Men's Tennis To Play 1 Tournament, 3 Duals This Fall

By: By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications

Men's Tennis | 8/16/2018 1:00:00 PM

AMHERST, N.Y. - Newly appointed head men's tennis coach Kerry McDermott released the fall semester portion of the Daemen College men's tennis team's 2018-19 schedule today, a slate that includes one prestigious tournament and three non-conference dual matches.

"I am looking forward to a very competitive fall schedule with the men's tennis team," said McDermott, the veteran coach whose hiring was announced last month after racking up 405 wins as the head men's tennis coach at the University of Nebraska. "We have a good nucleus of the team coming back from last year and I feel like we can use the fall season to get better and prepare us for the spring season."

The Wildcats will open the fall campaign by partaking in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association East Region Championship tournament. The tourney brings together teams from across the three conferences that comprise the NCAA Division II East Region - the East Coast Conference, Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference and Northeast-10 Conference. Several draws for both singles and doubles competition will be played out over the four-day tournament which, for the second consecutive season, is being held at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in the New York City borough of Queens, giving participants the opportunity to play on the same courts that are used for the U.S. Open. Further tournament details will be announced at a later date.

The first dual match of the fall season comes on Sunday, September 30 when the Wildcats travel to suburban Boston where they'll face Merrimack College. The Warriors have traditionally been one of the NE-10's top teams with three conference championships and five runner-up finishes during their 15 years in the league. The 2017-18 season was no different as the Warriors posted a 14-10 overall record and an 8-1 NE-10 mark en route to a conference tournament runner-up finish and an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II tournament.

Back in Western New York, the Wildcats will travel north on Thursday, October 4 to face Division I affiliate Niagara University out of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. It will mark the fourth consecutive season that the Wildcats and Purple Eagles have gone head-to-head.

The brief fall season closes on Columbus Day (Monday, Oct. 8) when the Wildcats make their home debut against defending NE-10 champion Southern New Hampshire University. The Penmen are coming off a 16-7 campaign in 2017-18, including a perfect 9-0 mark in NE-10 play. SNHU has captured three straight and four of the last five NE-10 championships. The meeting between Daemen and SNHU will take place at the newly renovated courts at Williamsville South High School which is serving as the team's outdoor venue for the 2018-19 season.

For a full look at the team's fall semester schedule, click here. Daemen's 2018-19 season continues during the spring semester. Their remaining schedule, which includes five East Coast Conference matches, will be announced at a later time.

The Wildcats are set to return seven players from their 2017-18 roster, including Ricardo Ruiz Martinez (Valencia, Spain), a second team All-ECC honoree in each of the last two seasons. As a junior last season, Ruiz Martinez racked up a team-record 17 wins in singles play; his .654 singles winning percentage also set a new benchmark for the program.

Also back are veterans David Gonzalez Villegas (Pereira, Colombia), Fabian Wilde (Crimmitschau, Germany) and Jose Williamson III (Minneapolis, Minn.). Gonzalez Villegas enters his senior season with 49 combined singles and doubles wins in his career, good for fourth in team history. Wilde has reached double-figure wins in singles action during both of his first two collegiate seasons, including a career-best 14 last year. Willimson III made an immediate impact as a freshman last season, setting a new team for doubles wins with 13.

Senior Matt Skrypka (Webster, N.Y.), junior James Schaab-Rozbicki (Amherst, N.Y.) and sophomore Noah Craddock (Attica, N.Y.) also return, and the Wildcats will welcome freshman Patrick O'Brien (Pittsford, N.Y.) to the mix as well.

The Wildcats posted a 7-17 overall record and a 1-4 mark in ECC play last season. The seven wins matched the program record for victories in a season.

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Players Mentioned

David Gonzalez Villegas: 5' 6"; Senior

Ricardo Ruiz Martinez: 5' 8"; Senior

James Schaab-Rozbicki: 5' 11"; Junior

Fabian Wilde: 5' 8"; Junior

Jose Williamson III: 6' 4"; Sophomore

Patrick O'Brien: 5' 9"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

David Gonzalez Villegas
: 5' 6"; Senior

Ricardo Ruiz Martinez
: 5' 8"; Senior

James Schaab-Rozbicki
: 5' 11"; Junior

Fabian Wilde
: 5' 8"; Junior

Jose Williamson III
: 6' 4"; Sophomore

Patrick O'Brien
: 5' 9"; Freshman