Seven Ferris State Tennis Student-Athletes Earn ITA Scholar-Athlete Status
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Big Rapids, Mich. - Seven members of the Ferris State University men's and women's tennis programs have combined to earn Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Scholar-Athlete honors for the 2014-15 campaign.
In order to earn ITA Scholar-Athlete status a player must meet the following criteria: 1.) be a varsity letter winner, 2.) have a grade point average of at least 3.50 (on a 4.00 scale) for the current academic year, and 3.) have been enrolled at their present school for at least two semesters (including freshman thorough senior year).
Five members of the men's tennis squad earned the distinction, including sophomore Conner Hunt (Fairmount, Ind./Madison Grant), junior Raleigh Grossbaum (Sun Valley, Idaho/The Sage School), freshman Renan Baldi (Jundiai, Brazil/Escolas Padre Anchieta), freshman Simon Levy (Kingston, Jamaica/Hillel Academy) and freshman Zachary Grabovic (South Bank, Australia/St. Kevin's College).
Meanwhile, the women's team was represented by junior Janie Sell (Kalamazoo, Mich./Portage Northern) and senior Rebecca Beloungea (Sterling Heights, Mich./Henry Ford II).
The FSU men's team placed second of all Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) schools with five honorees while the Bulldogs were one of only six schools in the league on the women's side with multiple selections.
As the governing body of collegiate tennis, the ITA promotes both the athletic and academic achievements of varsity collegiate tennis players. The ITA, which is comprised of nearly 1,700 men's and women's varsity coaches and 20,000 student-athletes from over 1,200 institutions, has a comprehensive awards program for players and coaches to honor excellence in academics, leadership, sportsmanship and athletic performance. The ITA annually recognizes over 3,000 student-athletes on an individual and team basis from over 500 different varsity tennis programs.
This past year, both Ferris State teams advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament under the direction of head coach Chad Berryhill.
The Bulldog men posted an 18-7 overall record this past year and also made the school's first NCAA appearance in two years and 19th overall trip to the NCAA's. FSU won the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) regular-season title, which was FSU's first outright crown since 1994 and first regular-season championship since sharing the title in 1999. The Bulldogs were a perfect 9-0 in regular-season action. Overall, this year represented the 16th time in the last 18 seasons in which FSU has advanced to the NCAA Tournament on the men's side.
The Bulldog women wrapped up the season with a 19-9 overall record this campaign and made the program's 20th trip to the national tournament, including the first berth in four seasons since 2011. FSU won four of its last five outings this spring and claimed wins in six of its last eight matches overall. The Bulldogs posted a 8-4 mark in spring competition after going 11-5 overall during the fall season.