Release courtesy of the Ferris State University Athletics Communications Department
MIDLAND, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's tennis team became the latest Bulldog team this athletics season to win a league title as FSU captured the 2012 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament crown with a stunning 5-4 triumph over archrival Northwood on Sunday (April 22) afternoon.
The Bulldogs upset the nationally 13th-ranked Timberwolves in the league final to claim their first conference championship of any kind since 1999. NU had won 12-straight GLIAC Tournament titles since FSU's last win over Northwood in the '99 league finale.
Northwood had previously won its 18th-straight GLIAC regular-season title this season with FSU taking second place. The Timberwolves posted a narrow 5-4 win over the Bulldogs in regular-season competition on March 28 in Big Rapids, but FSU reversed the score in Sunday's tournament title showdown at the Midland Community Tennis Center.
Prior to Sunday's Bulldog victory, the last time Northwood failed to win the league tournament was in 1999 when the Bulldogs also recorded a 5-4 win over the Timberwolves for their last conference crown.
The nationally 46th-ranked Bulldogs improved to 16-6 overall with the win while Northwood suffered its first loss of the campaign to drop to 14-1 overall on the year.
FSU jumped out to a 2-1 lead over the Timberwolves with wins at the number two and three doubles positions. In singles play, NU took the top three spots in the lineup, but the Bulldogs responded to win the bottom three positions to take the match.
The Bulldogs' Tyler Marengo was a straight-set winner at number six singles. Meanwhile, both Otto Keresztes and Razvan Mag pulled out exciting three-set victories at the fourth and fifth positions, respectively. Mag topped Youri Perrin in thrilling fashion by a 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) score while Kerestztes beat Florian Boggia 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 6-2 for the Bulldogs.
NU had entered the tournament seeded first with FSU the number two overall seed under head coach Alex Palladino. The two teams both posted convincing first round wins before the Bulldogs beat third-seeded Wayne State and NU handled fourth-seeded Grand Valley State by identical 5-2 scores in the semifinals on Saturday.
The NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Championship field will be announced on Tuesday night (April 24) at 8 p.m. (ET) at www.ncaa.com.
Below are the complete match results:
Ferris State 5,
Northwood 4
Apr 22, 2012 at Midland, Mich. (MCTC)
|
Singles competition |
|
1. Teddy Mebounou (NU) def. Laurent Galarneau (FS) 6-3, 7-5 |
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2. Jean Menard (NU) def. Jack Swan (FS) 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-5) |
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3. Marcus Oliveira (NU) def. Steven Roberts (FS) 6-4, 6-1 |
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4. Otto Keresztes (FS) def. Florian Boggia (NU) 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 6-2 |
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5. Razvan Mag (FS) def. Youri Perrin (NU) 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) |
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6. Tyler Marengo (FS) def. Hugo Lasserre (NU) 6-1, 6-1 |
| Doubles competition |
| 1. Teddy Mebounou/Marcus Oliveira (NU) def. Laurent Galarneau/Steven Roberts (FS) 9-8 (7-4) |
| 2. Otto Keresztes/Justin Hermes (FS) def. Jean Menard/Florian Boggia (NU) 8-3 |
| 3. Jack Swan/Tyler Marengo (FS) def. Youri Perrin/Hugo Lasserre (NU) 8-2 |
