As the regular season came to a close and the GLIAC tournament crowning their champions, the Ferris State men’s and women’s tennis teams look ahead to what comes next.
The men were crowned as champions of the regular season and as the GLIAC tournament champions, after taking down Wayne State 4-3. The women’s team fell in the GLIAC tournament championship to Grand Valley by a score of 4-1.
Head coach Mark Doren spoke about looking ahead to the NCAA Tournament.
“We are very excited going into the NCAA Tournament,” Doren said. “On the men’s side, winning both the regular season and tournament title gives them great pride in knowing all their hard work paid off. I don’t think there’s any one thing in specific we need to work on as a team. Individuals will each have their own things to clean up, but as a whole, they just have to stay focused.”
Women’s
The Ferris State women’s team (13-7, 6-1 in GLIAC) ended the regular season strong, winning four of its final five matches of the season. While in the GLIAC tournament, they took down Davenport 4-0 in the tournament semifinal.
In the semifinal, freshman Madeline Peisley, sophomore Yara Madi and senior Ana Hernandez all won their singles matches. Each of these matches was won in two sets.
While in doubles play, Maria and Ana Hernandez fell to Davenport 6-0, before Peisley and sophomore Ayva Johnstone won 6-3 in their match. While Madi and freshman Ainzley Zulueta finished Davenport off 6-1 in the final doubles match.
While in the GLIAC tournament championship, the team fell to Grand Valley 4-1. The only victory of the day came in singles play, with Maria Hernandez winning her match 6-4 and 6-4.
The season did not end the way the team would have liked it to, but the team looks ahead to what comes next. Johnson spoke about what that will look like.
“After losing to GV in the final, it was really tough to accept, especially with how hard we’ve been practicing and how well everyone played and fought in their matches,” Johnson said. “However, we’re still looking forward to regionals, and we aren’t planning on letting this result affect how we perform in this upcoming tournament.”
Men’s
The Ferris State men’s team (17-3, 6-0 in GLIAC) topped off their regular season with the fewest losses since 2017-18 and capped it with a regular-season GLIAC title and the GLIAC tournament championship.
The team finished the season off with a six-game winning streak; during the streak, the team only lost a total of seven points.
The Bulldogs took on the Purdue Northwest Pride in the GLIAC tournament semifinals, taking down the Pride 4-0. In doubles play, freshman Praneel Pichika and Leuenberger won 6-4, while senior Kacper Pasielak and sophomore Jose Perez won their match 6-3.
In singles play, the Bulldogs showed out, winning all but one singles match, with Kevin Kovacs winning his 6-4 and 6-2, Perez winning both sets 6-3 and Andrew Vincler winning his sets 6-1 and 7-6.
In the GLIAC tournament championship, Ferris State took down the Wayne State Warriors 4-3.
In singles play, it was back and forth the entire match, with the Warriors and Bulldogs both winning three singles matches. In doubles play, is where Ferris pulled ahead, with Erik Kovacs and Adrian Catahan winning their match, while Pasielak and Leuenberger were the deciding match of the day. They were able to win 6-2, helping the Bulldogs capture their sixth tournament title in the last 10 years.
Sophomore Milo Leuenberger spoke about what winning these titles means to him and the team as a whole.
“It means a lot to me,” Leuenberger said. “The titles are the biggest achievements of my college career so far. As for the team, we’ve been so close together this season, and really presenting ourselves as a unit. Ultimately, winning those titles is incredible for us.”
The Ferris State tennis men’s and women’s teams look ahead to the NCAA DII Midwest Regional Tournament to see if they will receive a bid in the tournament.