Ferris State Men's Tennis Posts Impressive Win Over Rival GVSU To Reach GLIAC Semifinals

Ferris State Men's Tennis Posts Impressive Win Over Rival GVSU To Reach GLIAC Semifinals

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's tennis team moved one step closer in its quest to capture a second Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament Championship in the past three seasons as the Bulldogs topped rival Grand Valley State 5-2 in the first round of the league tournament on Friday (April 25) in Midland.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 2-1 lead after the doubles round and then took three of the first four completed singles positions to win the match over the Lakers inside the Midland Community Tennis Center. It was FSU's second win over GVSU in less than two weeks following Ferris State's exciting 5-4 win in Grand Rapis on April 15.

Ferris State received singles wins from Laurent Galarneau at the number one flight in straight-sets along with a victory by Laurent Mailloux at third singles and Jose Calero in the fifth spot.

In doubles play, Galarneau teamed up with senior Aaron Dial for a 8-6 win at the number one flight while Mailloux and Otto Keresztes took a 8-5 win at second doubles.

With the win, the third-seeded Bulldogs will now face seventh-seeded Findlay in Saturday's semifinals beginning at 3:45 p.m. (ET). The Oilers stunned second-seeded Ohio Dominican for the upset in quarterfinal-round play. The opposite side of the bracket will pit reigning champion and top-seeded Northwood against fourth-seeded Wayne State.

All eight teams involved in the GLIAC Tournament play three matches each over the course of the three-day event. FSU improved to 10-13 overall with the win and has now won eight of its last nine matches against GLIAC competition this year to date.

Two years ago, Ferris State claimed its first GLIAC Tournament Championship since 1999 with a stunning 5-4 triumph over Northwood in the title match.  FSU previously finished as the runner-up to Northwood seven consecutive seasons from 2000-06 and then placed fifth in 2006-07, fourth in 2007-08 and were third overall in 2008-09 before also finishing third in 2010-11. Last season, NU topped the Bulldogs 5-2 in the 2013 GLIAC Tourney title match.

This week, the Bulldogs are currently ranked eighth in the ITA Midwest Regional Rankings under second-year head coach Chad Berryhill.

The GLIAC Tournament represents the Bulldogs' final competition until a possible berth into the NCAA Division II Tournament. The NCAA Division II men's tennis selection show is Tuesday, April 29, at 8 p.m. (ET) with a live stream of the selection show available at NCAA.com.

Below are the complete match results:

Ferris State 5, Grand Valley State 2
Apr 25, 2014 at Midland, Mich. (MCTC)

Singles competition
1. Laurent Galarneau (FS) def. Francis Bertrand (GVM) 6-2, 6-3
2. Andrew Darrell (GVM) def. Aaron Dial (FS) 6-0, 7-6
3. Laurent Mailloux (FS) def. Billy Heckman (GVM) 6-1, 7-6
4. Otto Keresztes (FS) vs. Jack Heiniger (GVM) unfinished
5. Jose Calero (FS) def. Andrew Bole (GVM) 6-2, 6-2
6. A Giacomazzi Serafim (FS) vs. Ben Esh-Nauta (GVM) unfinished
 
Doubles competition
1. Laurent Galarneau/Aaron Dial (FS) def. Andrew Bole/Francis Bertrand (GVM) 8-6
2. Otto Keresztes/Laurent Mailloux (FS) def. Quinn Sylow/Jack Heiniger (GVM) 8-5
3. Andrew Darrell/Billy Heckman (GVM) def. Jose Calero/Will Huntington (FS) 8-3