President's Letter
From the Alumni Director
On Campus
Applause
A Glimpse Behind the Scenes
Get "Serious" About Summer
Homecoming Roundup
The Ultimate Measure of Success
Because of the Paws
Museum of Hateful Things
Bulldog Bites
Bulldogs on the Rampage
An American in Pontlevoy
Black Sea Resorts, Dracula and 2,500 Years of History
Class Notes
Timothy James Bazzett: Reed City Boy
Alumnus Wins "Ultimate Tailgate Party"
In Memoriam
Alumni Events

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Bulldog Bites

Women's Golf Team Ready to Swing in to Spring

    After winning two tournaments and finishing runner-up in three others during the 2004 fall season, the women's golf team's national ranking reached as high as number one in the NCAA Division II national rankings by Golfstat, the official source for college golf scores and statistics.
    The Bulldogs held the top position as of Oct. 19. Around that period last fall they fought for the top position with two-time defending national champion Rollins College (Fla.), who also held that position. Ferris State recorded a 77.65 adjusted scoring average while posting a 4-0 mark against the NCAA-II's top 25 teams to garner points in the computer-generated ranking system.

Yasuyo Kiyota

    The women golfers, who claimed top team honors at the Ferris State Bulldog Invitational and Northwood Invitational last fall, also turned in a noteworthy second-place effort at the 17-team NCAA Division I Ball State Cardinal Classic.
    "The team had a great fall season," said sixth-year head coach Brad Bedortha. "We set a goal to average 320 and were able to average 311, which was the lowest scoring average in Division II. To finish tied for second at nationals last year and then to back it up with a great fall season is outstanding."
    Along with Ferris' impressive team rankings, the Bulldogs' freshman class also reached number one among Golfstat's NCAA-II Freshman Class in impact rankings with a 78.92 stroke average. The freshmen class consists of Becky Hoffman, Yasuyo Kiyota, Missy Ward and Kaitlyn Hogan.
    Last year, Ferris State recorded the highest-placing ever for a Bulldog women's athletics team by tying for second place at the 2004 NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championships in Longwood, Fla.
    To follow the team's record this spring, go to www.ferris.edu and click on "Athletics."

Bulldog Soccer Strong Heading into Fall

    With only one senior departing and two freshmen taking top player award honors following the 2004 season, Ferris' soccer team is looking forward to the start of the 2005 campaign.
    The Bulldogs, who won six of their final 11 outings, lose only senior defender Lauren Hogan from their 2004 line-up. Ferris' 91 total points last season represented the school's second-best single season total.

Kristie Smilanich

    Freshman forward/midfielder Kristie Smilanich received the squad's Best Attacking Player Award after ranking second among the team's scoring leaders with seven goals and 14 points in her initial season. The 5-6 Smilanich had two game-winning markers this season and twice had multiple goal game performances.
    The Best Defensive Player Award went to freshman defender Ashley Lukes, who started all 19 contests last season. Lukes, whose older sister Gayle received the same award following her senior season in 2003, compiled two shots this campaign. She was the only Bulldog freshman among five Bulldog players to crack the starting lineup in all 19 outings last season.
    A pair of sophomores also is anticipating the team's start next fall: midfielder Lyndsay Sleek (who, like Lukes, Sleek started all 19 contests last year) garnered the team's Most Improved Player Award; goalkeeper Carla Gilbertson tallied six shutouts in '04, the school's best single-season mark, and needs just three more to match Connie Bigott's school-record career total of nine shutouts.
    The Bulldogs concluded last fall's campaign with an 9-9-1 overall mark under second-year head coach Melissa Lalonde, which represents the program's second-best performance in its five-year history. Lalonde stands three victories shy of tying Pete Watkins for the most victories in school history. Watkins, who served as Ferris' first-ever head coach (1999-02), compiled a 23-36-7 mark in four seasons. The Bulldogs are 20-14-2 in two seasons under Lalonde.

