MATCH INFORMATION
Match No. 1
Daemen Wildcats (0-0, 0-0 ECC) vs. Merrimack Warriors (1-0, 1-0 NE-1)
Sunday, Sept. 30 | 10 AM | North Andover, Mass. | North Andover HS Courts
THE SERVE
Daemen plays its first dual match of the 2018-19 season this weekend when visiting Northeast-10 Conference member Merrimack. The Wildcats return seven players, including David Gonzalez Villegas, Ricardo Ruiz Martinez, Fabian Wilde and Jose Williamson III who were fixtures in the lineup last season. It figures to be a stiff test as they'll take on a Merrimack program that has been to the NCAA Tournament in 11 consecutive seasons.
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.
REPEAT RUIZ
Ricardo Ruiz Martinez enters his senior campaign as one of the most accomplished players in team history. After beginning his career at American International, Ruiz Martinez has earned second team All-ECC honors in each of the last two seasons since transferring to Daemen; he is the only player in team history to have earned all-conference accolades. The Valencia, Spain native established new program records for singles wins (17) and singles winning percentage (.654) last season. For his career, Ruiz Martinez ranks among Daemen's all-time leaders in combined wins (51 - 5th) and singles wins (28 - 3rd).
IMPRESSING @ ITA'S
Daemen opened the 2018-19 season by putting together the program's best-ever showing at the ITA East Region Championship held earlier this month at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The prestigious tournament brings together teams from across the NCAA Division II East Region for a weekend-long tournament. Seniors Ricardo Ruiz Martinez and David Gonzalez Villegas teamed up to advance into the quarterfinals of the doubles draw, posting a 3-1 record to do so. The Wildcats also got doubles wins from the pairs of Jose Williamson III / Fabian Wilde and Patrick O'Brien / James Schaab-Rozbicki. In singles play, both Ruiz Martinez and Wilde advanced out of the qualifying draw and into the main singles draw. Schaab-Rozbicki and O'Brien also earned singles wins in the tournament.
NEW BENCHMARK
With three doubles wins at the ITA East Region Championship, senior David Gonzalez Villegas established a new program record for career doubles wins. The Pereira, Colombia native, who opened the season with 31 doubles wins to his name, surpassed the 33-win record established by his former teammates, John LeMar and Mark Veitengruber. Gonzalez Villegas also ranks fourth in team history with 52 combined singles and doubles wins in his career.
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Sophomore Jose Williamson III made an immediate impact last season for the Wildcats, racking up a program record 13 doubles wins. The Minneapolis native edged teammates David Gonzalez Villegas and Ricardo Ruiz Martinez who each totaled 12 doubles wins last season. Gonzalez Villegas has reached 12 doubles wins twice in his career.
MERRIMACK SCOUTING REPORT
Merrimack is led by third-year head Alex Loyer who has helped the Warriors extend their streak of consecutive NCAA Tournaments to 11 over the last two seasons. Loyer has guided Merrimack to a 25-20 record in his tenure to date. The Warriors' 2017-18 season ended with consecutive losses to Southern New Hampshire, falling 5-2 in the NE-10 Tournament finals and 5-4 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The Warriors's roster features five returners, including All-NE-10 selections Denis Davydov, Alex Fedorov, Paul Weidinger and Frank Vega. Fedorov led the team with a 19-9 mark in singles play last season. Davydov (12-11), Vega (13-11) and Weidinger (12-13) also reached double-figure wins in singles action. The Warriors participated in the ITA East Region Championship earlier this month, and opened dual match play with a 7-0 victory over St. Anselm earlier this week.
ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. MERRIMACK
Series Record: 0-0
Streak: N/A
Last Meeting: N/A
ON THE HORIZON
Daemen continues is brief fall season by visiting Division I and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference member Niagara next Thursday, Oct. 4.
