AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's tennis team hosted its first-ever Daemen Invitational at the Ellicott Tennis Courts this weekend, a true-to-form tournament featuring five collegiate teams - Daemen, Tiffin University, Roberts Wesleyan College, Allegheny College and Saint John Fisher College.

The tournament featured four classifications, or draws - "A", "B", "C" and "D".  The "A" and "B" draws included both singles and doubles competition while the "C" and "D" draws featured singles competition only.

In the top bracket ("A" draw), Daemen was paced by newcomer David Gonzalez Villegas (Pereira, Colombia/Liceo Frances de Pereira) who advanced to the singles' semifinals.  Gonzalez Villegas received a bye into the quarterfinal round where he took down Jacob Zarzycki of SJFC, 6-4, 6-1 to advance.  In the semis, Gonzalez Villegas battled Tiffin's Luis Ludena, but fell, 6-4, 6-4.  Ludena went on to fall in the "A" singles finals to Charles Farres of Roberts Wesleyan, 5-1, in an abbreviated one-set affair.

Ludena went on to team with Toby Cutting to win the "A" doubles draw, defeating RWC's Farres and Rene Torti in the final, 8-1.

In the "B" draw, Daemen had success in doubles competition, getting wins from the teams of John Wilson (Seneca Falls, N.Y./Mynderse) and Zach Laird (Alexander, N.Y./Alexander Central), John LeMar (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) and Gonzalez Villegas, Roberto Zambrano (Guayaquil, Ecuador/Broward College) and Adam Kerr (Penfield, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit), and Zach Kinnaird (Amherst, N.Y./Sweet Home) and Rob Sperrazza (Cheektowaga, N.Y./Cheektowaga).  LeMar and Gonzalez Villegas went on to advance into the semifinals, defeating Tiffin's Brandon Fruits and Derek Vincent.  But, in the semis, Adam Moran and Dustin Eshleman of RWC took down the Daemen duo, 8-3.  Tiffin's Victor Fernandes and Agustin Mangone won, 8-4, over Moran and Eshleman in the finals.

In the "B" singles draw, redshirt freshman Andrew LeMar (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) earned an opening-round victory, 6-0, 6-1, over SJFC's Johnathon Harper.  But, LeMar fell to Mangone in the second round, 6-2, 6-2.

The "B" singles draw was not completed due to time constraints.  Mangone was set to take on his teammate Cutting for the crown in the bracket. The pair will square off at Tiffin's home venue later this season to complete the draw.

John LeMar would suffer the same fate as his brother in the "C" singles draw.  He defeated SJFC's John Miller in the opening round, 6-0, 6-2, but was then bounced by Allegheny's Colton Johnson-Taylor, 6-4, 6-2, in the second.

Tiffin's Justin Kopronica took down RWC's Eshleman in the "C" finals, 6-0, 6-0.

In "D" singles action, the Wildcats got second-round victories from Kerr, Wilson, Laird and Zambrano after all received byes past the first round.  But, all four would go out in the third round with Laird falling to eventual bracket champ Mike Siegel of Allegheny.

With three tournaments now under their belt, Daemen is set to begin dual matches this week.  A home contest versus Elmira College scheduled for September 30 has been cancelled, so the Wildcats will next take on Bentley University on the road on October 11.