Ferris State Tennis Duo Bounces Back For Impressive Day Two Win At ITA Cup

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's tennis doubles team of Sam Stephenson and Morgan Waller bounced back in a big way during day two action on Friday (Oct. 15) at the 2021 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Cup held in Rome, Ga.

The Bulldog doubles pairing, which fell in Thursday's opening round of play at the national event, came back to beat Indiana (Pa.) standouts Natasha Munday and Joanna Stralka in strong fashion by a 6-1, 6-3 count.

"It was an outstanding day for Sam and Morgan," said FSU head coach Mark Doren. "They have been partners for three years and this is the best I've ever seen them play. They both served awesome while Sam dominated the net and Morgan returned very well.

"Both opponents had higher ratings than both of our players, so it felt nice to get a quality win," he added.

With the victory, the Bulldog tandem will next face the University of Indianapolis' Anna Novikova and Bella Dunlap on Saturday in a rematch of this year's ITA Midwest Regional Doubles Championship match. The duo was the top seed in the national tournament after being ranked number one in the country last year.

Stephenson and Waller were among the at-large selections chosen from the group of regional finalists and nationally-ranked performers across the country after earning runner-up honors at the ITA Regional Championships. This year marks the first time since 2006 in which a Bulldog women's doubles team has qualified for the national event.

Formerly known as the Small College Nationals, the ITA Cup has a history dating back to 1986, and it is the only singles and doubles national championship event for the Division II and NAIA levels. In 2019, more then 8,000 players took part in a total of 60 regional tournaments to gain entry into the ITA Cup field.

Each division represented features between eight and sixteen singles players and eight to sixteen doubles teams, competing in their respective draws.

Waller and Stephenson earned their at-large invitation to the ITA Cup after an impressive showing at the ITA Midwest Regional Championships held Sept. 18-20 in Indianapolis where they finished with a 4-1 record on the weekend. The duo, en route to reaching the finals of the main draw, upset the nation's #2-ranked tandem of Sofia Sharanova and Maria Solnyshkina from UIndy in the quarterfinals before topping a Southwest Baptist (Mo.) duo of Diana Cabrera and Paula Ballesteros in the semifinals.