MATCH INFORMATION
Match No. 11
Daemen Wildcats (4-6, 0-0 ECC) vs. Wayne State Warriors (6-5, 0-0 GLIAC)
Tuesday, Mar. 13 | 10 AM | Kissimmee, Fla. | Star Island Tennis Club
Match No. 12
Daemen Wildcats (4-6, 0-0 ECC) vs. Post Eagles (0-3, 0-0 CACC)
Tuesday, Mar. 13 | 7 PM | Orlando, Fla. | USTA National Campus
Match No. 13
Daemen Wildcats (4-6, 0-0 ECC) vs. St. Francis Cougars (4-11, 1-8 CL)
Wednesday, Mar. 14 | 8:30 AM | Haines City, Fla. | Lake Eva Tennis Center
Match No. 14
Daemen Wildcats (4-6, 0-0 ECC) vs. Eckerd Tritons (2-3, 0-3 SSC)
Thursday, Mar. 15 | 2 PM | St. Petersburg, Fla. | Fred Bullard Courts
Match No. 15
Daemen Wildcats (4-6, 0-0 ECC) vs. Earlham Quakers (5-3, 0-0 HCAC)
Friday, Mar. 16 | 8 AM | Orlando, Fla. | USTA National Campus
LIVE STREAM
THE SERVE
The Daemen men's tennis team returns to action with five matches over four days on a spring break trip to Florida. The Wildcats will play four neutral site matches in the Greater Orlando area, and one true road match vs. Eckerd in St. Petersburg. The Wildcats have been idle since a 6-3 loss to Edinboro on Feb. 25, and they enter the week looking to snap a four-match slide. It's Daemen's first Florida trip since March of 2015.
THE COACH
Stephen Beatty returns for his fifth season as the head coach of the Wildcats...over the course of his first four seasons, Beatty has guided the Daemen men's tennis team to a 25-67 record...a former collegiate player at Division II Northwood University (Mich.) and Division III D'Youville College, Beatty got his coaching start as an assistant to Kelly Brown, serving for one season--Daemen's inaugural season of tennis competition--before being promoted to the top post.
THE RETURNERS
The Wildcats return the core of their 2016-17 team which went 6-18 overall and 0-5 in ECC play. Gone however is John LeMar who graduated as the program's all-time leader in doubles wins with 33. Leading the Daemen returners is junior Ricardo Ruiz Martinez who made an immediate impact last season after transferring from American International. Ruiz Martinez became the first Daemen player to earn All-ECC accolades after he was named to the league's second-team. Ruiz Martinez posted a 10-7 mark in singles play and an 8-7 mark in doubles play last season. Also back is sophomore Fabian Wilde who tied Ruiz Martinez for the team lead in singles wins, posting a 10-15 mark, and senior Mark Veitengruber who enters his senior season already ranking as the program's all-time leader in singles wins (34). Junior David Gonzalez Villegas also returns after leading the team in doubles wins with 12 last season.
THE NEWCOMERS
Daemen welcomes four true freshmen to the mix, three of whom are expected to contribute immediately. Look for German native Tim Georg, Mexican native Pablo Martinez Hernandez and Minnesota native Jose Williamson III to be in the lineup early and often.
GEORG STARTS FAST
Freshman Tim Georg got his collegiate career off to a fast start by winning his singles draw at the Daemen Invitational Tournament which was held Sept. 15-17. Georg went 3-0 at the tournament, and picked up a pair of victories against Division I players in the process. First, Georg knocked off Colgate's Tyler Krantz in the semifinal round (4-6, 6-2, 1-0), and he followed with a 6-4, 6-1 defeat of Niagara's Josh Wilson.
VEITENGRUBER SETS CAREER WINS MARK
With wins in both singles and doubles during an 8-1 defeat of RIT on Sept. 27, senior Mark Veitengruber surpassed Gregory Lowe's program-record for combined singles and doubles wins (62). Veitengruber, already the program's all-time leader in singles wins (43), now has a combined 72 wins in his career.
