MATCH INFORMATION
Match No. 22 (GAME DAY INFO)
Daemen Wildcats (9-12, 1-6 ECC) vs. RIT Tigers (3-2, 1-2 LL)
Monday, Mar. 5 | 3:30 PM
Rochester, N.Y. | Gordon Field House
THE SERVE
Daemen goes for its program-record 10th win of the season Monday when visiting Rochester Institute of Technology. The Wildcats are coming off a grueling 5-4 loss to Edinboro on Feb. 25. The Wildcats feature five players with at least 10 singles wins this season - the most in team history. Division III RIT is 3-2 this season, and the Tigers are coming off a 7-2 win over RPI.
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.
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.
IMPRESSING AT ITA'S
Freshman Lorissa Yuen was the headliner for Daemen at the prestigious ITA East Region Championship tournament held in mid-September 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.
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.
UNCHARTED TERRITORY
Daemen's 8-1 win at Millersville on Oct. 10 gave the team seven wins during the fall season, marking the first time that's been achieved in the history of the program which dates back to the 2012-13 season. After adding a 7-2 win at Caldwell on Oct. 15, the Wildcats enter this spring season with eight wins, just one shy of matching the team record for total wins in a season set last year.
MATCHING PROGRAM WINS RECORD
Daemen's 8-1 win over Clarion on Feb. 23 was the team's ninth win of the season, matching the program record for wins which set during last season's 9-15 campaign. Lorissa Yuen, Giovanna Paschoalin, Christina Stasiuk and Gretchen Ringler all earned wins in singles and doubles to lead the way. The Wildcats have won at least eight matches in five consecutive seasons.
STASIUK SETS NEW BENCHMARK FOR SINGLES WINS
With a 15-10 record in singles play this season, freshman Christina Stasiuk has established new benchmarks for wins and wins by a freshman. She recorded her 14th singles win of the season during a 7-2 loss to Le Moyne on Feb. 24, surpassing Gretchen Ringler's record for singles victories by a first-year college player, and matching Hayle Scanlan's team record for singles wins. Stasiuk went on to defeat Edinboro's Roxanna Yeh the following day, becoming the first Daemen player with 15 singles wins in a season.
RIT SCOUTING REPORT
RIT is a member of NCAA Division II and the Liberty League. The Tigers are led by head coach Tim Linhart who is in his first season with the program after previous head coaching gigs at Lake Superior State and Elmira. The Tigers return junior Amelia Ying who received second team All-Liberty League honors last season. Ying posted a 12-9 singles record, including a 10-7 mark in the first position in the lineup last season. The Tigers are off to a 3-2 start this season with wins over Brockport (9-0), Cortland State (5-4) and most recently RPI (7-2). Ying has posted a 4-1 record in the top spot in the lineup, but the Tigers have been led by Kristen Zablonski who owns a 10-2 mark in singles play thus far.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. RIT: 1-1
Streak: Lost 1
Last Meeting: RIT 5, Daemen 4 | Mar. 12, 2016 | Amherst, N.Y.
UP NEXT
Daemen is idle until hosting Fairmont State on Saturday, April 7.
