FSU Drops Battle Of Ranked Teams At NU

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's tennis team suffered its first Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) setback of the season on Monday (March 21) as the Bulldogs fell 8-1 against nationally-ranked rival Northwood in Midland, Mich.

The Timberwolves, who are ranked 21st in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division II poll, jumped out to a 3-0 advantage following doubles action and then captured five of the six singles flights.  The match took place at the Midland Community Tennis Center.

FSU's lone win came at number four singles where Justin Hermes scored a hard-fought 2-6, 6-1, 12-10 victory over NU's Ramazan Nureev.

Northwood picked up its five singles wins all in straight-sets against the 40th-ranked Bulldogs.

In addition to being an important league match, the contest also pitted two regionally-ranked foes as NU is second in the Midwest Regional listing with FSU coming in sixth.

Northwood improved to 7-3 overall with the win and remained unbeaten at 5-0 in conference play.  Meanwhile, Ferris State dropped to 7-3 overall and 2-1 in league action.

The Bulldogs will have little time to regroup as they visit NCAA Division I Western Michigan on Tuesday (March 22) for a 1 p.m. (ET) non-league tilt in Kalamazoo.

Ferris State then returns home for three league contests this weekend as the Bulldogs host Tiffin, Findlay and Grand Valley State from Friday to Sunday (March 25-27) at the FSU Racquet and Fitness Center. 

Friday's match versus Tiffin starts at 3 p.m. (ET) with Saturday's outing against Findlay beginning at 9:30 a.m. (ET). FSU and GVSU will meet on Sunday in a 10 a.m. (ET) encounter.

Below are the complete match results:

#21 Northwood 8, #40 Ferris State 1
Mar 21, 2011 at Midland, Mich. (M.C.T.C)