GAME INFORMATION
Daemen Wildcats (5-5, 1-3 ECC) vs. Houghton Highlanders (6-3, 4-3 Empire 8)
Thursday, Oct. 5 | 7 p.m. | Amherst, N.Y. | Ellicott Tennis Courts
Daemen Wildcats (5-5, 1-3 ECC) vs. Niagara Purple Eagles (1-0, 0-0 MAAC)
Friday, Oct. 6 | 12 p.m. | Niagara University, N.Y. | Niagara University Tennis Courts
BEATTY'S BACK
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 women's tennis team to a 33-61 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.
WILDCATS PICKED 7TH IN ECC PRESEASON POLL
Following a vote of the league's head coaches, Daemen has been picked to finish seventh in the East Coast Conference this season.
RETURNING WILDCATS
The Wildcats are coming off a 9-15 campaign in 2016-17 (1-6 in ECC play), setting the team record for most wins in a season. They will enter the season without the services of Hayle Scanlan and Karli Hollins, two of the most decorated players in team history who were lost to graduation. Veterans Gretchen Ringler (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) and Jessica Robins (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) return to lead the team this season. The duo has combined to make 124 starts in singles play and 100 starts in doubles play in their careers. Ringler posted an 8-16 record at No. 3 singles last year and enters the season ranked second in career singles wins (30) among the program's all-time leaders. Robbins went 11-13 at No. 4 singles. Junior Morgan Park (Hamburg, N.Y./Hamburg) also returns after going 4-5 at No. 6 singles as a sophomore.
FRESH FACES
Daemen welcomes three true freshmen to the 2017-18 squad, including local product Christina Stasiuk (Bowmansville, N.Y./Lancaster). Stasiuk was a four-year member of the Lancaster girl's varsity tennis team. A two-time team captain and two-time team MVP, she played No. 1 singles and qualified for the Section VI championships her junior and senior year. Fellow freshmen Giovanna Paschoalin (Sao Caetano Do Sui, Brazil) and Lorissa Yuen (Portland, Ore./Sunset) are also expected to see significant playing time.
FAST START
Daemen is off to a 3-3 start to the season with all six of their dual-matches coming on the road. The Wildcats scored wins over St. Michael's (6-3) and American International (7-2) to secure the program's first ever 2-0 start to a season. Back-to-back losses Bentley (7-2) and Queens (9-0) followed, but the team regrouped with an 8-1 league win at Molloy. The Wildcats' last dual-match was a 7-2 loss at rival Roberts Wesleyan on Sept. 19.
IMPRESSING AT ITA'S
Freshman Lorissa Yuen was the headliner for Daemen at the prestigious ITA East Region Championship tournament held last weekend at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, site of the U.S. Open. Yuen went 3-1 in singles matches; her first two wins came in the qualifying draw and gave her the right to advance into the main singles draw. In her main draw opening round match, Yuen downed Karen Serina of Adelphi, 6-4, 6-4. She would bow out in the second round, however, falling to Dominika Hadnadova from District of Columbia. Yuen is 6-5 in singles play this season; she's tied for the team lead in singles wins with fellow freshman Christina Stasiuk who earned her sixth victory in the opening round of the qualifying draw before bowing out in the second.
CONFERENCE ACCOLADES
Freshman Lorissa Yuen was named the East Coast Conference Rookie of the Week for matches held August 28 through September 3. Yuen led the Wildcats to wins over St. Michael's and American International during the week, posting a perfect 2-0 record in both singles and doubles play in the two matches. She became the first Daemen player to earn ECC Rookie of the Week honors since Brianna Fiorita did so in the opening week of the 2013-14 season.
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Rookie Christina Stasiuk has made an immediate impact for the Wildcats, ranking first on the squad in singles matches with a 9-5 record. Stasiuk sits four wins shy of of the program's all-time record for singles wins by a freshman. The current record belongs to senior Gretchen Ringer, who posted 13 wins in 2014-2015. Stasiuk is 7-3 over her last 10 singles matches.Lorissa Yuen and Giovanna Paschoalin have also been impressive in their rookie campaigns. Yuen is 8-6 in both singles and doubles matches this season, while Paschoalin has posted a 7-6 singles record. The duo have teamed up in doubles action for a 4-2 mark.
WILDCATS SPLIT FOUR CONTESTS OVER THE WEEKEND
Daemen split four matches over three days last weekend (Sept. 29-Oct. 1), moving to an even 5-5 overall mark and 1-3 conference record. On Friday, Daemen dropped a league battle to UDC 7-2, freshmen Giovanna Paschoalin and Christina Stasiuk picked up singles wins to give the Wildcats two points. The Wildcats continued action Saturday, opening with a 9-0 sweep over Alderson Broaddus, before suffering a 7-2 setback to Walsh University. Daemen wrapped up their weekend campaign with a 5-4 win over visiting Oswego State University. The Wildcats opened the match by winning two of the three doubles matches, and secured the win by taking the first three singles matches in straight sets. Senior Gretchen Ringler and junior Jessica Robins teamed up at No. 1 doubles for the first time this season and cruised to an 8-1 win over Oswego's Alli Ullrich and Jill Travis. The Wildcats also got an 8-1 win at No. 2 doubles, as freshmen Lorissa Yuen and Christina Stasiuk teamed up to defeat freshman Bridget Bender and junior Lorrayne Brach. Stasiuk, Ringler and Robbins all won earned wins in their respective singles matches.
HOUGHTON SCOUTING REPORT
Thursday's meeting with Houghton marks the fifth-straight season that the Wildcats and Highlanders have met; Daemen has won all four previous meetings, including a 9-0 whitewash last season. Division III Houghton is 6-3 overall with a 4-3 mark in the Empire 8 Conference thus far. The Highlander victories have come against Brockport, Alfred, Utica, Pitt-Bradford and Sage. Junior Amanda Carl ranks first on the squad in singles wins with a 6-2 mark, while senior Laura Jacuzzo follows with five victories thus far. Jacuzzo paired with junior Tori Noller leads doubles action for the Highlanders with a 6-2 record. Houghton is led by Charlie Ellis, who has led the team to a 29-44 record in his five-year tenure.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Houghton: 4-0
Streak: Win 4
Last Meeting: Daemen 9, Houghton 0 | Oct. 8, 2016 | Houghton, N.Y.
NIAGARA SCOUTING REPORT
The Wildcats face off against Division I Niagara University on Friday, looking to earn their first win against the Purple Eagles after dropping contests to them in each of the last two seasons. Last season the Purple Eagles went 5-17 overall and finished 3-4 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. NU returned five letterwinners from last season's squad, and welcomed two newcomers to the program in 2017. Among the returners is Stella Peisakhova who led the team with 14 wins and had a 5-2 conference record in No. 1 singles. The Purple Eagles are led by head coach Erick Garcia who entered his second season with Niagara in 2017. Niagara, which plays the majority of its schedule in the spring semester, is 1-0 after a 4-3 defeat of Division II member Walsh this past weekend. In the win, the Purple Eagles won all three doubles, while Peisakhova, Andreea Peteu and Sharlee Deshmukh collected singles victories.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Niagara: 0-2
Streak: Lost 2
Last Meeting: Niagara 8, Daemen 1 | Oct. 15, 2016 | Niagara University, N.Y.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats continue their five-game road streak, traveling to Shippensburg University on Monday, October 9 followed by another non-conference battle at Millersville University on Tuesday, October 10. Both matches are set to begin at 2:00 p.m.
