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Bulldog Bites

Coaches Rebrovich, Eggers Join Bulldog Football Staff

Ted Egger

Jason Rebrovich

    The Bulldog football program has added Jason Rebrovich as defensive line coach, replacing third-year assistant coach Joe Curry who returned to his alma mater, the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Ill., to become the Fighting Saints' defensive coordinator.
    "Jason is an extremely high-energy coach who brings a lot of excitement to the game," said Head Coach Jeff Pierce. "Jason's knowledge of the defensive line is excellent because he has played and coached at that position." As a collegian at SUNY Cortland State University, Rebrovich competed three years in football and won the team's Iron Man Trophy in his senior season. He received his bachelor's degree in sports management in 2000.
    Rebrovich comes to Ferris State via Concord University in Athens, W.Va., where he was both the Mountain Lions' defensive line coach and strength & conditioning coordinator during the 2004 season. From 2000-02, Rebrovich was the defensive line coach at his alma mater, Cortland State. Rebrovich helped the Red Dragons to an Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Division III Northwest title.
    Pierce also announced the hiring of Ted Egger as the Bulldogs' defensive secondary coach and special teams coordinator, replacing Amp Campbell, who left the program in March.
    "I'm excited about Ted joining the Ferris State staff," said Pierce. "He has a number of years in coaching at the collegiate level and is well experienced in both the defensive secondary and special teams areas." A native of Hornell, N.Y., Egger was a three-year defensive back for Lock Haven (Pa.) University, graduating in 2000 with an undergraduate degree in health and physical education. In 2002 he earned a master's degree in health education and physical education from Adams State College in Alamosa, Colo.
    Egger spent the 2004 season at his alma mater and fellow NCAA Division II member Lock Haven where he was the Bald Eagles' defensive backs coach and video coordinator. Egger coached during 2002-03 at Adams State, and remained at ASC through the spring of 2004 where he was the special teams coordinator. Egger was instrumental in the Grizzlies boasting both the conference's top defense and pass defense units in the 2003 season.

Men's and Women's Tennis Teams Reach Sweet 16

Senior Nicole Berger

Senior Francisco Gomez

    Last spring, the Ferris women's tennis squad, reached the final round of 16 at the NCAA Divison II Tournament for the second time in four years and the sixth time overall by defeating fellow GLIAC member Grand Valley State in the regional finals at the Racquet and Fitness Center in Big Rapids. The victory marked Ferris' fifth regional crown in the last seven seasons.
    The women, who were in the midst of their 10th consecutive and 15th all-time appearance, fell to Valdosta State (Ga.) in the Sweet Sixteen round held at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla. The Bulldogs, ranked 18th nationally at the time, concluded the season with a 17-3 overall record.
    On the men's side, the team saw its 2004-05 season come to an end also in the round of 16 as the Bulldogs fell to nationally top-ranked West Florida. The Bulldogs were making their eighth-straight and 11th all-time NCAA-II National Tournament bid.
    Ferris, which won its sixth regional title in a row this season, advanced to the round of 16 for the ninth time in school history by defeating Southern Indiana at the Great Lakes Regional Championship last May in Big Rapids. Ferris ended the year with a 13-10 overall record.

