NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y.. - The Daemen College men's tennis team came close to earning its second win over a NCAA Division I this season, but suffered 4-3 loss to local rival Niagara University here today. It marked the 2018-19 season finale for Daemen, which posted a win over Division I Coppin State University earlier this year. The Wildcats closed out the year with a record of 6-15. It also marked the season finale for Niagara, a NCAA member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Purple Eagles closed out the year with a 2-16 record.
The Purple Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the match after taking all three doubles matches. In a new scoring format for NCAA Division I and II matches this season, the outcome of doubles matches will award a single point to the team winning at least two of the three matchups, as opposed to awarding points for each individual doubles victory.
Niagara took all three doubles matches by an identical 6-3 score. Finnbar Adams and Lukas Wenninger prevailed over Fabian Wilde (Crimmitschau, Germany) and Patrick O'Brien (Pittsford, N.Y.) at No. 1 doubles, while Darrel Harxhi and Eduardo Villalpando downed David Gonzalez Villegas (Pereira, Colombia) and Ricardo Ruiz Martinez (Burgos, Spain) at No. 2 doubles. Brent Boleslav and Bruno Goncalves completed the sweep with a win over Justin Milner (Ithaca, N.Y.) and James Schaab-Rozbicki (Amherst, N.Y.) at No. 3 doubles.
Daemen actually took a 3-2 lead in the match after winning three of the first four singles matches, but NU claimed the final two singles matches to collect the win.
Ruiz Martinez improved to 9-14 overall on the year (6-2 over his last seven singles matches) following a 6-3, 6-1 win over Wenninger at No. 1 singles. Adams held off Wilde (6-1, 3-6, 7-5) at No. 2 singles, before Gonzalez Villegas outlasted Harxhi at No. 3 singles (6-4, 5-7, 6-2). O'Brien, who won eight of his final 10 singles matches, picked up his team-leading 10th win of the year following a grueling 4-6, 7-5, 10-8 win over Boleslav at No. 4 singles. Pere Padro evened the match at 3-3 following a 6-0, 6-0 win over Milner at No. 6 singles, and Goncalves completed the NU rally with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Jose Williamson III (Minneapolis, Minn.) at No. 5 singles.
Today's action marked the final collegiate matches for Gonzalez Villegas, Ruiz Martinez and Milner, the three seniors on the team. Gonzalez Villegas closes out his four-year career ranked first in most career doubles victories (42), second in total singles matches played (85), third in total doubles matches played (89), sixth in most career singles wins (24), third in most career doubles wins (30) and third in most combined singles & doubles wins (66). Ruiz Martinez finished second in most career singles wins (36) despite playing just three seasons. He also ranks second in most combined singles & doubles wins (67), fourth in most career doubles victories (31), sixth in total singles matches played (66) and seventh in total doubles matches played (65).
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