Ferris State Men's Tennis Faces Concordia (NY) In NCAA Round Of 16 Wednesday In Denver
Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's tennis team will continue its quest for a national championship as the Bulldogs square off against Concordia (N.Y.) in the NCAA Division II Round of 16 on Wednesday (May 18) in Denver, Colo.
The Bulldogs will face Concordia in a 4 p.m. (ET) match as part of NCAA Division II Spring Sports Festival in the Mile High City. Action will take place at the Gates Tennis Center in Denver.
FSU will be making its first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 2005 while Concordia is in the Round of 16 for the 12th consecutive year. However, in the last meeting between the two programs back in 2006, Ferris State was a 6-3 winner in regular season play.
The Bulldogs punched their ticket to Denver by capturing one of two Midwest Regional bracket titles with a thrilling 5-3 victory over West Michigan rival Grand Valley State last Tuesday (May 10) at the FSU Racquet and Fitness Center in Big Rapids. The regional crown was decided thanks to a clinching singles win by appropriately-named freshman Till von Winning.
Concordia, the East Regional Champion, enters the contest ranked 17th in the nation while the Bulldogs were 35th in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division II National Rankings. The Clippers are presently 13-4 overall this year with FSU owning a 23-4 overall mark to date this campaign.
The winner of Wednesday's contest will advance to face either Midwestern State (Texas) or Southeastern Oklahoma State in the Elite Eight on Thursday (May 19) at 3 p.m. (ET). The semifinals are on Friday with the national championship match set for Saturday in Denver.
Ferris State, which is making its 20th all-time NCAA Tournament bid, will take part in the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time in school history, but the first time since 2005. FSU has not advanced to the Elite Eight since 2004 when FSU beat Kutztown (Pa.) 5-2 in the round of 16 in the first-ever Division II Festival. The Bulldogs' highest finish in school history was a fifth-place national showing in 1988.
This year, the Bulldogs have broke or are close to breaking several team and individual records. FSU's 23 wins to date are tied with the 1999 squad for the most in school history while the Bulldogs' 170 total singles wins are a new school mark. FSU has 87 doubles triumphs to date, which is only 10 away from the school record set in 2000, while number six player Simon Levy's 30 singles victories are only one shy of former standout Paul Marcum's individual single-season record of 31 wins in 1990-91.
Along with capturing the Midwest Regional crown, Ferris State also won the GLIAC's outright regular-season title this season for the second-straight year. The 2016 campaign represented the first-time ever in which FSU had won both the GLIAC Regular-Season & Tournament Championships in the same year since the tournament moved to its current dual team format.
This year also marks the first time in which Ferris State claimed the GLIAC Tournament Championship since 2012. It was also only the second league postseason crown in the last 16 years as the 2012 crown was FSU's first since 1999.
With this year's championships, the men's tennis squad became the fifth FSU team to win a conference title this season, joining football, volleyball, men's basketball and hockey teams. The squad is also the fourth of the group to repeat as back-to-back champions this year in the regular-season and the fourth to claim a league postseason tournament crown.
The 2016 Division II National Championships Festival will mark the ninth occurrence of the distinctive Division II event, and will be hosted by Metro State University-Denver and the Denver Sports Commission this week. A total of 76 qualifying teams and 20 qualifying individuals will represent their institutions by competing for national championships in men's and women's golf, women's lacrosse, softball, and men's and women's tennis.
Division II is the only NCAA division that conducts "National Championships Festivals," an Olympic-style event in which a number of national championships are held at a single site over several days.
The goals of the festival are
to enhance the student-athlete experience, create more awareness and exposure for Division II sports, and increase attendance by hosting multiple championships in one location. Each festival features opening and closing ceremonies, social opportunities for student-athletes, and community-outreach events. Student-athletes are housed in centrally located hotels, allowing for an athlete-village atmosphere.
The opening ceremonies for the Division II Spring Sports Festival will be held Monday evening at Mile High Stadium in Denver.