Ferrer and sophomore Maria Fernanda Hernandez Ferrer got the Bulldogs two points at two and four singles. Ana Hernandez Ferrer won a convincing two-set match and sophomore Maria Fernanda Hernandez Ferrer came back after dropping the first set to win her match in three sets.
The Bulldogs finished off their weekend stint with a 4-0 loss to Indiana (Pa.) on Saturday, Feb. 11 at the neutral location of Sandusky, Ohio.
Despite the doubles point going to IUP, the one doubles team of Ana Ferrer and senior Morgan Waller won an impressive matchup 7-5 against the eighth-ranked doubles team in DII.
Doren spoke highly of the women’s team despite the tough start to the spring season.
“We may not have come out of this weekend with wins, but I think we grew more this weekend than we have in a long time,” Doren said. “We’re giving other’s the opportunity to play higher positions and get much needed experience that will help us continue to get better leading in to GLIAC play at the end of March.”
The Bulldogs fell to the Broncos 7-0 with a sweep of the singles flights and two out of three doubles flights. Ferris then lost two bouts to the Eastern Michigan Eagles on Sunday, Jan. 28, 6-1 and 4-0. Maria Ferrer gained the lone win of the series at five singles with a resilient tiebreaker decision. Alongside the men’s team, the women’s team began regional play against Indianapolis but suffered a 7-0 loss. The doubles duo of Ana Ferrer and Waller won their matchup 7-5 in the loss.
Both the men’s and women’s teams will continue regional play after a week off on Sunday, Feb. 18 when they take on the rival Northwood Timberwolves at home in the FSU Racquet and Fitness Center. The women’s match is set to begin at 10 a.m. and the men will begin at 2 p.m.