Both Ferris tennis programs ended their regular seasons with a weekend sweep of Michigan Tech on Friday, April 19, and Lake Superior State on Saturday, April 20.
The weekend slate extended the men’s win streak to 10 straight matches and earned the Bulldogs the GLIAC regular season championship. The women finished second in the conference, earning the team a first-round bye for the GLIAC postseason tournament.
Head coach Mark Doren extended praise to both teams following the weekend of play.
“Everyone came to play today, especially our seniors on senior day,” Doren said. “They all came in so clutch and really stepped up to provide energy for the matches. Bringing that positivity was so important to us. Tennis is a sport that has more failure than anybody so being able to control our emotions was huge for us this weekend closing out the regular season.”
Men’s tennis
The men’s team (15-4, 6-0 in GLIAC) won both matches with a 6-1 score.
On Friday, the men dropped the doubles point but dominated the singles flights to win the match overall.
Seniors Jan Koupil and Benjamin Lortie, junior Alessandro Santangelo and sophomores Esunge Ndumbe and Eric Kovacs won their matches in straight sets. Senior Yanic Alexander Mader drew the victory in three sets.
Saturday’s match clinched the regular season championship for the Bulldogs and continued their hot streak going into playoffs.
The men took the doubles points behind wins from all three pairings before winning five of the six singles matches to make the score 6-1 and seal the GLIAC conference.
This regular season championship is the 21st in program history and the seventh for the Bulldog men in the last nine years.
Lortie’s confidence is unphased heading into the GLIAC tournament after a championship win.
“The entire team is feeling good,” Lortie said. “From one to six, it doesn’t even stop at the guys on the court. We’ve got big plans and big matches ahead of us still, but I don’t think we could be any more confident. We’re looking forward to it.”
Women’s tennis
The women’s team (12-8, 6-1 in GLIAC) won Friday’s matchup against Michigan Tech before wrapping up the regular season with a 7-0 sweep of the Lakers on Saturday.
Friday saw the women take the doubles point early behind the team of senior Morgan Waller and sophomore Ana Sofia Hernandez Ferrer and the tandem of senior Sophie Daavetilla and junior Parker Nolan.
The Bulldogs’ singles flights piled on with straight-set victories from sophomore Maria Fernanda Hernandez Ferrer and freshman Katherine Ernest. Ana Ferrer, Nolan and Daavetilla also captured straight set victories to score 6-1.
The women swept the courts on Saturday, with all doubles and singles flights winning their matches in straight sets.
With the win, the women’s team clinched the two seed and still earned a first-round bye in the GLIAC tournament this weekend.
Senior Amelia Laverdiere knows the team still has work to do despite the senior night win.
“Six of us are graduating soon so it was a really fun day to play our last match at home,” Laverdiere said. “Our team culture this year is truly amazing and we had a great season overall but the job is not done yet. We are still working hard to achieve our goals of a championship.”
Both teams are set for GLIAC championship tournament play starting on Saturday, April 27, at the Midland Tennis Center in Midland, MI. With both teams being top two seed, they earn a first-round bye and will compete toward a championship birth the following day. Match times are to be determined later this week.
CE – AM