FSU's Mader Reaches Semifinals As Bulldog Men's Tennis Competes In ITA Regionals

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's tennis squad had a strong weekend of action in the 2019 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Regional Championships in Grand Rapids.

The Bulldogs' Yannic Alexander Mader won his first four matches in the top "A" singles draw to reach the semifinals where he'll face second-seeded Renato Lima of Indianapolis on Monday morning at 9 a.m. (ET) with the title match set for noon.

Mader's performance included four wins, all in straight-sets, including a upset win over sixth-seeded Ben Kasprzak of Missouri-St. Louis along with a quarterfinal victory over third-seeded Nico Hadeler of Drury (Mo.), who was ranked in the top 20 in the country.

In addition to Mader, FSU's Pablo Munoz Baroja was seeded 16th in the main draw and won his opening match in straight-sets before falling in the second round. The Bulldogs' Mathis Guerre also was in the top draw and lost a close match in the first round before moving to the consolation bracket, which was eventually abandoned due to weather that impacted the schedule and court availability.

In the "B" singles draw, Ferris State's Alec Olivier was an opening-round winner before dropping his second match. Ayush Deswal picked up two wins, including a tightly-contested three-setter, to reach the round of 16 in the bracket prior to bowing out. Finally, Josh McDermott was a winner in round one and then fell in the second round while Cedric Rupa dropped his opening match, but did move to the second round in consolation play before the bracket was finished.

In doubles action, the Bulldog tandem of Deswal and McDermott fell in round one as did Baroja and Guerre. Rupa and Mader teamed up, but dropped their match in the "B" doubles draw as did Olivier and Jack Seymour.

"We played well this weekend," said FSU head coach Mark Doren. "You'd always like more wins, but we played good tennis and nearly everyone won at least one match in the tournament. It's great to have one of our guys still alive and playing well in the main singles draw. The weather impacted the event and we had two doubles matches on Saturday night that didn't get started until 10:15 p.m."

Monday's final day of action begins at 9 a.m. (ET) and will be played either at host Grand Valley State or the Grand Rapids Racquet and Fitness Club depending on weather conditions.