Another one
Ferris junior center Zach Hankins has once again been honored for an outstanding season. Hankins’ 2017-18 campaign came with many accolades as the nationally first ranked Ferris men’s basketball team continues to push forward in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II playoffs.
Hankins has been nominated as one of 25 national finalists for the 2018 Bevo Francis Award for the second year in a row. The award is given to the nation’s most outstanding small-college basketball players and can be compared to the Naismith Award for Division I men’s college basketball.
Hankins has been a staple of Ferris basketball over the past two seasons and this season has not been any different. Hankins has averaged 15 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per contest.
The team has won 22 straight games and stands at 35-1 overall currently. The squad has also won the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championship for the second straight season and the GLIAC Tournament for the fourth consecutive year.
Sweet spring time
The 2018-19 Ferris football squad began their spring football season Friday, March 16, at Top Taggart Field.
Spring training is important for coaches, as it gives them a chance to evaluate the talent on their team prior to the fall season. Spring training consists of 14 practices with the 15th practice being the final Spring Game.
The FSU squad returns only two starters on defense this season and eight starters on offense, which means this is a huge spring for the Bulldogs to gain valuable experience for their current team.
The 2018 Spring Game will take place at noon, Saturday, April 14, at Top Taggart Field.
Women’s golf takes on Florida
The Ferris women’s golf team took flight to Tampa, Florida over spring break as they competed in the GLIAC vs. Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) Showdown.
The competition took place at Saddlebrook Resort March 8-10. FSU shot a collective 692 in the tournament and finished fifth place overall as a team.
Ferris freshman Baylee Thompson shot a tournament low with a 73 on March 9 to tie the leaderboard in the final round of competition.
Junior Katelin Randolph and sophomore Mari Suokko tied for 20th place both scoring a 176 over the course of two days of the tournament.
The team will be back on the course Saturday, March 24, for the Perry Park Spring Fling in Perry Park, Kentucky.
Click here for more from the Torch’s Sports section.