2004-05 FERRIS STATE ATHLETICS HIGHLIGHTS

The Ferris State men's and women's tennis, men's and women's golf, volleyball, softball along with men's basketball teams all participated in NCAA Regional Tournament competition during the 2004-05 campaign. Both tennis teams as well as the women's golf team all advanced to the NCAA-II Championships following regional action.

The Bulldog men's golf, men's basketball, volleyball and softball squads all claimed Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championships during the 2004-05 athletics season. Three other teams (men's tennis, women's tennis, women's golf) earned conference runner-up honors. Thirteen Ferris State student-athletes received GLIAC Player of the Week kudos on a combined 18 different occasions this school year while four hockey players were afforded Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) Player of the Week laurels.

FSU earned runner-up honors in the 2004-05 GLIAC President's Trophy standings for the second consecutive year. The Bulldogs totaled 119.5 points in the annual conference all-sports competition. FSU scored 48 points and 71.5 points in men's and women's sports, respectively. Fifteen different schools, including league associate members, were involved in the team race.

Ferris recorded its highest finish ever in school history by placing 21st overall with 387.5 total points in the 2004-05 U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup Division II final standings. Developed as a joint effort between USA Today and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), the Sports Academy Directors' Cup program is the only all-sports competition that recognizes the institution in each of the four categories (NCAA Division I, II, III and NAIA) with the best overall athletics program.

The Ferris State men's basketball tam capped off a banner 2004-05 season with a runner-up finish in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional Tournament. FSU reached the regional championship game for only the third time in school history. The Bulldogs also won their second-straight GLIAC North Division Championship and compiled a school-best 15-1 overall home record at Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids. FSU's 24 victories this campaign under third-year head coach Bill Sall represented the third-most wins in school history. Ferris had not reached a regional championship game in 17 seasons prior to this year.

Ferris State University women’s golf head coach Brad Bedortha was named the 2005 National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) Division II National Coach of the Year after guiding the Bulldogs to their second-straight NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament top four finish this season. Bedortha was also named the NGCA East Region Co-Coach of the Year.

The Ferris State women's golf team finished in fourth place overall at the 2005 NCAA-II Championships in Albuquerque, N.M. The fourth-place showing marked the second consecutive season the Bulldogs placed among the top four teams in the nation. Their four-round total of 1,251 (+83) represented the best 72-hole national championship team score in the program's history, bettering last year's 1,264 effort at the 2004 NCAA-II Championships. Ferris State, which was midst its fifth NCAA-II Tournament appearance this year, recorded a second-place tying performance last season at the 2004 NCAA Championships in Longwood, Fla.

The Ferris State University men's basketball team entered the National Association of Basketball Coaches(NABC)/Division II Bulletin Top 25 Poll this season, marking the school's first national ranking since the 1988-89 campaign. Ferris State had not been ranked prior to this season since holding down the number one spot in the final poll of the 1988-89 season on March 6, 1989.

The Ferris State women's cross country team fell three points short of qualifying as a team for the national championships in 2004-05 after recording 166 points while placing fifth in this season’s regional event. FSU was ranked eighth nationally in the final (Nov. 1) NCAA Division II Cross Country Coaches Association Women’s Regular-Season National Poll following its third-place finish in the GLIAC Championships.

The Ferris State men's golf team won its 18th conference title and first since 2001 as the Bulldogs recorded an 11-shot victory in the final round of the 2004 GLIAC Championships (Oct. 9-10) to finish with a 917 team score (+53) at Blackberry Patch Golf Club in Coldwater, Mich. The Bulldogs were automatic qualifiers for the NCAA-II Great Lakes Super Regional and concluded their season with a fourth-place tying performance at the postseason tourney.

The Bulldog women's golf team earned runner-up honors at the 2005 GLIAC Championships. This season's second-place finish at the league tournament marked the third straight year in which Ferris State had garnered runner-up honors at the conference tourney. FSU also received the top seed in the 2005 NCAA Division II East Regional where the Bulldogs placed second overall.

The Ferris State University softball team was recognized among the top academic teams in NCAA Division II for the 2004 season by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) as the Bulldogs tied for 42nd place with Henderson State University (Ark.). In 2002, FSU placed fourth nationally after garnering 10th place in the previous season.

Ferris State softball finished the 2005 season at 31-20-0 overall, which represented its best campaign since 2000 (33-18-0) and the sixth 30 or more win season in the program's 33-year history. The Bulldogs won this year's GLIAC Tournament title and in the process gained a share of the conference's overall championship crown. FSU also made its fourth-ever NCAA Division II Regional appearance and its first since 1999. Junior outfielder Emily McLean was chosen as the GLIAC's 2005 Player of the Year.

