MATCH INFORMATION
Match #12
Daemen Wildcats (1-10, 0-0 ECC) vs. Houghton Highlanders (3-3, 0-0 E8)
Wednesday, March 27 |  4 PM  |  Houghton, N.Y. |  Kerr-Pregula Field House

THE SERVE
After playing just their second home match of the season last weekend, the Daemen Wildcats return to the road Wednesday when they make a short trip to face Houghton. The Wildcats are looking to snap a four-match slide and return to the win column for the first time since knocking off regionally-ranked Fairmont State on March 1. Houghton has won two straight matches, including a 9-0 shutout of Penn State Behrend last week. 

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 (54 - 5th) and singles wins (29 -  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 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. Now with 36 total doubles wins, Gonzalez Villegas also ranks fourth in team history with 55 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. 

LET'S GET WILDE
Junior Fabian Wilde recorded the 50th win of his career with a 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 defeat of Walsh's Clemens Wagner on Feb. 16. Wilde becomes just the sixth player in team history to record at least 50 combined singles and doubles victories. It also marked the 27th singles win of his career, pulling him into a tie with John LeMar for fourth in team history. 

ROAD WARRIORS
Daemen will spend some significant time on the road this spring as 17 of their 20 matches occur away from home. Daemen will play nine straight road matches to open the spring season. 

STIFF TESTS
Daemen has played a tough schedule so far this season. Six of the team's first eight opponents are included in the Oracle/ITA rankings for their respective regions: Southern New Hampshire (East #4), Merrimack (East #5), Le Moyne (East #6), Mercyhurst (Atlantic #2), Edinboro (Atlantic #5), Fairmont State (Atlantic #6). They also faced off against the No. 11 team in the country, Azusa Pacific, and regionally-ranked Concordia (West #6) in a mid-March trip to California. 

HOUGHTON SCOUTING REPORT
Houghton is a member of NCAA Division III and the Empire 8 Conference. The Highlanders are led by first-year head coach Tonya McGraner who took the reins after spending three seasons as an assistant coach at Division II Lee University (Tenn.). Houghton has posted an even 3-3 record so far this season, and are coming off back-to-back 9-0 wins over Delhi and Penn State Behrend. The Highlanders are 0-1 against Division II opponents this season, dropping a 9-0 decision to Roberts Wesleyan on Oct. 16. Jake Fisler has posted 4-2 records in both singles and doubles play to lead the team this season. 

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. HOUGHTON
Series Record: 5-0
Streak: Won 5
Last Meeting: Daemen 9, Houghton 0 (Oct. 5, 2017)

ON THE HORIZON
The Wildcats open East Coast Conference play this weekend when they face NYIT (Saturday, Mar. 30) on Long Island. The weekend road trip also includes a non-conference match vs. University of the Sciences on Sunday.