Ferris State's Till Von Winning Tabbed As GLIAC Player Of The Year & Among Five All-League Bulldog Picks
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Big Rapids, Mich. - Sophomore standout Till Von Winning (Schopfheim, Germany) of the NCAA Tournament bound Ferris State University men's tennis squad was recently chosen as the 2017 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Player of the Year.
Von Winning was among five FSU team members honored as all-conference selections in conjunction with the GLIAC Tournament this past weekend in Midland and received the league's highest individual distinction.
Along with being the GLIAC Player of the Year, Von Winning was also one of three FSU standouts tabbed to the All-GLIAC First Team in addition to junior Vasil Surduk (Moscow, Russia) and sophomore Steward Sell (Kalamazoo/Portage Northern). Ferris State sophomore Nur Adim Ramdani Iswan (Makassar, Indonesia) was a second-team choice with junior Daniil Tarantinov (Moscow, Russia) garnering All-GLIAC honorable mention accolades.
Von Winning led the nationally 15th-ranked Bulldogs to the program's third consecutive GLIAC Championship in the regular-season. As the squad's number one singles player, he posted an 8-1 league record in conference action. He also paired up at the top doubles position with Sell to go a perfect 9-0 in GLIAC play.
Overall this spring, Von Winning notched a 13-3 regular-season singles record in dual action along with a 12-4 doubles mark. Behind the play of the second-year standout, the Bulldogs won 16 of their 18 regular-season matches this season and were unbeaten (9-0) in the GLIAC. FSU also earned the number one seed for the league tournament and has been ranked as the top team in the Midwest Region throughout the year.
This year, Von Winning was also named to the 2017 CoSIDA Academic At-Large All-District Team for his performance on the court and in the classroom.
Ferris State received its 21st all-time NCAA Tournament berth on Tuesday night. The Bulldogs will play host to one of two Midwest Regional brackets and received the top seed in the region along with a first-round bye. FSU will face either fourth-seeded Grand Valley State or fifth-seeded Rockhurst (Mo.) in one of two Midwest Regional finals in Big Rapids this Sunday (April 30) starting at 11 a.m. (ET) at the FSU Racquet and Fitness Center in Big Rapids.
The winner of the three-team event on the men's side will move on to the NCAA-II round of 16 set for May 9-12 in Altamonte Springs, Fla.
The 2017 campaign represents the second consecutive year in which FSU has won both the GLIAC Regular-Season & Tournament Championships in the same year. The Bulldogs did so for the first time since the tournament moved to its current dual team format last year before repeating the feat again this season. FSU last won both in the same campaign in 1994 prior to the current stretch, but the tourney was structured then in an individual-based scoring format.
This year also marks the second-straight time in which Ferris State claimed the GLIAC Tournament Championship. It is also only the third league postseason crown in the last 17 years as the 2012 crown was FSU's first since 1999 prior to the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
This season, Ferris State also won the GLIAC's outright regular-season title for the third-striaght year. Prior to the last three years, Northwood had won the previous 20 regular-season crowns in a row dating back to 1995, including a share of the title with FSU in 1999. Either Northwood or Ferris State have won the GLIAC Championship in the regular season every year since 1982. The two schools shared the crown in 1982 before FSU had a 12-year run as the outright champion prior to the NU stretch.
The Bulldogs, who are ranked 15th nationally in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Midwest Regional Rankings, own a 18-2 overall record and were a perfect 9-0 in regular-season action for the third-straight year. FSU has won its last 12 matches in a row to date this year.
Last season, Ferris State made its deepest NCAA Tournament run ever by reaching the Division II Final Four in Denver, Colo.