JAN TALIAN RETURNS TO DIRECT BULLDOG MEN'S TENNIS PROGRAM

Former Ferris State All-American Chosen As New Men's Tennis Head Coach

Talian will take over for Dave Ramos, who resigned in May to pursue other career interests after completing his first official year as the school's men's tennis coach following five seasons guiding Ferris' women's tennis program. 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 (PTM) program and help direct summer camps. He is tentatively slated to begin his duties at Ferris in late August.

"We're excited to welcome Jan back to the Bulldog family," Kirinovic said. "Jan was an outstanding competitor and extremely successful as a member of our team when he was at Ferris as a student-athlete. I look for him to bring the same drive to this coaching position and lead our men's program to new heights both on a league and national basis."

An FSU graduate, Talian was named to the 2002-03 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division II All-America Team in singles action after previously attaining both ITA Division II Singles and Doubles All-America recognition in the 1999-00 campaign along with 2000-01 ITA All-America kudos in doubles play. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Ferris women's tennis team during the 2003-04 season.

A United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) Level I Professional, Talian most recently has worked since last September as a platform tennis instructor at the New Canaan Field Club in New Canaan, Conn.

Prior to his current position, Talian held different roles at the New Canaan Field Club as an assistant professional (1999-01) and junior tennis coordinator (2002-05). As the junior tennis coordinator, he led the club's junior team to five consecutive Division I Fairfield County Team championships from 1999 to 2003. The 1999 county title was the program's first in nearly 45 years. He also helped increase junior member participation in the program by over 30 percent while guiding and instructing assistant professionals in the junior program curriculum and methodology. His stint as an assistant professional enabled him to gain experience in pro shop operations, member relations, instruction, and development of summer programs while also coordinating drills and stringing racquets.

Talian, who is both a United States Racquet Stringers Association (USRSA) Master Racquet Technician and an American Platform Tennis Association (APTA) Professional, also worked for Ivan Lendl's Grand Slam as a head tennis professional from September 2004 to April 2005 in Banksville, N.Y. He holds both a bachelor's degree in business marketing and a master's degree in career and technical education from Ferris State.

A three-time (2000-01 and 2003) first-team All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) selection, Talian compiled a 26-4 overall singles mark and a 24-9 doubles record at the number one flights during his senior (2002-03) campaign. The 2003 GLIAC and ITA Great Lakes Region Senior Player of the Year claimed the 2002 Omni Hotels/ITA Great Lakes Region Singles Championship and finished 7-0 in league regular-season singles action as a senior. Talian, who received FSU’s 2002-03 Most Valuable Player Award, also teamed with former Bulldog Jason Cole to win the regional doubles crown and place second overall in the Division II field at the 2002 Omni Hotels National Small College Championships (10/17-20) in Corpus Christi, Texas. They completed GLIAC regular-season play with an 8-0 record and were ranked 14th in the final national rankings.

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 2001 FSU Most Valuable Player Award winner concluded his Ferris State career ranked third in career singles wins (84-20) and second in career doubles victories (101-21). He was one victory shy of tying Paul Marcum (85-17; 1988-91) for second place on the school’s all-time singles victory list. The FSU team captain posted a combined 185-41 (.819) career singles and doubles record, which ranks second among the school’s all-time victory and winning percentage leaders.

"Jan also was a strong student and valued his education at Ferris State," said Kirinovic. "This aspect of the job will be another strength of Jan's as he works to build well-rounded student-athletes in our program."

As a sophomore (2000-01), Talian registered a 25-7 record at the number one singles position and was 30-5 overall in doubles play. He also ranked 24th nationally in the final 2001 singles rankings and was fifth overall in the Midwest Region. During the 1999-2000 season, Talian and Marin Krbec compiled a school-best 42-4 doubles record and won the national doubles championship at the 1999 Rolex "Superbowl" of Small College Tennis in Memphis, Tenn. The duo also paired with FSU women's tennis players Jennifer Garvey and Barbora Jilkova to win the inaugural NCAA Division II World Team Tennis Championship during the 2000-01 season (Feb. 9-10) in Claremont, Calif.

A native of Pisek, Czech Republic, Talian posted a 28-6 single mark as a freshman (1999-00) while claiming ITA Midwest Region Rookie of the Year Award recognition. The Bulldogs earned four consecutive GLIAC runner-up finishes and made four-straight NCAA Division II Championship appearances during Talian's playing career. FSU recorded a 75-28 overall dual record and also won 30 of 34 league encounters. Prior to Ferris, Talian was a member of the Czech Junior National Team and was a top-ranked player in the Czech Republic Juniors.

The Bulldog men’s tennis team advanced to the NCAA-II Tournament for the ninth-straight year and 12th time in school history during the 2005-06 campaign under Ramos. Ferris State, which was ranked 33rd in the final Fila Division II Collegiate National Rankings, placed second overall at the 2006 GLIAC Tournament. The Bulldogs recorded a 16-8 overall record, including a second-place 6-1 mark in league action.

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Transaction
Ferris State University –
Announced the appointment of Jan Talian as men's tennis head coach