Historic Ferris State Men's Tennis Run Ends In NCAA Division II Final Four!
Video Recap 
Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's tennis squad wrapped up a record-breaking campaign and made its first-ever NCAA Division II Final Four appearance on Friday (May 20) in a 5-0 setback to nationally third-ranked Hawaii Pacific in the national semifinals at the Gates Tennis Center in Denver, Colo.
The Bulldogs' historic NCAA Tournament run came to an end as Hawaii Pacific swept the doubles round and then pulled out wins at the first two completed singles positions to pull out the victory. FSU wrapped up the 2015-16 season with a 25-4 dual record while finishing with the most wins in school history.
Ferris State had reached the national semifinals for the first time by posting its fourth-straight win in the national tournament and the second in as many days in Denver on Thursday with a 5-2 victory over Midwestern State (Texas.). The win followed Wednesday's thrilling 5-4 Sweet Sixteen triumph over nationally 17th-ranked Concordia.
Hawaii Pacific was one of three teams ranked in the top three of the latest national rankings to reach the final four along with top-ranked Saint Leo (Fla.) and number two Armstrong Atlantic State (Ga.). FSU was the lone team of the last four standing found outside the top three of the national rankings at number 35 in the country. In addition, the Bulldogs were also only the third team ever from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) to advance to the national semifinals.
Prior to the two wins in Denver, the Bulldogs previously punched their ticket to Denver by capturing one of two Midwest Regional bracket titles with a thrilling 5-3 victory over West Michigan rival Grand Valley State last Tuesday (May 10) at the FSU Racquet and Fitness Center in Big Rapids.
Ferris State, which made its 20th all-time NCAA Tournament bid, advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time in school history, but the first time since 2005. FSU had not advanced to the Elite Eight since 2004 when FSU beat Kutztown (Pa.) 5-2 in the round of 16 in the first-ever Division II Festival and this season's semifinal berth was the first in school history. The Bulldogs' highest finish in school history prior to this year was a fifth-place national showing in 1988.
FSU's 25 wins this year are a new school single-season record, surpassing the 23 wins posted during the 1999 campaign.
Along with capturing the Midwest Regional crown and reaching the national semifinals to date, Ferris State also won the GLIAC's outright regular-season title this season for the second-straight year. The 2016 campaign represented the first-time ever in which FSU had won both the GLIAC Regular-Season & Tournament Championships in the same year since the tournament moved to its current dual team format.
This year also marked the first time in which Ferris State claimed the GLIAC Tournament Championship since 2012. It was also only the second league postseason crown in the last 16 years as the 2012 crown was FSU's first since 1999.
With this year's championships, the men's tennis squad became the fifth FSU team to win a conference title this season, joining football, volleyball, men's basketball and hockey teams. The squad is also the fourth of the group to repeat as back-to-back champions this year in the regular-season and the fourth to claim a league postseason tournament crown.
The 2016 Division II National Championships Festival marked the ninth occurrence of the distinctive Division II event, and was hosted by Metro State University-Denver and the Denver Sports Commission this week. A total of 76 qualifying teams and 20 qualifying individuals represented their institutions by competing for national championships in men's and women's golf, women's lacrosse, softball, and men's and women's tennis.
Division II is the only NCAA division that conducts "National Championships Festivals," an Olympic-style event in which a number of national championships are held at a single site over several days.
The goals of the festival are
to enhance the student-athlete experience, create more awareness and exposure for Division II sports, and increase attendance by hosting multiple championships in one location. Each festival features opening and closing ceremonies, social opportunities for student-athletes, and community-outreach events. Student-athletes are housed in centrally located hotels, allowing for an athlete-village atmosphere.
Below are the complete match results:
#3 Hawaii Pacific University 5, #35 Ferris State 0
Singles competition
1. #1 Thibaud Berland (HPU-MTN) def. Vasil Surduk (FS) 6-1, 6-4
2. Till von Winning (FS) vs. #13 Alexander Meyer (HPU-MTN) 6-7 (5-7), 2-0, unfinished
3. Nur Adim Ramdani I. (FS) vs. #20 Jaime Martinez-Vich (HPU-MTN) 6-7 (5-7), 2-3, unfinished
4. Steward Sell (FS) vs. Filip Delezel (HPU-MTN) 6-7 (4-7), 4-4, unfinished
5. Torben Otto (HPU-MTN) def. Daniil Tarantinov (FS) 6-3, 6-4
6. Simon Levy (FS) vs. Jakub Hadrava (HPU-MTN) 0-6, 6-3, 0-1, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #3 Thibaud Berland/Alexander Meyer (HPU-MTN) def. Vasil Surduk/Nur Adim Ramdani I. (FS) 8-3
2. Filip Delezel/Jaime Martinez-Vich (HPU-MTN) def. Till von Winning/Daniil Tarantinov (FS) 8-5
3. Torben Otto/Jakub Hadrava (HPU-MTN) def. Steward Sell/Conner Hunt (FS) 8-6
