Ferris State Men's Tennis Opens Season With Success At Warhawk Invitational

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's tennis squad kicked off the 2016-17 campaign with a strong showing over the weekend at the Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawk Invitational held in Whitewater, Wis.

The annual event was an individual-based competition with action taking place in seven singles flights along with three doubles positions.

In number two singles action, FSU's Till von Winning emerged victorious as he posted a 3-0 mark and beat teammate Pablo Munoz Baroja 6-1, 6-2 in the championship match. The runner-up had recorded a pair of wins before falling to von Winning in the all-Bulldog final.

Ferris State also captured first place in number three flight action as Steward Sell went 3-0 and handled Olivet Nazarene's Tyler Cannon 6-0, 6-3 in the final.

FSU's Daniil Tarantinov earned runner-up honors at four singles with a 2-1 overall mark. He won his opening two contets before falling in an exciting three-set title match.

The Bulldogs' Simon Levy finished as the winner in the consolation final at number five singles. After dropping his opening match in three sets, he came back to win twice while posting a 2-1 record.

Ferris State also had a runner-up at the six singles flight where Austin Debruyne claimed wins in his first two contests before suffering a 6-4, 6-4 loss in the title match to George Watson of Cardinal Stritch.

Finally, at seven singles, FSU's Connor Hunt posted a 2-0 record to claim the championship with a 6-0, 6-1 victory in the finale.

The Bulldogs also won two of the three doubles flights as Vasil Surduk and Steward Sell went 3-0 in number one action and scored an 8-2 win in the title round. FSU's Hunt and Levy won the third doubles flight with a 2-0 mark by virtue of an 8-5 win in the championship match. Meanwhile, Debruyne and Tarantinov paired up to come in third at the second doubles flight with a 2-1 overall performance.

Ferris State, which advanced to the NCAA Division II Final Four last spring and won a second-straight GLIAC Championship, will next take part in the 2016 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Midwest Regional Championships set for Sept. 16-18 in Indianapolis, Ind.