Western Michigan Hands FSU Road Setback

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's tennis team stepped up a level in competition, but suffered a 7-0 loss at the hands of NCAA Division I Western Michigan on Monday (March 15) in Kalamazoo, Mich.

The Bulldogs were shutout by the Broncos in their first match back in Michigan following a five-match swing to Missouri and Kansas over the spring break period last week.

Western Michigan, which is ranked 59th nationally at the Division I level, claimed all six singles flights in straight-sets at the West Hills Athletic Club and took the three doubles matches, which counted as a single point in the final team score based on Division I regulations.

WMU improved to 24-4 all-time versus Ferris State as the Bulldogs fell to 3-5 overall this campaign.  All five losses have came against either NCAA Division I competition or higher-ranked Division II schools.  Ferris is presently listed 44th in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division II National Rankings along with fourth in the Midwest Region.

The victory was the second of the day for Western Michigan, which also beat Chicago State on Monday at home for its 25th-straight Mid-American Conference (MAC) triumph.

WMU (14-5 overall) took a pair of 8-1 victories at number one and two doubles on the way to the tandem sweep to set the tone early. The Broncos then came back to win all but six games in the six first sets of singles play on the way to the victory.

FSU utilized seven different players in the match and a different lineup than what was used in their five matches over the spring break trip.

Ferris State will return home to begin Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play with a pair of matches inside the FSU Racquet and Fitness Center in Big Rapids this weekend.  The Bulldogs first host Lake Superior State on Saturday (March 20) at 11 a.m. (EDT) following by a league tilt versus Michigan Tech on Sunday (March 21) starting at 10 a.m. (EDT).