Ferris State Completes Sweep Of League Men's Tennis Championships By Claiming GLIAC Tourney Crown

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Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's tennis squad capped off a sweep of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Regular Season and Tournament Chamionships for the second-straight year as the Bulldogs claimed their second consecutive league tourney title with a decisive 5-1 triumph over rival Northwood on Sunday (April 23) in Midland.

The top-seeded Bulldogs, who are ranked 15th in the country, won their 12th consecutive match by beating the Timberwolves in the league's postseason tournament championship showdown at the Midland Community Tennis Center.

Last year, FSU had won both the GLIAC's regular-season and tournament titles in the same season for the first time since 1994 when the tourney was structured in an individual-based format and not the current team dual format. This year, the Bulldogs duplicated the feat with Sunday's win.

In Sunday's title match against the sixth-seeded Timberwolves, FSu took a 2-1 lead following doubles play with wins at the top two flights in the lineup. FSU's Till Von Winning and Steward Sell recorded an 8-5 win at the number one flight with Vasil Surduk and Nur Adim Ramdani Iswan pairing up for an 8-4 victory at two doubles.

FSU then owned the singles round by taking the first three completed flights in straight-sets. Sell was a 6-0, 6-2 winner at three singles with Iswan posting a 6-1, 6-2 decision at the fourth flight. Freshman Pablo Munoz Baroja emerged victorious 6-1, 6-4 at six singles to clinch the match.

The Bulldogs improved to 18-2 overall this season with the win and it was FSU's second over the Timberwolves this year after beating NU 9-0 during league regular-season play.

This year's league tournament title is the Bulldogs' third in the past six years as Ferris State won the 2012 postseason championship before Northwood reclaimed the honor from 2013-15. 

Previously this year, FSU officially had claimed its third-straight league regular-season crown by finishing GLIAC play with a perfect 9-0 record. Two years ago, in 2015, Ferris State had won its first league regular-season championship since 1999 and first outright crown since 1994. 

Prior to the current three-year stretch, Northwood had won the previous 20 regular-season crowns in a row dating back to 1995, including a share of the title with FSU in 1999. Either Northwood or Ferris State have won the GLIAC Championship every year since 1982. The two schools shared the crown in 1982 before FSU had a 12-year run as the outright champion before the NU stretch.

The Bulldogs, who are presently the number one team in the Midwest Region and reached the D2 Final Four last season, are expected to host one of two NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Tournaements next weekend at the FSU Racquet and Fitness Center. The NCAA Division II men's tennis selection show is Tuesday, April 25, at 8:30 p.m. (ET) with a live stream of the selection show available at NCAA.com.

Following the GLIAC Tournament, the conference's postseason awards were announced with Von Winning earning GLIAC Player of the Year honors. Both Surduk and Sell garnered All-GLIAC First Team recognition along with Von Winning while Iswan was a second-team selection and Daniil Tarantinov picked up GLIAC Honorable Mention accolades.