Men's Tennis 4/15/2017 6:23:00 PM Mike Miranto, Associate A.D. For Communications

Men's Tennis Season Ends With Loss To Spartans

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's tennis team saw its 2016-17 season come to an end with a 7-2 loss to visiting St. Thomas Aquinas College in an East Coast Conference dual match at Miller Tennis Center this afternoon.

Daemen ends the campaign at 6-18 overall, and 0-5 in ECC play. A win today could have forced a three-way tie for the fourth and final ECC Tournament berth, but the loss officially eliminated the Wildcats from postseason contention.

STAC, which improved to 10-7 overall, clinched the last remaining conference tourney bid with their second ECC win of the season (2-3 in league play).

Senior Adam Kerr (Penfield, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit) and sophomore Justin Milner (Ithaca, N.Y./Ithaca) paired up on a 9-7 win on the third doubles court to put Daemen on the board, downing STAC's Matthew Corsie (Stony Point, N.Y.) and Javier Munoz-Laguna (Sevilla, Spain). It was Milner's first action since April 1 as the Daemen sophomore returned from injury today.

STAC picked up wins on the first and second doubles courts to open up a 2-1 lead in the match. Aaron Stahl (Dusseldorf, Germany) and Luke Taplin (Auckland, New Zealand) won 8-3 over DC's Mark Veitengruber (Rockford, Mich./Rockford) and Fabian Wilde (Crimmitschau, Germany/Julius-Motteler) on the top court. It was Enej Hasicevic (Palma de Mallorca, Spain) and Andreu Ferragut-Lluch (Palma de Mallorca, Spain) winning 8-5 on the second court over DC's David Gonzalez Villegas (Pereira, Colombia/Liceo Frances de Pereira) and John LeMar (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda).

Needing four points in singles play to pull out the dual match victory, the Wildcats grasped just one, despite several valiant efforts. Wilde earned a three-set defeat (3-6, 6-2, 6-2) of Ferragut-Lluch, a second-team All-ECC selection last season, giving him 10 singles victories in his rookie campaign.

At the top of the lineup, Gonzalez Villegas and Veitengruber each lost three-set affairs. Gonzalez Villegas took the first set 6-1 in his match with Stahl, but the No. 19 ranked player in the East Region rebounded to win the next two sets (7-5, 6-3) and the match. Veitengruber also went up 1-0 in sets before falling to Munoz-Laguna in an ultra-tight contest (3-6, 7-6, 7-6).

Hasicevic, Taplin and Eddy de Abreu (Palma de Mallorca, Spain) earned points for STAC on the fourth, fifth and sixth singles courts to round out the scoring.

Daemen was once again without the services of sophomore Ricardo Ruiz Martinez (Valencia, Spain/American International College) who missed his second-straight match with an injury. Ruiz Martinez ends the season tied for the team lead in singles wins with fellow newcomer Wilde.

Kerr, LeMar and fellow seniors John Wilson (Seneca Falls, N.Y./Mynderse) and Roberto Zambrano (Guayaquil, Ecuador/Broward College) were honored in a brief pre-match ceremony today commemorating the final home contest of their careers. LeMar leaves as the program's all-time leader in doubles wins with 33.

For breaking news and continuing coverage of the Daemen men's tennis team, follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenTennis on Twitter.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

David Gonzalez Villegas: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Adam Kerr: 5' 11"; Senior

John LeMar: 5' 10"; Senior

Justin Milner: 5' 11"; Sophomore

Mark Veitengruber: 6' 0"; Junior

John Wilson: 5' 7"; Senior

Roberto Zambrano: 5' 7"; Junior

Fabian Wilde: 5' 8"; Freshman

Ricardo Ruiz Martinez: 5' 8"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

David Gonzalez Villegas
: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Adam Kerr
: 5' 11"; Senior

John LeMar
: 5' 10"; Senior

Justin Milner
: 5' 11"; Sophomore

Mark Veitengruber
: 6' 0"; Junior

John Wilson
: 5' 7"; Senior

Roberto Zambrano
: 5' 7"; Junior

Fabian Wilde
: 5' 8"; Freshman

Ricardo Ruiz Martinez
: 5' 8"; Sophomore