WASHINGTON, D.C./BALTIMORE, Md. - The Daemen College men's tennis team split a pair of road matches today, falling 9-0 in East Coast Conference action versus University of the District of Columbia, before rebounding with a 6-1 defeat of Coppin State University. The win over CSU snapped the Wildcats' 13-match skid and it marked the program's first-ever defeat of an NCAA Division I team.
Today's results move the Wildcats to 3-15 overall (0-3 in ECC play) this season. UDC improved to 3-7 overall and evened its ECC mark at 1-1 with their shutout win. CSU, an affiliate of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, falls to 1-11 overall with their loss to the Wildcats.
In today's opening match at the UDC Tennis Courts, the host Firebirds jumped out to a 3-0 lead after sweeping through doubles play. The Wildcats' best effort came in first doubles from the pair of
John LeMar (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) and
Mark Veitengruber (Rockford, Mich./Rockford), but they fell to UDC's Alexis Baguelin and Diego Pinto, 8-4.
In singles play, several matches were hotly contested, but all went the way of the Firebirds. Veitengruber battled Rok Bozic in first singles, eventually falling 7-6, 7-6.
David Gonzalez Villegas (Pereira, Colombia/Liceo Frances de Pereira) saw his personal two-match winning streak end with a 6-4, 6-4 loss to Ander Murillo in third singles.
Gregory Lowe (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora), who also entered today's opener with a personal two-match winning streak, was the lone Wildcat to take a set, but he dropped his match in sixth singles (2-6, 6-2, 10-4) to Noppawa Satprertpry.
After making the short trek up the capital beltway to the CSU Tennis Courts in the Charm City, coach
Stephen Beatty's squad regrouped in a big way, handing CSU its second defeat of the day. The Eagles had dropped a 6-1 decision to Hofstra University earlier in the day before facing the Wildcats.
The match was played under Division I rules which scores the three doubles matches as one point to the team which takes two-out-of-three. That team was Daemen as the Wildcats established control early. Veitengruber teamed with
Adam Kerr (Penfield, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit) to win in second doubles, 6-0, over Gavin Lewis and Andres Diaz. A hard-fought 6-4 win in third doubles from the team of
Andrew LeMar (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) and
Joey Gentile (East Amherst, N.Y./Niagara University) secured the doubles point for Daemen.
The momentum rolled right through singles play where the Wildcats picked up five wins in six matches. Veitengruber, the LeMar brothers, Lowe and
Justin Milner (Ithaca, N.Y./Ithaca) all earned wins. Veitengruber's win in first singles (3-6, 6-0, 6-2) over Gabriel Franca came after dropping the first set, and was his team-leading 12th singles win of the year.
Andrew LeMar earned his ninth win of the season, while his brother John and Lowe each picked up their sixth win. For the freshman Milner, who has battled injuries throughout the year, his 7-6, 6-0 victory in fourth singles marked the first singles win of his career.
Daemen will close the weekend with a non-league match at University of the Sciences on Sunday, April 10.