Women's Soccer Represented on Mission Trip

    In athletics at nearly every level, student-athletes learn the importance of building team relationships. Five members of the women's soccer program took that lesson off the playing field and applied it in an area of North Carolina devastated by Hurricane Isabelle in 2003.
    The Bulldog sophomore contingent of goalkeeper Carla Gilbertson, midfielder Lyndsay Sleek and defender Anne Simmons, along with junior midfielders Kristin Aukeman and Janelle Ausema traveled with a group of Ferris students and faculty members over the break period last spring (March 4-12) to Engelhard, N.C., where they helped construct and build a 60 by 80-foot church addition.
    The five players, who are all members of Ferris' Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter, were among 23 University students who took part in the trip organized by Campus Pastor Mike Wissink of the Fellowship of Christian Students.
    As part of the addition to the church, the crew helped build the foundation and walls for the facility, which served as a shelter during the hurricane. Several members of the group spent time painting a local house damaged by the storm.
    "This was a great alternative to a typical spring break for our players who made the trip," said Head Coach Melissa Lalonde. "They've been such hard workers and are a group whom I haven't really had to motivate. This is just another avenue in which they can take pride in their work."
    The group also included freshman offensive tackle Bill Bourdlais of the Bulldog football team along with Biology Professor John Vanderploeg and his wife, Dee.
    A highlight of the trip for the soccer players came on the way home when they met legendary University of North Carolina women's soccer coach Anson Dorrance on a stop near Chapel Hill, N.C. It wrapped up what had already been an enjoyable week of activity.
    "It was a tremendous experience for them helping people they didn't even know," Lalonde said. "They've always been extremely motivated and this was an opportunity for them to contribute to something else of such great significance."

Women's Golf Claims Fourth-Place Finish

    The women's golf team finished in fourth place overall after the final round at the NCAA-II Championships in Albuquerque last May.
    The Bulldogs totaled a 318 in the final 18 holes at the University of New Mexico's The Championships Course to finish at +83 with 1,251 strokes in the 72-hole event. The team advanced to the national tourney by finishing second at the NCAA-II East Regional in Allendale.
    Two-time defending champion Rollins (Fla.) claimed its third consecutive national championship with a team score of 1,185 (+17).
    Ferris freshman Becky Hoffman was ninth individually in the tournament with a 305 (+13). Junior Elena Robles concluded the event in 14th place with a 312 (+20).
    The fourth-place showing marks the second consecutive season the Bulldogs placed among the top four teams in the nation. Last season, Ferris shared second-place at the 2004 NCAA Championships in Longwood, which marked the highest-placing ever for a Bulldog Women's Athletics team.

Men's Basketball Achieves Banner Year

Senior Corey Epps works the boards in the Bulldogs home win over Michigan Tech.

    The men's basketball team capped off a banner 2004-05 season with a runner-up finish in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional Tournament held March 12-15 in Findlay, Ohio.
    The men reached the regional championship game for only the third time in school history. The Bulldogs, who concluded the year with a 24-7 overall record, fell one game shy of advancing to the Elite Eight for the second time ever. The team's 24 victories represent the third-most wins in school history.
    "We had a great season and I'm proud of our guys," senior guard Carlton Epps said. "We've brought the program back and it has been great to be a part of that."
    Ferris won its second-straight Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference North Division Championship with a 13-5 league mark and compiled a school-best 15-1 overall home record.
    "We had an outstanding season and played our hearts out," said Head Coach Bill Sall. "We received contributions from everyone who played throughout the season."
    The 2004-05 season marked Ferris' first appearance in the national rankings since the 1988-89 campaign. The Bulldogs were ranked as high as 19th (March 1) in the national poll heading into the regional tournament. Ferris also notched its 900th all-time win last season with a 110-104 overtime triumph over Indianapolis on Dec. 21 in the first-ever Lions Club Holiday Classic at Wink Arena.
    The Bulldogs' 24 victories represent the school's most wins since finishing with a 24-6 overall record in 1988-89. The 2004-05 season marked the first time the Bulldogs had reached the NCAA-II Tournament, made the GLIAC Tourney semifinals, posted a winning overall record and achieved 20 or more wins since the 1997-98 campaign.
    The Bulldogs finished regular-season non-conference play with a 9-0 mark and recorded a 16-5 record versus Great Lakes Region schools during the regular season. Ferris picked up victories in each of its final 10 regular-season games to win a second-straight GLIAC North Division title.
    In addition to Carlton Epps, three other Bulldog players also completed their Bulldog careers in the NCAA-II Sweet Sixteen: guards Corey Epps and Michael Anderson, along with forward Willie Burrel.
    The Bulldogs were 21-82 in the four seasons prior to Sall's arrival, but has since gone 49-36.