Ferris State claimed its ninth GLIAC Women's Volleyball Championship in 2004 after winning the league’s annual postseason tournament for the first time ever. FSU concluded the 2004 volleyball campaign with a 25-7 overall record and a second place 14-4 GLIAC North Division mark. The Bulldogs also advanced to the NCAA-II National Tournament for the 12th time in school history. The 2004 season marked FSU’s seventh consecutive winning campaign and its sixth 20-win season in the last seven years to date. The Bulldogs were ranked among the CSTV/American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II National Poll Top 25 teams during the campaign.

Senior outside hitter Karla Fairbanks of the FSU volleyball team was named to the 2004 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II All-America Second Team. She was named GLIAC North Division Player of the Week four times this campaign and garnered NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region All-Tournament Team recognition as well as first-team all-league kudos.

Junior libero Brittny Godlewski of the 2004 Ferris State University women's volleyball team appeared on national television in November 2004 thanks to an earlier (Sept. 2) taping of the popular television game show "The Price Is Right" in Los Angeles, Calif. Godlewski, who attended the taping while competing for FSU in the Cal-State Dominguez Hills Toro Classic (Sept. 3-4) in Carson, Calif., was among the contestants chosen to "Come On Down" and appear on stage in the advance taping of the show aired nationwide on CBS Television Monday, Nov. 15.

The National Golf Coaches Association recognized Bulldog junior Elena Robles as a second-team All-America selection while freshman Becky Hoffman attained All-America Honorable Mention team accolades. Their selection to an All-America team represents the sixth and seventh times in which a Bulldog women’s golfer has achieved such recognition in school history. Hoffman also was honored as the GLIAC's Freshman of the Year.

The Ferris State University women's golf team concluded the fall 2004 campaign ranked second nationally in the NCAA Division II national rankings (Oct. 26) by Golfstat, the official source for college golf scores and statistics. The Bulldogs, who held the nation's top position on Oct. 19, 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 during the fall season.

The Bulldog women's soccer team recorded the program's second-best performance in its five-year history with a 9-9-1 overall mark under head coach Melissa Lalonde in 2004, including a fifth place 3-5 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) finish. The Bulldogs previously posted the school's best record ever with an 11-5-1 ledger in Lalonde's first season at the helm during the 2003 campaign.

Six members of the Ferris State University women’s track and field team competed in the 2005 NCAA Division II Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championships held March 11-12 at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Boston, Mass. The grouped included senior Sharon Smith, juniors Jenny Irwin, Geneva Jones and Leanna Wolf along with freshmen Chandra Robinson and Kamitra Carroll. Irwin, Jones, Wolf and Robinson attained All-America recognition with an eighth-place showing in the women's distance medlay relay.

Junior Jenny Irwin of the Ferris State University women's outdoor track and field team claimed All-America honors with a fourth-place (4:30.60) finish in the 1,500 meters at the 2005 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships (May 26-28) held at Abilene Christian University's Elmer Gray Stadium in Abilene, Texas. In the process, she became the 11th track and field athlete in FSU women's history to earn outdoor All-America recognition and the school's first since 2002. Freshman Kamitra Carroll also competed at the national meet and took 11th place in the shot put.

Ninth-year Ferris State University women's cross country head coach Jeff Kavalunas was named the 2004 GLIAC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year. Kavalunas guided the nationally-ranked Bulldogs to a third place finish at the GLIAC Championships as FSU tallied 95 points in the 13-team field and had two first-team All-GLIAC honorees. This season's national ranking marked the first time Ferris had ever been nationally-ranked under Kavalunas.

Junior Jenny Irwin of the 2004 Ferris State University women's cross country team competed in the 24th annual NCAA Division II Women's Cross Country National Championships (Nov. 20) held in Evansville, Ind. Irwin advanced individually to the national championships by virtue of her seventh place All-Great Lakes Region performance at the NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Championships (Nov. 6) held in Edwardsville, Ill. Irwin took 46th place at the national meet.

Fifth-year FSU women’s tennis head coach Dave Ramos was honored as the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Great Lakes Regional Coach of the Year. Ramos led FSU's women’s squad to its 10th consecutive and 15th all-time NCAA Division II Tournament appearance this season.

The Ferris State women's tennis squad reached the NCAA-II Sweet Sixteen for the second time in four years and the sixth time overall by winning the Great Lakes Regional Championship at FSU's Racquet and Fitness Center in Big Rapids, Mich. The Bulldogs finished the year with a 17-3 overall record and earned their fifth regional crown in the last seven seasons to date. Ferris also placed second in both the GLIAC regular-season and tournament competition during the 2004-05 season. FSU was ranked among the nation's top 20 women's teams throughout the season.

