FERRIS STATE AMONG TOP TEAMS IN NATIONAL POLL
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| Senior Tyler Averdick hopes to lead the 25th nationally-ranked Bulldogs back to the NCAA Championships. |
Bulldogs Ranked 25th In Initial 2003 Precept Coaches Poll
The 2003 Ferris State University men’s golf team is ranked 25th nationally in NCAA Division II men’s collegiate golf according to the latest Precept Coaches Poll released by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) Wednesday (Feb. 12).
Ferris State received 67 total points in the balloting while California State-Stanislaus claimed the top spot in Division II with a 394-point total, including five first-place votes. Colorado-Colorado Springs, which also received five first-place votes, is ranked second with 365 points while Pfeiffer (N.C.) and California State-Bakersfield are listed fourth and fifth with 344 and 319 points, respectively. California-Davis, North Alabama, South Carolina-Aiken, Florida Southern and Chico State (Calif.) round out the top 10.
Ferris along with Grand Valley State (18th-place tie – 135 points) were the only Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC)-member schools to crack the top 25. Northwood (31 points), Ashland (24), FIndlay (23) and Saginaw Valley State (five) were among other GLIAC teams receiving votes.
To vote in the Precept Coaches poll, a coach must be a member of the GCAA. The next Precept Coaches Division II Poll will be released Wednesday, March 12.
The Bulldogs, who were 14th with 160 points in the final fall 2002 rankings of the Precept Coaches Poll, recorded two consecutive first-place tournament finishes in the fall – Ferris State Invitational (Sept. 13-14) and Northwood Invitational (Sept. 15-16). FSU went on to notch a pair of fourth-place performances at the NCAA-II Great Lakes Region Tournament (Sept. 21-22) and GLIAC Championships (Oct. 5-6). FSU returns to the course March 29-30 as the Bulldogs will compete in the NCAA-II District IV Tourney II at the Lafayette Golf Course in Falls of Rough, Ky.
Ferris State, under the direction of fourth-year head coach Brad Bedortha, made its 10th NCAA-II Championship appearance in the program’s history a season ago and placed 13th with a four-round 1,238-stroke total at the 40th annual NCAA-II Championships (May 21-24) in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. The Bulldogs claimed their 17th conference championship title earlier last season (Oct. 5-6) with a first-place showing at the GLIAC Championships in Ashland, Ohio.
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