MATCH INFORMATION
Match #13
Daemen Wildcats (2-10, 0-0 ECC) vs. NYIT Bears (5-4, 0-0 ECC)
Saturday, March 30 |  10 AM  |  Brookville, N.Y. |  LIU Post Tennis Center

Match #14
Daemen Wildcats (2-10, 0-0 ECC) vs. U. Sciences Devils (2-7, 0-3 CACC)
Sunday, March 31 |  11 AM  |  Philadelphia, Pa. |  Hamlin Center

THE SERVE
Daemen takes a two-match road trip this weekend, heading to Long Island for their East Coast Conference season opener vs. NYIT, and then on to The City of Brotherly Love for a non-conference tilt vs. U. Sciences. The Wildcats are coming off a 7-2 win over Division III Houghton earlier this week, a result that snapped their four-match slide. 

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. McDermott earned his first victory with the Daemen men on March 1 when they knocked off regionally-ranked Fairmont State 5-2 in Morgantown, W. Va. 

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 (56 - 5th) and singles wins (30 -  3rd). In Daemen's 7-2 defeat of Houghton on March 27, Ruiz Martinez earned the 30th singles win of his career, becoming just the third player in team history to reach that total. 

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 37 total doubles wins, Gonzalez Villegas also ranks fourth in team history with 57 combined singles and doubles wins in his career. In Daemen's 7-2 win over Houghton on March 27, Gonzalez Villegas picked up the 20th singles win of his career, becoming just the sixth player in team history to reach that total. 

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. 

NYIT SCOUTING REPORT
NYIT is a member of the East Coast Conference, and the Bears are led by head coach Owen Kassimir who is in his second season at the helm. Kassimir heads a program that has qualified for the NCAA tournament in seven consecutive seasons. The Bears captured the ECC regular season title last spring, and they return five from players from that team that finished with a 12-3 overall record. The Bears' returners are headlined by junior Francisco Caldas, a first-team All-ECC pick last season who was recently named the ECC Preseason Player of the Year. NYIT posted a 5-4 record so far this season. They've won back-to-back matches, defeating Bentley (5-2) and Stonehill (5-2) before hosting Roberts Wesleyan in their ECC opener today. 

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. NYIT
Series Record: 0-5
Streak: Lost 5
Last Meeting: NYIT 7, Daemen 2 (April 7, 2018)

U. SCIENCES SCOUTING REPORT
U. Sciences is a member of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, and the Devils are led by interim head coach Scott Sisson. The Devils' roster features five returning players from their 2017-18 team that posted a 3-12 overall record and an 0-4 mark in CACC play. Freshmen Borna Markusic and Jack Kosiorowski have made an immediate impact this season, combining for 11 singles wins. Markusic is an even 6-6 singles play, and leads the team in singles and doubles (5) wins. The Devils have dropped five straight matches heading into their Saturday match at Post. 

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. U. SCIENCES
Series Record: 1-1
Streak: Won 1
Last Meeting: Daemen 5, U. Sciences 4 (April 10, 2016)

ON THE HORIZON
The Wildcats take another two-match road trip, this one to Baltimore and Washington D.C. next weekend where they'll face Division I Coppin State (Saturday, April 6) and ECC foe District of Columbia (Sunday, April 7).