FERRIS STATE’S JAN TALIAN SELECTED AS REGION’S TOP PLAYER
Senior Captain Named ITA Great Lakes Region Senior Player Of The Year
 | Senior captain Jan Talian has been named the Great Lakes Region Senior Player of the Year |
Senior captain Jan Talian (Pisek, Czech Republic) of the 2002-03 Ferris State University men’s tennis team has been named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s (ITA) Great Lakes Region Senior Player of the Year in an announcement made Tuesday (May 6) by the ITA. As a regional winner, Talian is one of eight candidates for the ITA National Player of the Year Award which will be announced later this week.
A three-time (2000-01 and 2003) first-team All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) selection, Talian has compiled a 26-4 overall singles mark and a 24-8 doubles record to date this campaign at the number one flights. The 2003 GLIAC Player of the Year claimed the 2002 Omni Hotels/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Great Lakes Region Singles Championship (9/29) and finished league regular-season singles action at 7-0. Talian, a two-time (2000-01) ITA Division II Singles and Doubles All-America performer, also teamed with sophomore Jason Cole (Rockford) 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 are ranked 11th in the latest (April 15) Omni Hotels/ITA Division II National Rankings.
Talian, who is currently the region’s top-ranked singles and doubles player, also is 16th in the latest national singles rankings after finishing seventh overall at the National Small College Championships. The 2001 FSU Most Valuable Player Award winner presently ranks third in career singles wins (84-20) and second in career doubles victories (101-20) at Ferris State. He is one victory shy of tying Paul Marcum (85-17; 1988-91) for second place on the school’s career singles victory list. The 6-1 Talian holds a combined 185-40 (.822) career singles and doubles record to date, which ranks second among the school’s all-time victory and winning percentage leaders.
Ferris State, which is ranked 26th in the latest (April 25) Omni Hotels/Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division II national poll, advanced to the 16-team single-elimination NCAA Division II Championships by claiming one of two Great Lakes Regional tournament titles last weekend (May 2-3) at FSU’s Racquet and Fitness Center in Big Rapids, Mich. The Bulldogs beat West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion Shepherd (5-0) in last Friday's (May 2) first-round match before defeating league rival Wayne State (5-2) in last Saturday's (May 3) championship encounter to win their fourth straight regional crown.
The Bulldogs, who are currently 18-7 overall, are making their ninth overall NCAA-II Tournament appearance and sixth berth in the national finals round this season under first-year head coach Kevin Brandalik. FSU will face third-ranked Drury (Mo.) this Thursday (May 8) in a 10:30 a.m. (EDT) contest at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla.
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, the ITA Collegiate Summer Circuit, presented by the United States Tennis Association, and the Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings for men’s and women’s tennis at the NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and junior college levels. The ITA also has a comprehensive awards program for players and coaches to honor excellence in academics, leadership and sportsmanship.
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