MATCH INFORMATION
Match #15
Daemen Wildcats (1-13, 0-7 ECC) vs. Le Moyne Dolphins (2-3, 0-0 GMAC)
Saturday, Feb. 23 | 3:30 PM | Liverpool, N.Y. | Elevate Fitness
THE SERVE
Daemen's 2018-19 season continues with a dual match against regional rival Le Moyne. Daemen is coming off a 1-1 road trip last weekend. They picked up their first win of the season in a 4-3 defeat of Edinboro. Le Moyne will be seeing their first action since posting a 12-5 record during the fall season that included a run to the Northeast-10 Conference Championship semifinals.
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, tied for fourth among the program's all-time single season leaders. Now with 63 combined singles and doubles wins in her career, Robins ranks third in team history. Her 60th win came against St. Thomas Aquinas' Anna Ristova earlier this season as she became just the third player in team history to reach 60 combined wins. She's also closing in on 100 total singles and doubles matches. She presently ranks third in team history with 92 singles appearances and 93 doubles appearances.
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. Stasiuk has gotten off to a fast start this season as she leads the team with six singles wins, all of which have come in the No. 1 spot in the lineup.
BREAKTHROUGH AT EDINBORO
Daemen scored a 4-3 win at Edinboro on Feb. 15 marking their first win of the season, and the program's first-ever win over the Fighting Scots in five all-time meetings. Newcomer Sarah Kenny played a pivotal role as she won her first collegiate singles match 6-3, 6-4 over EU's Jelena Vucenovic. Kenny also teamed with freshman Corutney Otis to knock off Tatiana Batalla and Hannah Brentar 6-2 in the No. 2 doubles position. Otis earned a singles win as well, defeating Paige Morris (6-0, 6-0) without dropping a game. It marked the first win at Daemen for head coach Kerry McDermott.
ROAD WARRIORS
Daemen will spend some significant time on the road this spring as all 13 of their matches occur away from home. That includes the team's first-ever trip to California where they'll face Angelo State (Mar. 12) and Southern Utah (Mar. 14). In-state road matches occur Feb. 23 at Le Moyne, Mar. 10 at St. Bonaventure, Mar. 27 at Houghton, Apr. 2 at Elmira, Apr. 15 at Oswego State, Apr. 17 at Alfred and Apr. 23 at Niagara.
LE MOYNE SCOUTING REPORT
Le Moyne is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference, and the Dolphins are led by alumnus Jeff Lonczak who is now in his third season at the helm. Since taking over, Lonczak has led the Dolphins to a 38-18 record. With six players returning from their 2017-18 team that went 15-5, Lonczak guided the Dolphins to a 12-5 record during the fall season. The Dolphins posted an 8-3 mark in NE-10 play and advanced to the semifinal round of the NE-10 Championship tournament. They'll enter Saturday's match with Daemen ranked 10th in the ITA East Region poll. Sophomore Marta Nunez headlines the roster after earning first team all-conference honors last fall. Nunez posted a 14-4 mark in singles play during the fall season, and is one five Le Moyne players with double-figure singles wins this season. Belen Wibmer (13-5), Caroline St. Antoine (13-5), Birdem Oz (11-6) and Camila Humala (11-4) have also produced in singles play this season. Nunez and St. Antoine form the Dolphins' most successful doubles pair as they went 11-7 overall, including a 10-6 mark in the No. 2 spot in the lineup.
ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. LE MOYNE
Series Record: 0-5
Streak: Lost 5
Last Meeting: Le Moyne 7, Daemen 2 | Feb. 24, 2018 | Williamsville, N.Y.
ON THE HORIZON
Daemen's scheduled match for Mar. 1 at Fairmont State has been cancelled, so they'll return to action Mar. 10 at Division I St. Bonaventure.
