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President's Letter |
Kaufman Chosen Hockey Assistant Coach
Former Ferris men's ice hockey assistant coach Mark Kaufman is also the new hockey assistant coach. Kaufman, who was an assistant from 1992-94 under head coach Bob Daniels, fills the vacancy created when Derek Lalonde took an assistant coaching position at the University of Denver in June. "I'm extremely excited to get a coach with Mark's experience and knowledge," said Daniels. "Mark has worked both at the college and professional levels. His experience at the NHL level with the San Jose Sharks will pay dividends with our players." During the 1995-96 season, Kaufman served in an assistant coaching capacity for the Sharks. Kaufman has spent the last two seasons as head coach and general manager of the United States Hockey League's Sioux Falls (Iowa) Stampede after serving as the director of hockey operations and head coach of the Kalamazoo Wings in 2000. "The fact of Mark having worked at Ferris before is an added bonus to our program," said Daniels. Talian Named New Men's Tennis Coach
Ferris' Athletics Department has announced the appointment of former Bulldog All-America player Jan Talian as the school's 15th head men's tennis coach. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Ferris women's tennis team during the 2003-04 season. Talian will take over for Dave Ramos, who resigned in May to pursue other career interests. In addition to his head coaching duties, Talian will also serve as a club professional for Ferris' Racquet and Fitness Center, the school's Professional Tennis Management program and help direct summer camps. "We're excited to welcome Jan back to the Bulldog family," said Athletics Director Tom Kirinovic. "Jan was an outstanding competitor when he was at Ferris as a student-athlete. I look for him to bring the same drive to this coaching position." Talian, who was the region's top-ranked singles and doubles player in his final season, finished seventh overall in singles action at the 2002 National Small College Championships. The Bulldogs' 2001 Most Valuable Player Award winner concluded his Ferris career ranked third in career singles wins and second in career doubles victories. A United States Professional Tennis Association Level I Professional, Talian most recently has worked as a platform tennis instructor at the New Canaan Field Club in New Canaan, Conn., where Talian was also an assistant professional (1999-01) and junior tennis coordinator (2002-05). Talian also worked for Ivan Lendl's Grand Slam as a head tennis professional from September 2004 to April 2005 in Banksville, N.Y. Talian holds both a bachelor's degree in Business Marketing and a master's degree in Career and Technical Education from Ferris. Interim Coach Gibson Guided Soccer
Neathan Gibson, who has a wide array of coaching and playing experience at the international level, served as Ferris' interim head women's soccer coach for the 2006 campaign. Gibson filled the position vacated by the relocation of the school's all-time winningest coach, Melissa Lalonde. Gibson was named to the position in August. "With the season fast approaching, I was excited to be able to name someone as qualified as Neathan to coach our team for the campaign," said Athletics Director Tom Kirinovic. Since February of 2005, Gibson has worked as the director of coaching and player development for the Grand Valley Soccer Club based in Kentwood, Mich. There, Gibson led the program's under 17 girls' squad to both a Midwest Divisional Championship and Midwest Regional League First Division title. He has also played professionally for the San Jose Grizzlies of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, as well as with teams in Malaysia, Japan and the Swedish Premier League. Under Gibson, the team opened its 2006 campaign in victorious fashion with a 3-2 come-from-behind win over regional opponent Southern Indiana in the Grand Valley State Tournament at Allendale. Women's Basketball Ranks Among Top Academic Teams
The Ferris women's basketball squad has been honored for the seventh consecutive season as one of the nation's top academic programs. The achievement came in July when the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Division II Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll list was announced. The Bulldogs compiled a 3.350 grade point average in 2005-06 to place 20th overall in Division II under eighth-year head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk. Five Bulldog players were honored individually as 2005-06 GLIAC Women's Basketball All-Academic Team selections. They included senior forward Kelly McLaughlin, junior guard Erin Miller, sophomore forward/center Rachel Folcik, sophomore guard Katie Loosvelt and freshman forward Lindsey Deyo. Miller also attained 2005-06 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV College Division First-Team recognition. Ferris State wrapped up its 2005-06 season with an 18-10 overall record and made its seventh consecutive GLIAC Tournament appearance. Ferris, which posted a third-place tying 12-6 mark in GLIAC North Division play last season, also registered its 10th consecutive season with 10 or more victories. New Association Formed for Gridiron Alumni Ferris' Football program has started a new association to help former players stay in contact with the University, and each other. The Bulldog Players Association is an addition to the Gridiron Club, which supports football at Ferris. "Our main goal is to reconnect former players and coaches with one another and be a part of re-establishing relationships that may have been lost over the years," says head coach Jeff Pierce. There is no cost to join the association. One of the first events for the group was a tailgate party for former players at the Homecoming game against Gannon in October. Future Homecoming tailgaters are planned, as well as alumni events in Grand Rapids, Detroit and Lansing. Both players and non-players are welcome to join the Gridiron Club. The University also has the Blueline Club for Hockey, the Rebounders Club for Men's Basketball, the 6th Dawg Club for Women's Basketball and the Diamond Dawgs for Softball. Information for each club is available at www.ferris.edu/sports by clicking on the main page for each sport. |
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