Ferris State Cross Country, Women's Tennis Teams To Open Season

The Ferris State University men's and women's cross country teams along with the Bulldog women's tennis team will all open the 2009-10 campaign with their first respective action of the season this weekend.

The Bulldog women's tennis squad will visit Saginaw Valley State for a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) dual match on Friday, Sept. 4, in University Center, Mich.  Match time is set for 1 p.m. (EDT).

Meanwhile, the FSU men's and women's cross country teams will take part in the Vanderbilt Invitational hosted by Hope College on Saturday, Sept. 5, in Holland, Mich.  The event will begin at 10:30 a.m. (EDT).

Ferris returns seven women's tennis players from last season when the Bulldogs finished with a 11-10 overall record and were 5-4 in the GLIAC's regular-season before placing sixth at the league's women's tennis tournament.  Among the returnees is junior Amy Ingle (Battle Creek/Hastings), an All-GLIAC Second Team pick and team MVP last campaign.  They are guided by third-year head coach Alex Palladino.

The Bulldog women's cross country team begins the season ranked 18th in the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II Preseason Poll.  Head coach Steve Picucci's squad wrapped up one of its most successful seasons ever with a 17th-place performance a year ago at the 2008 NCAA-II National Championships (11/22/08) held at Cooper's Lake Campground in Slippery Rock, Pa.

This season, the Bulldogs' women's roster includes a returning All-American in junior Tina Muir (St. Albans, United Kingdom), who placed 12th overall at last year's nationals among a field of 189 runners to become only the second All-American in Bulldog women's cross country history and FSU's highest finisher ever at the national championships.

The Ferris men's cross country team returns several letterwinners from last campaign, including sophomore Tyler Crossman (Rapid River), who attained team Most Valuable Runner Award laurels in 2008-09.

FSU cross country will host its annual home event, which was recently renamed the Ray Helsing Bulldog Invitational in honor of the program's former head coach, on Friday, Sept. 18, at FSU's Katke Golf Course in Big Rapids beginning at 4 p.m. (EDT).

The first women's tennis home match of the 2009-10 campaign will be against Lake Superior State on Friday, Sept. 25, with match time for the conference tilt set for a 1 p.m. (EDT) start inside the FSU Racquet and Fitness Center.