From the desk of the Director of Athletics...

Dear Wildcat Family,

As the calendar flips to November, Daemen Athletics has begun shifting to winter sport coverage and promotions. With the wind storm of last week and the 11 inches of overnight snow this week, it is time to move inside! We do so with great anticipation as our men's and women's basketball teams are both highly thought of around the region, and our young men's volleyball program hosts several big-time matches in early January.  

Men's Basketball has started the season with a fierce attitude and momentum from last year's exciting run. Our Wildcats are ranked #22 in the NABC preseason top-25 poll,  #18 in the D2SIDA preseason top-25 poll and picked #1 in both the D2SIDA regional and East Coast Conference preseason polls. Exhibition games against Division I teams Buffalo and Syracuse demonstrated that our Division II Wildcats are talented and exciting to watch. Their trip to Missouri for the Small College Basketball National Hall of Fame Classic demonstrated that the goals of competing for championships is a serious focus of this program. I would invite you to come experience the excitement that our program is generating, and there are several opportunities to do so. Our team will play four home games between November 14 and 23 - three at Lumsden Gymnasium followed by our first-ever game at KeyBank Center in downtown Buffalo (Saturday, Nov. 23). The KeyBank Center is a wonderful opportunity for our team to be showcased alongside Division I brethren from Canisius and St. Bonaventure. Our team tips off at noon vs. Wilmington University with the Griffs and Bonnies following at 2:30. Tickets for the doubleheader remain available at daemenwildcats.com/keybanktix (use password "WILDCATS") or by calling 716-839-8385.  

Women's Basketball is beginning their season  ranked #9 in D2SIDA preseason regional poll and they've been picked third in ECC preseason poll. Coach Jenepher Banker and crew are looking to build off the program's most successful season since transitioning to Division II as they finished the 2018-19 campaign with an 18-10 record and a second-place finish in the ECC standings. Many key contributors return, including all-conference players Katie Titus and Tiara Filbert. The presence of Division I transfer Ashli Jeune has us even more excited about this group. The Wildcats make their home debut Nov. 20 vs. Edinboro. 

More exciting events on the horizon include men's volleyball matches against UCLA (Jan. 2), Pepperdine (Jan. 14) and Harvard (Jan. 16), as well as a neutral site match between Pepperdine and Harvard played in our gym (Jan. 15). Head coach Don Gleason has done a masterful job in attracting these high-profile programs to our gym, which in turn will raise the profile of our second-year program. Tickets for these matches will go on sale this Saturday, Nov. 16 as the program hosts its annual Blue-White Scrimmage at Lumsden Gymnasium. Seating in Lumsden Gymnasium is very limited so we encourage anyone interested to act quickly. If you cannot attend Saturday's event, tickets will be available (while supplies last) by calling 716-839-8385. 

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention some of the hIghlights of our fall season, starting first and foremost with our women's soccer team. Despite missing out on the conference tournament by a single point in the standings, coach Dan Dolan guided our team to an 11-3-3 record, achieving their most victories since 2011 and setting records for shutouts in a season (8) and fewest goals allowed (13) in a season. Senior forward Jamie Boyar picked up where she left off in her record-breaking 2018 season, and followed up by establishing a new program record for career goals with 55. What an amazing "feet"! 

Our women's volleyball team has clinched a berth to next week's conference tournament - their third postseason berth in the last four years. They'll defend their 2018 conference championship Nov. 22-23 at Molloy College. Our women's cross country team is on the rise, finishing third at the conference championship meet and 13th at the regional championship meet, with virtually the entire team set to return in 2020. Our women's bowling team has posted a trio of top-three finishes in four tournaments already this season, and our women's triathlon team is off to compete in the collegiate national championships this weekend in Tempe, Arizona. 

Add it all up and there's certainly reason to be proud about what's been accomplished, as well as optimistic about what the winter season has in store for us. Come be a part of the action! 


Traci Murphy
Director of Athletics