Former GVSU wrestler to fight in UFC 209

Tony Ferguson, a former wrestler for Grand Valley State, will fight in a lightweight match in UFC 209 Saturday, March 4 in Las Vegas. Ferguson will fight the lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in a matchup between the top fighters in the weight class.

Nurmagomedov, the No. 1 fighter in the division, is an undefeated 24-0 in the lightweight division. Ferguson, the No. 2 fighter, holds the advantage in height (one inch taller) and reach (six inches longer), but Nurmagomedov is favored in the fight. It will be the first matchup between the two fighters in their careers.

In his UFC career, Ferguson is 23-3-0 with nine knockouts. At GVSU, he was a two-time All-American wrestler and a one-time National Champion at the 165 lb. weight class.

The fight will air on Fox Sports 1 at 10 p.m.

GVSU men’s tennis beats Hillsdale

The Grand Valley State men’s tennis team continued its undefeated season with a 9-0 win over Hillsdale at the Premier Athletic Club in Grandville, Michigan. The Lakers improved to 4-0 on the season while the Chargers fell to 3-2.

GVSU’s Sebastien Lescoulie improved to 3-0 in singles play with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Charlie Adams in the No. 1 singles slot. Jack Geissler won in the No. 3 singles spot with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Dugan Delp. Nicholas Urban won the No. 5 singles matchup 6-1, 6-3 while No. 6 Eric Zwemer took care of business in the No. 6 matchup with a 6-1, 6-2 win.

The doubles pairing of Alex van de Steenoven and Lescoulie won the No. 2 pairing by a score of 8-5 while Urban and Geissler won the No. 3 matchup 8-2.

GVSU DIII club hockey loses in second round of playoffs

After beating Michigan State the day before, the Grand Valley State DIII men’s club hockey team lost to Adrian Gold in the second round of the regional playoffs. The Lakers beat the Spartans 7-6 in overtime before losing to Adrian 5-2.

In the first game of the weekend, the Lakers jumped out to an early lead with a power-play goal in the first minute of the game. After the Spartans tied the game with a shorthanded goal, GVSU reclaimed the lead with a goal from Tyler Stoller late in the first period.

Michigan State rattled off four consecutive goals in the second period, but the Lakers scored two goals to pull within one before the third period. The Lakers scored two goals to grab the lead, but the Spartans tied the game with less than one minute left to send the game to overtime.

In overtime, Randy Stoever scored the game-winning goal to send the Lakers into the second round.

In the second round, the Lakers trailed 2-0 after the first period. Michael Barnes and Mark Janiga scored in the first ten minutes of the second period to tie the game. Adrian answered back with two goals before the end of the period to take a 4-2 lead heading into the final period.

The Lakers (25-9-2) were unable to capitalize on multiple power-play opportunities in the third period. Adrian scored an empty-net goal in the last minute of the game to secure a 5-2 win.