Men's Tennis Second Seed For GLIAC Tourney
Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's tennis team will take part in the 2012 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament this Friday to Sunday, April 20-22, in Midland, Mich.
FSU, which is currently ranked 46th nationally in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division II National Rankings, will be the second seed for this weekend's event and will face number seven seed Findlay in the first round on Friday (April 20) with match time set for 7 p.m. (ET) at the Midland Community Tennis Center.
The second-round matches will take place on Saturday starting at 4 p.m. (ET). The third and final round will take place on Sunday beginning at 9 a.m. (ET).
With a win over Findlay, the Bulldogs would next take on the winner of the quarterfinal match between third-seeded Wayne State and sixth-seeded Michigan Tech in Saturday's semifinals.
The other first round pairings on the opposite side of the bracket include top-seeded Northwood facing number eight seed Tiffin along with number four seed Grand Valley State meeting fifth-seeded Ohio Dominican.
All eight teams involved in the GLIAC Tournament will play three matches each over the course of the three-day event.
The Bulldogs previously beat Findlay by a 8-1 score on the road this year (March 24) and wrapped up league regular-season play with a close 5-4 road triumph over West Michigan rival Grand Valley State last week (April 12) and enter the tournament having won six of their last seven matches.
Ferris State presently owns a 13-6 overall record this season and completed conference regular-season action with a second-place 8-1 league record. The Bulldogs' lone GLIAC loss this year was to league regular-season champion and nationally 13th-ranked Northwood by a 5-4 count (March 28) at the FSU Racquet and Fitness Center.
FSU last won the GLIAC Tournament in 1999 and finished as the runner-up to Northwood seven consecutive seasons from 2000-06. The Bulldogs placed fifth in 2006-07, fourth in 2007-08 and were third overall in 2008-09. FSU was third a year ago in 2010-11.
In addition to being ranked 46th nationally, the Bulldogs are also currently ranked sixth in the ITA Midwest Regional Rankings.
The GLIAC Tournament represents the Bulldogs' final competition until a possible berth into the NCAA Division II Tournament with regional round play slated for April 29-May 1 at campus sites to be determined.
Please visit this link for additional information in regards to the GLIAC Tourney:
http://www.gliac.org/sports/mten/2011-12/releases/GLIAC_MT_Champ_Info_12