Crimson & Gold
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Visser Caps Season with Bowl Apperance
 Jake Visser |
Senior defensive tackle Jake Visser, an American Football Coaches Association and Daktronics All-America First Team pick last season, competed in the Cactus Bowl, the annual NCAA Division II All-Star Game. The contest features the top NCAA-II football seniors in the nation and is played in an East/West Team format. A selection committee picked the top players from among the best seniors in NCAA Division II football for participation in the game.
With the selection, Visser becomes the 16th Bulldog football player invited to compete in the all-star contest. Former Ferris State participants include Rich Eash (1994), Ed Philion (1994), Chadd Richard (1995), Jerry Prys (1996), Doc Proctor (1999), Dennis Strey (1999), Dave Zuiderveen (2000), Clarence Coleman (2001), DeRen Ellis (2003), Matt McCoy (2004), Kevin Myers (2005), Whitney Bell (2005), Carlton Brewster (2006), Bill Bourdlais (2008) and Kurt Hout (2008). McCoy was a Cactus Bowl invitee but didn’t participate due to an injury.
Visser, the 2008 GLIAC Jack McAvoy Award winner for character and leadership on and off the field, was a national finalist for the Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year Award after being chosen as Super Region Three’s Co-Winner of that honor. A two-time ESPN The Magazine College Division Academic All-America First Team selection, Visser capped off an outstanding career by being named among the 24 candidates for the 2008 Harlon Hill Award, presented annually to the top collegiate player at the Division II level. He was the only offensive or defensive lineman to make the list. Visser attained all-conference accolades for the fourth-straight year, which included first-team recognition for the third year in a row and was voted the GLIAC’s Co-Defensive Lineman of the Year for the second consecutive campaign.
Visser concluded his Ferris career ranked sixth on the school’s all-time tackles chart with 395 total stops. He also placed fourth on the Ferris career sack leaders list with 27.5 sacks and tied for first place with seven career fumble recoveries.
The Bulldogs registered their fifth winning season in the last six years with a 6-5 overall record, and 5-5 in the GLIAC. It represented the program’s ninth winning campaign in 14 years under head coach Jeff Pierce.
Bulldogs Make National Run
 Tina Muir |
The women’s cross country team qualified for the NCAA Division II National Championships by placing third overall in the 2008 NCAA-II Midwest Regional Championships held last Nov. 8 on its own turf at Katke Golf Course.
Ferris tallied 111 total points to edge Southern Indiana by two points for the final team qualifying berth to the national championships held Nov. 22, at Slippery Rock, Pa. Southern Indiana had been ranked fifth nationally by the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association heading into the meet. Grand Valley State captured the regional crown followed by runner-up Wayne State.
For the Bulldogs, sophomore Tina Muir was fifth at 21:56.8; senior Mikinzie Stuart placed 12th at 22:41.6; sophomore Megan Josey came in 23rd 23:31.1; sophomore Paige Onweller took 35th place at 23:44.9; and senior Jackie Green finished 39th at 23:50.0. Sophomores Sarah Creed and Nikki Wiers also competed for Ferris and placed 91st and 93rd, respectively.
At the national meet, Muir became the second All-American in Ferris women’s cross country history by placing 12th overall with a time of 21:59 in a field of 189 runners. Her performance helped the Bulldogs finish 17th out of 24 teams. Prior to Muir’s performance at Slippery Rock, former All-American Jenny Irwin was the only other Bulldog to earn All-America honors in women’s cross country after placing 20th overall as an individual qualifer in 2005 at Pomona, Calif.
The Bulldogs’ third place regional finish represents the third time a women’s cross country team has qualified for the national championships. Ferris claimed regional crowns in both 1981 and ’87 to place, respectively, eighth and 11th nationally.
The Bulldogs are guided by interim head coach and former Bulldog men’s standout Steve Picucci.
Women Ranked Nationally
 Senior Raquel Hansen |
Two different women’s athletic teams were ranked sixth nationally prior to spring competition: Ferris’ women golfers had that position in the NCAA Division II Golf World/National Golf Coaches Association Women’s Golf Coaches’ Poll of the 2008 fall season, which was released last October; and the softball team began the 2009 season ranked among the nation’s best in the January 2009 National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division II Preseason Top 25 Poll.
In the 2008 fall season, the women’s golf team compiled five top-five place finishes in seven tournaments, concluding the fall portion of their 2008-09 schedule with three consecutive first-place performances – at the Findlay William “Bing” Beall Classic, Siena Heights Invitational and Detroit Titans Invitational. Coming off of last year’s fourth-place national finish, the Bulldogs began the spring portion of their schedule March 9-10 at the Rollins Invitational in Ocoee, Fla., finishing in 6th place under second-year head coach Mike Mignano. The NCAA-II East Regional will take place May 2-5 at a course to be determined, and the national finals will be held in Findlay, Ohio, Mary 13-16.
The women’s softball team, under the direction of 12th-year head coach and 2008 GLIAC Coach of the Year Keri Becker, concluded the 2008 season with a 35-18 overall record and a first-place tying 16-4 GLIAC mark. The Bulldogs captured the 2008 NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Tournament title in the program’s fifth regional tourney appearance and then placed tied for fifth at the NCAA-II Softball Championships in its third such appearance on the national stage.
 Senior Pitcher Holly Bruntjens |
The softball team began the 2009 campaign March 7 at the Florida Rebel Games Tournament in Kissimmee, Fla., with eight straight wins as of March 11. The NCAA Division-II regional tournaments take place May 8-10 and 15-16 at venues to be determined, while the national tourney will be held in Salem, Va., May 21-25.
For updated information, visit www.ferris.edu/sports.