Ferris State’s men’s and women’s tennis teams put two matches under their belts this weekend as they strive toward another successful year ahead.
Both squads kicked off their season on Saturday, Feb. 1, at the University of Indianapolis, followed by a match against the Drury Panthers on Sunday, Feb. 2. While the games initiated their regular season, both sides have a bigger goal in mind.
Men’s tennis
The men’s team is coming off back-to-back GLIAC championship wins. Tennis head coach Mark Doren, now in his seventh season with the teams, expects the men to pick up right where they left off.
“We want to keep the success going,” Doren said. “Our first goal is to capture another GLIAC championship.”
The men’s group graduated four of their top six players from last year and ushered in a whole new group this season with six new athletes, five of them being freshmen.
One of the newcomers, Adrian Catahan, a freshman hailing from North Bay, Ontario, is confident in the camaraderie the freshmen have with the transition to college life and tennis.
“The bonds I have created with other freshmen on the tennis team that are going through the same experience has been so supportive and has really helped me perform better as a tennis player,” Catahan said. “The team dynamic is something I have not experienced before. We encourage each other, we motivate each other and we have fun together which helps me with the pressure of wanting to play better every time I step on the court.”
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are returning junior Erik Kovacs, who the team lost at the beginning of the season last year due to an ankle injury. The men’s team is led by senior captain Alessandro Santangelo, who plays second singles for the team, alongside forming a tandem with junior Kacper Pasielak for doubles games.
The men finished with losses in both of their opening matchups last weekend, earning two points against Indianapolis and one against Drury. The Bulldogs will make their home court debut on Saturday, Feb. 8, against the Tiffin Dragons.
Women’s tennis
Last year, the women’s team finished second in the GLIAC behind No. 5 Wayne State, and the team graduated two top players, who Doren believes are “two of the top five players to ever play at Ferris.” One of which is Morgan Waller, the only tennis athlete to ever be selected for the Dean Davenport Ferris Women’s Athlete of the Year award.
Similar to the men’s team, the women enter the season with a reinvented roster. Doren knows that women are built for the challenge.
“Four of nine ladies on the team are brand new to the team,” Doren said. “But this year the ladies are stepping up and taking on the challenge to carry on where we left off.”
The women are led by senior captain Kennedy Dumas. The Holland, Mich. native has been in and out of the lineup with some big wins, sporting another straight-set win at two singles in the Bulldogs’ 4-1 victory over Indianapolis.
Dumas believes passion is the key to building up the incoming freshmen and the team, especially after taking on the Western Michigan Broncos in the exhibition.
“It’s extremely important to have determination on and off the court,” Dumas said. “Even though we were clear underdogs facing Division I teams, we should still fight for every point and every ball. It was so evident that everyone bought into that, even the new players. We battled hard and showed that we can compete with the big-time teams.”
The women captured wins in both regular season matchups last weekend, propelling them to a 2-0 start heading into home match play. The team will begin play against Tiffin at 10 a.m. at the FSU Racquet and Fitness Center.