WAYNE STATE SCOUTING REPORT
Wayne State is a member of NCAA Division II and the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Warriors are led by head coach Bryan Morrow who is in his 10th year at the helm. Morrow, a 1991 WSU graduate and 2003 WSU Hall of Fame inductee, has led the Warriors to a 115-97 record since taking the reins of the program back in 2008. The Warriors return seven players from their 2016-17 team that went 9-12 overall and 6-3 in GLIAC play. The group of returners is headlined by sophomore Mats Westkamp who earned first team All-GLIAC honors after posting a combined singles/doubles record of 25-19 last season, including an 11-9 in first singles. Juniors Taylor Vane (second team All-GLIAC) and Griffin Mertz (honorable mention All-GLIAC) also return. Mertz led the Warriors in singles wins (14) last season. WSU has posted a 6-5 record so far this season. Tuesday's match vs. Daemen will be the fifth and final match on their trip to Florida which thus far has included losses to Division I James Madison (6-1), nationally-ranked Rollins (5-4) and Florida Southern (6-3). The Warriors face nationally-ranked St. Leo today. Westkamp is 12-3 in singles play to lead the squad this season. Freshman Niklas Karcz has also posted double-figure singles wins (10-5).
ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Wayne State: 0-0
Streak: N/A
Last Meeting: N/A
POST SCOUTING REPORT
Post is a member of NCAA Division II and the Central Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Eagles are led by veteran mentor Rob Howard who is now in his ninth year with the program. Howard has guided the Eagles to CACC Tournament berths in three of the last four seasons. Post returns eight players from their 2016-17 team which went 13-10 overall and 4-1 in CACC play. The Eagles fell in the CACC Tournament finals last season, but still earned the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament berth. Among the returners this season are a trio of All-CACC honorees. Senior Nikola Crvelin, a first team All-CACC pick, returns after posting a team-best 29 combined singles/doubles wins last season. Junior Ivan Rajevac was also a first team All-CACC selection; he earned 14 doubles wins last season. Senior Ludvig Henriksonm a second team All-CACC selection, returns after posting records of 10-10 (singles) and 15-8 (doubles) last season. The Eagles were picked third in the CACC preseason poll, but they enter their four-match Florida trip at 0-3 this season.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Post: 0-2
Streak: Lost 2
Last Meeting: Post 6, Daemen 3 | Mar. 4, 2017 | Williamsville, N.Y.
ST. FRANCIS SCOUTING REPORT
St. Francis is a member of the NAIA and the Crossroads League. The Cougars are led by head coach Kristen Harrow, a 2005 USF graduate who is now in her ninth season with the program. USF returns seven players from their 2016-17 team which went 2-16 overall. The Cougars have posted a 4-11 record so far this season, including a 1-8 mark in Crossroads League play.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. St. Francis: 0-0
Streak: N/A
Last Meeting: N/A
ECKERD SCOUTING REPORT
Edinboro is a member NCAA Division II and the Sunshine State Conference. The Tritons are led by fifth-year head coach Ben Maxwell, a 2011 Eckerd graduate. Eckerd returns five players from their 2016-17 team which went 8-9 overall and 0-7 in league play. Among the Tritons' returners is sophomore Will Stone who lead the team in combined singles/doubles wins last season with 21. The Tritons were picked ninth in the nine-team SSC preseason poll. Eckerd opened the season with three consecutive losses but have righted the ship recently with wins over Walsh (6-3) and West Chester (9-0).
ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Eckerd: 0-0
Streak: N/A
Last Meeting: N/A
EARLHAM SCOUTING REPORT
Earlham is a member of NCAA Division III and the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Quakers are led by second-year head coach Shawn Hyden who guided the team to an 18-7 record as well as their seventh consecutive HCAC Tournament appearance in his debut last season. The Quakers finished last season as the HCAC runners-up, and 10 players from that team return in 2017-18. The Quakers' returners are headlined by senior Vitalii Stadnyk, the 2016-17 HCAC Player of the Year. Stadnyk went 18-4 in singles play and 18-9 in doubles play last season, leading the team in singles, doubles and combined wins. Senior Vojislav Tatarevic and sophomore Aleksandr Sergeev also return after earning first team All-HCAC honors last season. Earlham was picked second in the HCAC preseason poll, and the Quakers enter this week with a 5-3 overall record.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Earlham: 1-0
Streak: Won 1
Last Meeting: Daemen 5, Earlham 4 | Mar. 14, 2017 | Dayton, Ohio
ON THE HORIZON
Daemen opens East Coast Conference play by visiting Queens (Mar. 23) and St. Thomas Aquinas (Mar. 24).
