As the calendar turns to April, the Ferris State men’s and women’s tennis teams look to keep their momentum as they near the end of their seasons.
The men and women will host Roosevelt and Purdue Northwest as two of the three matches.
Head coach Mark Doren previewed the matchups against the two schools.
“All GLIAC matches are important,” Doren said. “When you only play each team once, unlike sports like basketball and Softball, there isn’t much room for off days. Purdue Northwest continues to get better over the past three years, so they will definitely bring it on senior day for our seniors. Roosevelt is new to the conference and is still building a Division II program, but they play really hard, so we will have to stay focused. We are hoping to get some of our team depth in some matches over the next couple of weeks, so it will be great to see them on court as we get closer to the GLIAC Tournament and hopefully then NCAA regionals.”
Women
Ferris State (8-6, 2-1 in GLIAC) ended March with a 2-4 record, including wins over Saginaw Valley and Davenport, both by a score of 5-2. Against the Cardinals, the Bulldogs won the doubles and four out of six singles points.
In the Davenport match, Ferris won all three doubles contests before winning one, two, four, and six singles. Freshman Madeline Peisley and sophomore Yara Madi won the first and second flights, respectively.
Senior Maria Fernanda Hernandez Ferrer is confident in the team ahead of the matches.
“I think our team is in a great place right now,” Hernandez Ferrer said. “We’ve built strong chemistry, and our practices have been very intense and purposeful. We feel ready and are excited for the upcoming matches against Roosevelt and Purdue Northwest. As a senior, it’s a little bittersweet knowing my college career is coming to an end, especially with senior day coming up this Saturday against Purdue Northwest. But it’s been a great journey, and I’m excited to finish strong with this team.”
Roosevelt (7-9, 0-3 in GLIAC) only won two matches during March, with those two wins being at Quincy 4-1 and against Illinois Tech 7-0. The Lakers ended the month on a four-match losing streak, with three of the losses coming against GLIAC teams.
Purdue Northwest (5-11, 0-3 in GLIAC) ended March on a two-match losing streak, falling 7-0 against Grand Valley and 4-3 against Michigan Tech. The Pride also lost 5-2 at Davenport earlier in the month.
Men
The Bulldogs (12-3, 2-0 in GLIAC) ended the month of March with a 3-2 record, including a 7-0 win at Davenport and a 5-2 win at Grand Valley. Against the Panthers, the men went 3-0 in doubles and then swept all six singles positions. The Lakers won three doubles before Ferris State won four out of six singles to take the win.
Sophomore Milo Leuenberger isn’t looking past the next two matches.
“Those two matches are all about taking care of business,” Leuenberger said. “The journey can go very, very far this season. No goal is too big for us now. But everything starts with those regular-season matches.”
Roosevelt (6-10, 1-2 in GLIAC) ended March with three straight conference matches. The Lakers lost 0-7 against Davenport and 1-6 against Grand Valley before beating Michigan Tech 4-3.
Purdue Northwest (8-7, 2-1 in GLIAC) ended March with a 3-4 record, including a 5-2 win at Davenport and a 7-0 win at home against Michigan Tech. The Pride fell to Grand Valley 3-4 as their only conference loss.
Ferris State will host Roosevelt on Friday, April 10, at 10 a.m. for the women and 2 p.m. for the men. The next day, on Saturday, April 11, Ferris will host Purdue Northwest at 10 a.m. for the women and 2 p.m. for the men. All four matches will be played at The Racquet and Fitness Center in Big Rapids.