MATCH INFORMATION
Match No. 2
Daemen Wildcats (0-1, 0-0 ECC) vs. Roberts Wesleyan Redhawks (2-0, 0-0 ECC)
Tuesday, Sept. 11 | 1:30 PM | Williamsville, N.Y. | Miller Tennis Center
THE SERVE
After opening the 2018-19 season with a 6-1 road loss at Millersville this past weekend, Daemen begins East Coast Conference play by hosting rival Roberts Wesleyan on Tuesday. The match is scheduled to take place at the newly renovated courts at Williamsville South High School which will serve as the team's outdoor venue for the 2018-19 season.
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. Her doubles win in Saturday's loss to Millersville gives her 58 wins for her career (combined singles and doubles), a total which puts her in sole possession of third place in team history. She opened the season with 57 combined wins which placed her in a tie with former teammate Karli Hollins.
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.
ROBERTS WESLEYAN SCOUTING REPORT
Roberts Wesleyan returns six players off their 2017-18 team that went 10-8 overall and 2-5 in ECC play. The Redhawks' returners are headlined by seniors Andrea Gallardo and Nthabi Mogopodi who each earned second team All-ECC honors last season. Head coach Tom Linhart takes over for the departed Rebecca Bonner. Linhart has been the head men's tennis coach at Roberts Wesleyan for the last several seasons. The Redhawks have been picked sixth in the ECC preseason poll, and they've opened the season with consecutive victories over St. Michael's (5-2) and Brockport (9-0).
ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Roberts Wesleyan: 0-7
Streak: Lost 2
Last Meeting: Roberts Wesleyan 7, Daemen 2 | Sept. 19, 2017 | Amherst, N.Y.
ON THE HORIZON
Daemen heads east to participate in the ITA East Regional Tournament this weekend at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