Myers and Bell Compete in Cactus Bowl

Kevin Myers

    Seniors Kevin Myers and Whitney Bell of the Bulldog football team recently played in the fifth annual Whataburger Cactus Bowl Division II All-Star Game held Friday, Jan. 7, at Texas A&M-Kingsville's Javelina Stadium.
    The contest, which has averaged 12,000 in attendance in its four-year history at Kingsville, featured nearly 80 seniors from NCAA Division II schools throughout the nation. The game was played in an East/West Team format and televised live on Fox Sports Southwest.
    Myers, a 5-11, 210-pound outside linebacker, was recently honored for the second straight season as an American Football Coaches Association All-America Team pick. The two-time first-team All-GLIAC honoree was also named a 2004 All-Northwest Region First-Team selection by both D2Football.com and Daktronics, Inc. Last fall as an 11-game starter, Myers made 133 total tackles (83 solos), Ferris' 19th best single-season mark. The 2004 Most Valuable Player honoree also chipped in with two pass interceptions, seven pass breakups and one forced fumble. The 2003 Associated Press Little All-American posted seven double-digit tackle game efforts in 2004 highlighted by a career-high 26 stops (15 solos) in the season opener versus Grand Valley State.
   

Whitney Bell

A two-time first-team All-GLIAC defensive tackle, the 6-2, 284-pound Bell received second-team All-Northwest Region kudos from both D2Football.com and Daktronics, Inc. He tallied 60 total tackles (35 solos) last season as an 11-game starter, which consisted of 14.5 tackles for a loss of 69 yards and a team-high 7.5 quarterback sacks for minus 54 yards. The two-time Most Valuable Defensive Lineman made a personal season-leading 11 stops at nationally-ranked Northwood. Bell amassed 225 career total tackles (133 solos) in 42 outings. His career pass sacks total is the 14th best ever among Ferris' all-time sack leaders to date.
    Former Ferris State offensive tackle Matt McCoy, who played for the NFL's Detroit Lions in 2004 as a practice squad member, was chosen to play in last year's Cactus Bowl but didn't participate due to injury.
    Nine other former FSU standouts ­ Rich Eash (1994), Ed Philion (1994), Chadd Richard (1995), Jerry Prys (1996), Doc Proctor (1999), Dennis Strey (1999), Dave Zuiderveen (2000), Clarence Coleman (2001) and DeRen Ellis (2003) have competed in the Cactus Bowl All-Star game, which was originally known as the Snow Bowl and played at Fargo, N.D.
    During the 2005 game, Myers tallied seven tackles, which tied for the team-high mark. Bell had four stops for the East All-Stars.

Bulldog Student-Athletes Score on Graduation Rates

    Ferris continues to graduate a higher percentage of its student-athletes than is the national average, according to the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
    A recent NCAA report studying the freshman class enrolling in fall 1997 showed Ferris graduated 65 percent of its student-athletes compared to a 51 percent graduation rate for all NCAA Division II student-athletes who graduated within a six-year window.
    The Bulldogs' four-year average based on graduation rates of four consecutive classes from 1994-97 was 59 percent, 10 points better than the national Division II student-athlete four-year class average of 49 percent.
    "The emphasis Ferris puts on bringing in solid student-athletes on the front end shows here," said Athletics Director Tom Kirinovic. "When our student-athletes arrive from high school with high grade point averages and high ACT scores, it has a direct bearing on how many graduate.
    "The importance our coaches place on academics pays great dividends," added Kirinovic. "Our coaches repeatedly stress how critical academics are."
    Kirinovic also noted that student-athletes generally are more aware of the availability of academic assistance. "They typically are more self-confident and outgoing, and are likely to seek out tutors on their own," he said. "Over the years, I've had many professors tell me that student-athletes are the leaders in their classes.
    "I don't believe there is any one reason for our high ranking," said Kirinovic, "but rather a combination of many factors contributes to our stellar graduation rate."
    The report studied student-athletes who received athletics aid in football, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's track and cross country and other men's and women's sports.