MATCH INFORMATION
Match No. 11
Daemen Wildcats (0-10, 0-5 ECC) vs. Molloy Lions (2-5, 1-4 ECC)
Friday, Oct. 19 | 8 PM | Williamsville, N.Y. | Miller Tennis Center
Match No. 12
Daemen Wildcats (0-10, 0-5 ECC) vs. Queens Knights (7-0, 5-0 ECC)
Saturday, Oct. 20 | 7 PM | Williamsville, N.Y. | Miller Tennis Center
THE SERVE
Daemen wraps up the fall portion of the 2018-19 season this weekend by hosting East Coast Conference foes Molloy and Queens. The Wildcats will be looking for their fifth straight win in the series with Molloy, and their first-ever win over perennial ECC powerhouse Queens.
MCDERMOTT ERA
The 2018-19 season marks the start of a new era for Daemen as head coach Kerry McDermott begins his first season with the program. In early July, McDermott was named the third head coach in team history after spending the last 36 seasons as the head men's tennis coach at the University of Nebraska. In that time, McDermott led the Huskers to 405 victories, the most of any coach in team history, and two NCAA Tournament appearances. His tenure at the Division I school also included one season (1988-89) as the Huskers' head women's tennis coach.
10!
Daemen is coming off a 10-14 record in 2017-18, the program's first-ever 10-win season. The record-setting campaign included eight victories during the fall season, also the most the team has ever achieved, and tying the program record for wins in an entire season which had been done in each of the three previous seasons. An 8-1 win over Clarion on Feb. 23 broke that mark, and the Wildcats went on to add a 6-3 win over Fairmont State on April 7 to break into double figures.
ROCKIN' ROBINS
Senior Jessica Robins returns to the lineup as the team's most experienced and accomplished player. The North Tonawanda, N.Y. native has been a fixture in the lineup over her first three collegiate seasons, and is coming off the strongest season of her career. She posted a career-best 13 singles wins in 2017-18, ranking tied for fourth among the program's all-time single season leaders. Now with 61 combined singles and doubles wins in her career, Robins ranks third in team history. Her 60th win came against St. Thomas Aquinas' Anna Ristova earlier this season as she became just the third player in team history to reach 60 combined wins.
SUPER SOPH
Sophomore Christina Stasiuk also returns to the lineup after making an immediate impact in her rookie season. Stasiuk set a new benchmark for singles wins in a season, racking up 18 of them last year. She surpassed the previous record for singles wins by a freshman (13) set by Gretchen Ringler in 2014-15, and later eclipsed the overall record of 14 singles wins set by Hayle Scanlan in 2016-17. Stasiuk has gotten off to a fast start this season as she leads the team with a 5-6 mark in singles play. All five of her singles wins have come in the No. 1 spot in the lineup.
MOLLOY SCOUTING REPORT
Molloy is led by first-year head coach Brendan Caputo. In his first season at the helm, Caputo has led the Lions to two wins in their first seven contests. The team's two wins are their most since going 5-9 during the 2013-14 season. The Lions' win total includes a 4-3 defeat at ECC rival LIU Post in late September. Since then, the Lions have suffered back-to-back losses to ECC front-runners NYIT and Queens. With four players returning, the Lions were picked eighth in the ECC preseason poll.
ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. MOLLOY
Series Record: 4-2
Streak: Won 4
Last Meeting: Daemen 8, Molloy 1 | Sept. 10, 2017 | Rockville Centre, N.Y.
QUEENS SCOUTING REPORT
Queens is led by veteran head coach Alan Nagel who is in 37th season with the program. In that time, Nagel has led the Knights to over 500 victories, and the program has made 18 consecutive NCAA tournament berths. The Knights posted an 11-5 overall record and a 7-0 mark in league play last season, but were upset in the finals of the conference tournament by NYIT. Six players return to the fold this season, and the Knights were picked first in the ECC preseason poll. Louisa Brunetti, Laura Ortega Jover and Reehan Rashad headline the team's returners after earning first team All-ECC honors last season.
ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. QUEENS
Series Record: 0-5
Streak: Lost 5
Last Meeting: Queens 9, Daemen 0 | Sept. 9, 2017 | Flushing, N.Y.
