Redshirt-freshman Andrew LeMar is second on the team in singles victories (6) heading into this weekend

Men's Tennis 2/19/2016 1:00:00 PM

Men's Tennis Hosts Cedarville, Visits Mercyhurst This Weekend

Wlidcats Looking To Quell Two-Match Skid

THE SERVE: The Daemen College men's tennis team continues non-conference play when they host Cedarville on Saturday, and visit Mercyhurst on Sunday.

Saturday, February 20 (at Miller Tennis Center - Williamsville, N.Y.)

Daemen vs. Cedarville, 5:00 p.m.

Miller Tennis Center Details

Sunday, February 21 (at Westwood Racquet Club - Erie, Pa.)

Daemen at Mercyhurst, 11:30 a.m.

Westwood Racquet Club Details

DAEMEN GROUND STROKES (2-4, 0-0 ECC)

Daemen returns 11 players from its 2014-15 roster which achieved a record of 7-16, including a 1-5 mark in East Coast Conference play
In addition to the returners, the Wildcats welcome four fresh faces to the mix this season
The Wildcats were voted tied for fifth in the ECC preseason poll released in late January
Daemen will play five of their first nine matches this spring at home before venturing on the road for eight-straight
In singles play, sophomore Mark Veitengruber, the team's MVP a season ago, leads the team with eight victories in 13 matches thus far
The Wildcats figure to lean heavily on returners Gregory Lowe, John LeMar, Joey Gentile and Adam Kerr in the early going
Redshirt-freshman Andrew LeMar is also a player to watch after going 5-4 in singles play last fall
Lowe and Gentile will likely form the Wildcats' top doubles pairing at the outset
The Wildcats also await the healthy returns of freshmen Justin Milner and David Gonzalez Villegas who each suffered injuries last fall
Daemen blanked Elmira 9-0 at home on Feb. 6 in the team's opening match of the spring season
Veitengruber, Lowe, Kerr and the LeMar brothers were all winners in both singles and doubles against Elmira
Daemen suffered through a pair of defeats in the team's first-ever trip to Michigan last weekend, falling by identical 9-0 scores to Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference affiliates Hillsdale and Grand Valley State

CEDARVILLE GROUND STROKES (5-1, 0-0 GMAC)

Cedarville is a member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference
The Yellow Jackets are led by veteran head coach Alan Edlund who has led CU to 252 victories in his 22 seasons on the job
CU has recorded three-straight 11-win seasons, and are off to a fast start this season at 5-1
The Yellow Jackets began a three-match tour of Western New York be defeating Houghton 9-0 on Thursday, and they'll face Roberts Wesleyan on Friday before closing the trip against Daemen on Saturday
The trip here represents CU's first matches of the spring season
CU's nine-man roster features four freshmen and two sophomores, and no seniors
Junior Ryan Shomo, an all-GMAC selection last season, and sophomore Jonathan Class, the 2014-15 GMAC Rookie of the Year, headline the Yellow Jackets' returners
Coach Edlund is also relying heavily on a pair of freshmen in Matt Brumbaugh and Luke Ingles so far this season
Class and Brumbaugh, along with junior Joel Clark and sophomore David Carter, lead the team with four singles victories this season (prior to Thursday's match at Houghton)
In doubles action, the Yellow Jackets' No. 2 pairing of Clark and Shomo has gone 5-0 in the early going
Four of CU's five victories have come via shutout; the fifth was a 7-2 defeat of NAIA foe Taylor
The Yellow Jackets' lone loss was a bitter 5-4 defeat to Findlay

MERCYHURST STATE GROUND STROKES (2-2, 0-0 PSAC)

Mercyhurst is a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference
The Lakers are led by fifth-year head coach Jerome Simon who has guided MU to a 29-40 record over his first four seasons
More than half of MU's wins during the Simon era came last season when the Lakers went 15-7 overall, advancing to the PSAC Tournament finals and earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II National Championships where they went as far as the 'Sweet 16'
MU picked up wins in the Atlantic/East Regional over West Virginia Wesleyan and West Liberty before getting blanked (5-0) by Cameron in the round of 16
The Lakers played just one dual match last fall, a 7-2 defeat of Division III Allegheny
MU is 1-2 this spring with both losses coming to Division I programs - 8-1 vs. Duquesne and 6-1 vs. St. Bonaventure
The Lakers' lone win so far this spring was a 9-0 shutout of Fairmont State, the only Division II team they've played to date
Serbian native Nenad Terzic, a sophomore, leads the MU returners after going 19-9 in singles play as a rookie last season
The Lakers also return juniors Conor McCooey and Ross Molinar IV who each won 18 singles matches last season, combining for a 36-12 record

ALL-TIME SERIES NOTES

Saturday's match marks the first all-time meeting between Daemen and Cedarville
Sunday's match marks the fourth all-time meeting and the fourth-straight season that Daemen and Mercyhurst have met
- The Lakers have prevailed in each of the three previous meetings

UP NEXT FOR DAEMEN: Daemen does another home-road split weekend when they face Le Moyne at Miller Tennis Center next Saturday (Feb. 27) before visiting Edinboro on Sunday (Feb. 28).

SOCIAL MEDIA: @DaemenTennis | #DCWildcatNation | #WNYsD2Team

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Joey Gentile: 5' 9"; Senior

Adam Kerr: 5' 11"; Junior

Andrew LeMar: 5' 7"; Redshirt Freshman

John LeMar: 5' 10"; Junior

Gregory Lowe: 5' 9"; Senior

Mark Veitengruber: 6' 0"; Sophomore

Justin Milner: 5' 11"; Freshman

David Gonzalez Villegas: 5' 6"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Joey Gentile
: 5' 9"; Senior

Adam Kerr
: 5' 11"; Junior

Andrew LeMar
: 5' 7"; Redshirt Freshman

John LeMar
: 5' 10"; Junior

Gregory Lowe
: 5' 9"; Senior

Mark Veitengruber
: 6' 0"; Sophomore

Justin Milner
: 5' 11"; Freshman

David Gonzalez Villegas
: 5' 6"; Freshman