WOMEN'S TENNIS TEAM
COMPETES IN NATIONALS
For only the second time in program history and the first as a team, the FSU women's tennis squad competed in the 1999 NCAA Division II National Championships held May 13-16 at the University of West Florida in Pensacola, Fla.

FSU, then ranked 16th nationally by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, drew third-ranked Lynn University (Fla.) in opening-round match play. Despite a spirited effort, the Bulldogs dropped a 5-0 decision to Lynn in the single-elimination tourney, and head coach Ed Luck's team concluded the 1998-99 season at 30-5 overall.

SIMPLY THE BEST

The College Sports Information Directors of America judged three 1998-99 FSU athletics publications as "Best In The Nation" at CoSIDA's annual convention. Congratulations to Joe Gorby and Tom Isaacson of the University's Sports Information department and Bill Bitzinger of Photographic Services.

The Bulldogs have now won or shared 14 GLIAC titles, including 13 consecutive titles from 1982-94

BACK ON TOP!

After a four-year hiatus, the FSU men's tennis team is back on top in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference as a result of capturing the 1999 GLIAC Championship crown by downing four-time defending league champ Northwood University 5-4 in the tourney's championship match held April 25. With the triumph, first-year head coach Paul Marcum's team splits the conference's overall title, which combines regular-season and tournament finishes, with regular-season league champ Northwood.

The Bulldogs have now won or shared 14 GLIAC titles, which included a string of 13 consecutive titles from 1982-94.

NEW FACES ON THE GRIDIRON
The FSU football program filled its two assistant coaching vacancies in the spring with the appointments of offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh and defenisve coach Jay Sawvel.
Bedenbaugh has served as a graduate assistant at Central Michigan since 1997 and was a four-year starting center at Iowa Wesleyan College during his college playing days.
Sawvel arrives at FSU with NCAA Division I coaching experience following a three-year stint as a graduate assistant at Notre Dame. As a collegiate, Sawvel was an all-conference linebacker at Mount Union College and led the school to a NCAA Division III National Championship crown in 1993.

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Senior left fielder Jody Gifford of Bay City was named to the 1999 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division II All-America second team after being named to the All-Great Lakes Region first team for the third straight year. A three-time first-team All-GLIAC selection, Gifford was a third-team All-American as a sophomore.

MEN'S GOLF TEAM MATCHES BEST FINISH IN TEAM HISTORY

The 1998-99 Ferris State University men's golf team, under the direction of second-year head coach Tom Underwood, qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships for the fourth straight year. The Bulldogs were one of 15 teams to participate in the North Regional this spring at the Glade Springs Golf Course in Glade Springs, W. Va.

FSU was the top-seeded District IV team and was joined at the regional by Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) opponents Grand Valley State, Northern Michigan and Saginaw Valley State.

Ferris State won 10 of 12 meets during the 1998-99 season, including the GLIAC Championships (Oct. 2-3) and a District IV Tournament (March 22-23). In addition, the Bulldogs won 14 straight regular-season GLIAC-hosted meets.
FSU finished eighth at the 1999 NCAA-II Championships, matching the best finish in team history, after winning the NCAA North Regional Tournament (May 2-5) in Daniels, W. Va.

WOMEN'S SOFTBALL TEAM CELEBRATES THIRD RECORD-BREAKING YEAR

The 1998-99 season saw Ferris State University women's softball team win its second straight Great Lakes Regional Title and advance to the eight-team NCAA Division II Championship Tournament for the second consecutive year. Ferris State captured the GLIAC Tournament after winning four of five games and defeating Ashland 4-1 in the championship game held May 8 in Midland.

FSU went on to win the Great Lakes Regional (May 14-15) in Allendale, by beating Ashland 5-1 in the final game. After winning the regional tournament, the Bulldogs earned an automatic bid to play in the eight-team NCAA-II Championships (May 20-24) in Salem, Va., where they finished tied for seventh after losing their first two games.

Third-year head coach Keri Becker has guided the Bulldogs to three straight 40-win seasons and back-to-back appearances in the NCAA-II Playoffs. For the third straight year, FSU set a team record for wins in a season after the Bulldogs won 19 of their last 24 games and finished 46-18 (13-6 GLIAC).

HOCKEY PROGRAM
BENEFITS FROM GIFT
Two computers with internet capabilities have been donated to the FSU men's ice hockey program by the parents of the student-athletes on the 1998-99 team. The project, spearheaded by Jerry Sergott, father of former Bulldog players Keith (1992-96) and Ken Sergott (1995-99), will benefit the student-athletes in the program academically.

"We're greatly appreciative of this gift," said head coach Bob Daniels. "As a program, we always prided ourselves on academics, and these computers will enhance our players' ability to perform well academically. They will also aid our program in the recruiting process." The two computers are housed in the study room of the program's new varsity locker room.

ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN
Jim Dube, a defenseman on FSU's ice hockey team, earned academic All-America honors following the 1998-99 season for his performance both on the ice and in the classroom. The College of Business junior was named to the third team of the GTE Academic All-America University Division Men's Fall/Winter Sports At-Large Team and joins former Bulldog goaltender Craig Lisko (1990-94) as the only FSU ice hockey players to receive academic All-America recognition. Dube, a Management major, holds a 3.98 cumulative grade point average.

Freshman Chad Tate of Cass City was named National Freshman of the Year by the Golf Coaches Association of America. Tate earned medalist honors in his first collegiate meet, the District IV Tournament March 22-23, and finished with an average of 73.6 in 17 rounds during his freshman campaign.

Senior Matt Pesta of Milford earned medalist honors at the regional with a three-round score of 215 (71-74-70) on the par-72 course.



STUDENT-ATHLETES SHINE IN THE CLASSROOM
FSU's athletics program is respected on a national level not only for its success on the field of play, but in the classroom. Case in point, 3.01 was the 1999 winter semester cumulative grade point average for those student-athletes who competed in varsity athletics during the 1998-99 academic year. Moreover, 111 of those student-athletes registered at least a 3.0 GPA.

GAMES BROADCAST LIVE VIA INTERNET

Bulldog sports fans can now hear live audio of FSU football, men's ice hockey and men's basketball games from anywhere in the world via the Internet. FSU's broadcasts of the three varsity athletic programs are available through AudioNet, which is linked to the University's athletics home page at www.ferris.edu/sports.html on the World Wide Web. The FSU athletics home page on the World Wide Web provides information about all Bulldog varsity athletic teams, including game results, statistics, schedules, rosters and feature articles.