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Bulldog Women's Tennis Battles #9 Wayne State In Hard-Fought GLIAC Opener
Posted: Mar 24, 2023

Bulldog Women's Tennis Battles #9 Wayne State In Hard-Fought GLIAC Opener

Box Score

Postgame Highlights Video
Postgame Interview Video

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's and women's tennis squads opened Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play at home on Friday (March 24), squaring off against Wayne State in a league showdown in Big Rapids at the FSU Racquet and Fitness Center.

The day proved to be a split with the Bulldog men knocking off the defending national runner-up Warriors 4-3 in the opener. Meanwhile, the women's squad battled the nation's ninth-ranked Warriors in a hard-fought 5-2 setback.

In the men's contest, Ferris State captured two of the three doubles flights for the initial point in the match. WSU responded by claiming the top three singles spots, but FSU returned the favor by sweeping the four, five and six flights to garner the win.

"The men's match was one of the best tennis matches I've coached," said FSU head coach Mark Doren. " To get the win over the defending national runner-up means a lot to this team. The guys came out hot with the doubles point.

"The depth of this team was the difference today," he added. " Our two and three doubles along with four, five and six singles earned our four wins today. The match came down to Alessandro Santangelo's match where he lost a close second set after having a couple match points. But, he turned it on for a dominant third set to secure the win for the team. The last 45 mins he was the only one still playing and the atmosphere was electric."

In the women's tilt, the Bulldogs again claimed the doubles point by taking the top two spots in the lineup. However, WSU won five of the six singles matches, including a pair by retirement to garner the triumph.

"On the women's side, we did lose 5-2, but played a very good match against the ninth-ranked team," said Doren. "We came out and played such fun doubles. The girls were fast and decisive with our doubles game plan today.

"In singles, Sophie Daavettila had an awesome come back to win in three sets. Unfortunately, we lost two matches to mid-match retirements due to injuries. But this competitive match was a promising start to GLIAC play and the girls are excited to keep this good play going."

The Bulldog women's tennis squad is slated to face Saginaw Valley State on Sunday (March 26) starting at 11 a.m. (ET) in University Center. Both Ferris State teams then are back at home on Friday (March 31) hosting Davenport and next Saturday (April 1) against Davenport at the FSU Racquet and Fitness Center.

Visit the link below for the complete match results:
https://ferrisstate.prestosports.com/sports/mten/2022-23/releases/20230324z4yzzz