MATCH INFORMATION
Match No. 8
Daemen Wildcats (0-7, 0-2 ECC) vs. District of Columbia Firebirds (5-1, 2-1 ECC)
Saturday, Oct. 6  |  2 PM  |  Washington, D.C.  |  UDC Tennis Courts

Match No. 9
Daemen Wildcats (0-7, 0-2 ECC) vs. NYIT Bears (8-0, 3-0 ECC)
Monday, Oct. 8  |  11 AM  |  Old Westbury, N.Y.  |  NYIT Tennis Courts

Match No. 10
Daemen Wildcats (0-7, 0-2 ECC) vs. LIU Post Pioneers (1-4, 1-3 ECC)
Tuesday, Oct. 9  |  1 PM  |  Brookville, N.Y.  |  LIU Post Tennis Courts

THE SERVE
Daemen is geared up for a three-match road trip that will take them to our nation's capital to face District of Columbia, as well as to Long Island for bouts with NYIT and LIU Post. All three matches are East Coast Conference contests.

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 60 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 week 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 4-2 mark in singles play. All four of her singles wins have come in the No. 1 spot in the lineup. 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SCOUTING REPORT
UDC is led by T. Richard Mahaffey, III who is in his 10th season as the Firebirds' head coach. The Firebirds were picked fourth in the ECC preseason poll as they return four players from their 2017-18 team that went 4-8 overall and 4-3 in ECC play. UDC is off to a 5-1 start this season; their only setback thus far was a 5-2 loss to Queens on Sept. 8. They'll enter Saturday's match with Daemen riding a four-match winning streak. Newcomer Simone Parn has made an immediate impact with a 7-1 singles record thus far, including a 6-0 mark while appearing in the No. 1 spot in UDC's lineup. Fellow newcomers Marija Milic and Joanna Skrzypczynska have each posted 6-2 singles records as well. In doubles play, Parn and Milic have gone 7-1 as a pair, while Skrzypczysnka and Anastasiia Danylova have also gone 7-1 together. 

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Series Record: 0-5
Streak: Lost 5
Last Meeting: Dist. Columbia 7, Daemen 2 | Sept. 29, 2017 | Amherst, N.Y.

NYIT SCOUTING REPORT
NYIT is led by second-year head coach Owen Kassimir. In his first season at the helm, Kassimir led the Bears to their sixth straight ECC championship. With four returning players off a 2017-18 team that went 10-7 overall, the Bears were picked second in the ECC preseason poll. Ivana Andric, the 2017-18 ECC Rookie of the Year, headlines the Bears' returners. NYIT has opened the season with eight straight wins, including a 3-0 mark in league play. They'll face Division I Hofstra on Friday, and fellow perennial ECC powerhouse Queens on Saturday. The Bears have won 43 of their last 47 ECC matches dating back to the 2012-13 season. 

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. NYIT
Series Record: 0-5
Streak: Lost 5
Last Meeting: NYIT 9, Daemen 0 | Oct. 20, 2017 | Amherst, N.Y.

LIU POST SCOUTING REPORT
LIU Post is led by fourth-year head coach Walter Giacometti who has guided the program to a 21-21 overall record and a 16-9 ECC record in his tenure to date. The Pioneers bring back five players from their 2017-18 team that went 8-5 overall and 6-1 in ECC play. The Pioneers were picked third in the ECC preseason poll released in August. After opening the season with a 4-3 win over ECC rival St. Thomas Aquinas, the Pioneers have dropped four straight matches. They'll host Concordia in a non-conference match Thursday before facing Daemen next week. Returners Shanice Arthur, Christina Jud and Veronika Koudelkova have each posted a team-best 3-2 mark in singles play so far this season. 

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. LIU POST
Series Record: 0-5
Streak: Lost 5
Last Meeting: LIU Post 6, Daemen 3 | Oct. 21, 2017 | Amherst, N.Y.

ON THE HORIZON
The Wildcats are idle until hosting ECC foes Molloy (Oct. 19) and Queens (Oct. 20) later this month.