Women's Tennis Battles D1 Northern Iowa In Hard-Fought Setback In Kalamazoo

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's tennis squad hit the court for the first time this spring and battled NCAA Division I Northern Iowa in a tightly-contested tilt held in Kalamazoo.

The Panthers recorded a 5-2 triumph over the Bulldogs as they took the bottom five singles flights en route to the win. However, nearly every match was extremely close in the decision.

Ferris State grabbed an early lead in the contest by winning two of the three doubles flights for the initial point as both the number one and two pairings garnered wins.

In singles action, the Bulldogs' Isabela Paixao was a winner at the first singles flight.

"I am extremely impressed with how well we played with this being our first match of the spring," said head coach Mark Doren. "Especially given our opponent was a D1 school. We started off on fire with a dominant performance to secure the doubles point.

"Once we got to singles every single Bulldog had a shot at winning," he added. "A few points here and there and we get the win."

The Bulldogs fell to 8-5 overall this year with the setback in their first spring competition.

Ferris State will be back in action on Friday, Feb. 21, as FSU visits Findlay for 6 p.m. (ET) regional tilt in Findlay, Ohio.

Below are the complete match results:

Northern Iowa 5, Ferris State 2
Feb 15, 2020 at Kalamazoo, Mich.