FERRIS PAIR EARNS RUNNER-UP ACCOLADES IN REGIONAL PLAY
Jason Cole & Ian Westermann Finish Second At Great Lakes Championships
 | Northwood's Marcus Blumberg and Gerrit Lotz (left) edged Ferris' Ian Westermann and Jason Cole (right) in the Great Lakes Regional doubles final |
The Ferris State University men's tennis team advanced players to both the singles and doubles championship matches of the 2003 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Great Lakes Region Championships, which were held last Friday-Sunday (Sept. 26-28) at the Midland (Mich.) Tennis Center.
Bulldog junior Jason Cole (Rockford) reached the championship match of the singles draw before being eliminated by Northwood's Gerrit Lotz 6-2, 6-2 in Sunday's title match. He previously captured a 7-6(4), 6-2 semifinal win over Indianapolis' Ross Johnson in Sunday's opening match after knocking off both Amine Benjelloun of Northern Kentucky 6-1, 3-6, 1-0 and Goran Marijan of Wayne State 6-1, 6-3 on Saturday. Cole, who was seeded seventh overall in the draw entering the tournament, posted a 5-1 record while earning runner-up accolades in the three-day event.
Cole also teamed with Ferris senior Ian Westermann (Waterford, Wis.) to advance to the doubles championship match, where the duo dropped an 8-5 decision to Northwood's Lotz and Marcus Blumberg Sunday. The Bulldog pair reached the title encounter by virtue of their 8-3 semifinal win against Benjelloun and Oliver Marinkovic of Northern Kentucky on Saturday. They also recorded an 8-6 triumph over Lake Superior State's Alex Beauregard and Ludovic Marmet in Saturday's play. The unseeded duo tallied a 4-1 mark in the tournament.
 | Ferris junior Jason Cole (right) claimed regional runner-up recognition in singles play as Northwood's Gerrit Lotz (left) won the regional championship |
As regional singles and doubles runner-ups, Cole and Westermann narrowly missed earning the region's automatic berths into the National Small College Championships, which will be held Oct. 16-19 at the H.E. Butts Tennis Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. In 2002, former Bulldog player Jan Talian emerged as the individual regional singles champion and teamed with Cole to win the doubles championship as the duo placed second overall in the Division II field at the National Small College Championships.
The National Small College Tennis Championships is an event presented by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and features the top players in the nation from NCAA Divisions II and II, NAIA and junior/community colleges battling it out to determine the top small college players in the country.
As the governing body of collegiate tennis, the ITA promotes both the athletic and academic achievements of the collegiate tennis community. The ITA, which was founded in 1956 and is based in Skillman, N.J., administers numerous regional and national championships and has a comprehensive awards program for players and coaches to honor excellence in academics, leadership and sportsmanship.
FSU, which is coached by second-year head coach Kevin Brandalik, will open its spring season with an exhibition match against Grand Rapids Community College Friday, Feb. 13, beginning at 3 p.m. (EDT) in FSU's Racquet and Fitness Center at Big Rapids, Mich.
|
