Freshman James Schaab-Rozbicki and the Daemen men's tennis team open their spring season by hosting West Virginia Wesleyan on Feb. 3

Men's Tennis 12/6/2016 3:25:00 PM Mike Miranto, Associate A.D. For Communications

Beatty Announces Spring Schedule For Men's Tennis Team

Wildcats Play Seven Of First Nine At Home

AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's tennis team will play seven of its first nine matches at home this spring as the upcoming portion of the Wildcats' 2016-17 schedule was announced today by head coach Stephen Beatty. Beatty's squad, which went 1-4 during a short fall season, will play 19 matches this spring, including five in East Coast Conference action.

"We're excited about what's in store for the spring semester this season," Beatty said. "I feel like we've put together a challenging schedule, and one that also features more home matches than what we've had in the past. We're also happy to once again have the support of Miller Tennis Center which will serve as our indoor facility for both practices and matches during the winter months. Having access to a top-flight indoor venue like Miller Tennis Center makes a huge difference in the experience of our student-athletes."

It all gets started on Feb. 3 when West Virginia Wesleyan College comes to town for a 7 p.m. match. The Wildcats and Bobcats met for the first time last March, and this year's meeting kick-starts a three-match home-stand to begin the spring. Daemen also meets Mercyhurst University (Feb. 5) and Salem International University (Feb. 17) in the opening home-stand. West Virginia Wesleyan and Mercyhurst were both NCAA Tournament qualifiers last season.

A neutral site match breaks things up on Feb. 19 as Daemen makes the short trek to Erie, Pa. to meet Hillsdale College. It'll mark the second straight season that the Wildcats and Chargers have met.

The Wildcats start a busy three-match weekend by hosting Davis & Elkins College on Feb. 24. That will be followed by a road match at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y. the next day, and a Sunday matinee at home vs. Edinboro University, the defending Atlantic Region champs who posted a 23-3 record last season. The match vs. Edinboro starts another three-match home-stand which will additionally feature Post University (Mar. 4) and Millersville University (Mar. 5).

Beatty will use the College's spring break week to take his team on four-match trip, competing in both Indiana and Kentucky. The trip starts with back-to-back matches against Division III opponents Franklin College (Mar. 13) and Earlham College (Mar. 14), both affiliates of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Wildcats will jump back to Division II competition against the University of Southern Indiana (Mar. 15) and Bellarmine University (Mar. 16). The USI Screaming Eagles are coming off a 17-6 campaign last season which saw them earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Upon returning, Daemen hosts University of the District of Columbia on Mar. 24 to open ECC play. The Firebirds blanked Daemen in the teams' meeting last season, en route to finishing third in the league.

The Wildcats visit defending ECC regular season and tournament champion N.Y. Institute of Technology on April 1. That trip to the New York City metropolitan area includes a non-league match at Caldwell University the following day.

On Apr. 11, the Wildcats lock up with rival Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, before Daemen closes out the regular season by hosting Queens College (Apr. 14) and St. Thomas Aquinas (Apr. 15) later that week.

For breaking news and continuing coverage of the Daemen men's tennis team, follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenTennis on Twitter.

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