The Bulldog men’s tennis team claimed its sixth consecutive regional championship with Dave Ramos serving as interim head coach during the 2005 spring season. Ferris, which was 13-10 overall this campaign, advanced to the NCAA-II Sweet Sixteen for the ninth time in school history. FSU also made its eighth-straight and 11th all-time tournament bid after earning second-place recognition in the both the GLIAC's regular-season and tournament action.

The Bulldog women’s basketball squad was honored for the fifth consecutive season as one of the nation’s top 25 academic programs in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll list. FSU previously posted the nation's second-highest grade point average in 2002-03 after earning the nation's highest gpa in 1999-00.

Ferris State University senior tailback Andrew Terry of the Bulldog football team was among four individuals honored by Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette as NCAA Division II National Offensive Players of the Week (Oct. 5). Terry was selected for his NCAA-II record-setting 410 rushing yard and one touchdown performance in FSU's 35-7 conference victory against the Findlay Oilers (Oct. 2) at Top Taggart Field in Big Rapids, Mich. Terry turned in NCAA-II's largest single-game rushing yard performance ever along with the best in both Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) and Ferris State history. His 410 yards surpassed the previous NCAA Division II mark of 405 yards set by Kentucky State's Alvon Brown against Kentucky Wesleyan in the 2000 campaign (Sept. 16). Terry also established GLIAC and FSU single-game marks in the process, eclipsing Chris Pulliams' 329 yards against Saginaw Valley State in 1995 (Nov. 11).

Ferris State University hockey senior defenseman Matt York was featured on FSN Detroit as part of FSN's college sports magazine program NCAA On Campus. The monthly, 30-minute show hosted by Fox Sports Net's Patrick O'Neal and Sage Steele featured NCAA student-athletes and competitions from across the country. York, who graduated from Ferris State in May 2004 and is currently working towards a master's degree in criminal justice at FSU, spent last summer as a member of Ludington's (Mich.) Police Department while receiving his certification. York comes from a family involved in law enforcement as his father (Mike York) and older brother (Mike Jr.) are both police officers. He was the Bulldogs' team captain on the ice during the 2004-05 campaign.

The Ferris State men's and women's outdoor track and field teams both took sixth place in the 2005 GLIAC Outdoor Championships. The Bulldog women's team registered 64.50 points in the 10-team field while the men's squad totaled 44.50 points in its nine-team division. Ferris' women's squad finished fourth with 51.50 points at the league indoor meet while the men were seventh (31 points).

The FSU women's basketball squad placed fourth in the GLIAC North Division with a 9-9 conference ledger and advanced to the league's postseason tournament for the sixth consecutive year during the 2004-05 campaign. Senior Bridget Horwitz was honored as an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV First-Team honoree.

Senior Jason Cole of the 2004-05 FSU men's tennis team was honored as the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Great Lakes Region Senior Player of the Year Award recipient.

Ferris State had three student-athletes receive National Player of the Week honors from various media during the 2004-05 athletics season. They included seniors Andrew Terry and Whitney Bell of the football team along with ice hockey senior Jeff Legue.

Fifteen FSU student-athletes earned All-Region honors this athletics season. In addition, the school had 10 different student-athletes earn All-America kudos in 2004-05.

Bulldog hockey had three players named to the CCHA All-Rookie Honorable Mention Team this year including Derek MacIntyre, Adam Welch and Matt Stefanishion.

The football team had three student-athletes attain All-America recognition from various media sources, including seniors Kevin Myers and Whitney Bell along with junior Carlton Brewster.

The Ferris State hockey team captured the Wisconsin Badger Hockey Showdown Championship for the second consecutive season with a 5-3 triumph over the host team in the title game on Jan. 1 at Madison, Wis. The victory over the nationally fourth-ranked Badgers came before 12,157 fans. FSU became the first visiting team in the 16-year history of the tournament to win back-to-back championships.

Senior guard Carlton Epps of the men's basketball team was honored as a first-team Daktronics All-Great Lakes Region selection after concluding his career as the school's all-time leader in steals and made three-point field goals.

FSU had a total of 57 student-athletes earn All-GLIAC honors in 2004-05, including 28 first-team selections and 16 second-team picks. Thirteen others claimed honorable mention kudos.

Ferris State student-athletes received GLIAC All-Academic laurels a combined 101 times. The fall season saw 46 athletes claim the distinction. FSU also had 22 and 33 student-athletes pick up the same recognition in the winter and spring seasons, respectively.