Women's Tennis Hosts ECC's Preseason Favorites This Weekend

Wildcats to face Queens & St. Thomas Aquinas on Friday, Saturday evenings

10/7/2021 6:00:00 PM

Match #6
Daemen Wildcats (3-2, 1-0 ECC) vs. Queens Knights (1-1, 0-1 ECC)
Date: Friday, Oct. 8
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Williamsville, N.Y. | Miller Tennis Center

Match #7
Daemen Wildcats vs. St. Thomas Aquinas Spartans (2-1, 0-1 ECC)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 9
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Williamsville, N.Y. | Miller Tennis Center

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

1. BIG TESTS
Daemen faces its biggest tests of the season of this season this weekend when they host Queens and St. Thomas Aquinas, the two finalists from last season's conference tournament and teams picked first and second respectively in this year's preseason coaches' poll. Both Queens and STAC have suffered upset losses already this conference season.

2. 1-0
The Wildcats are coming off a 6-1 win over Molloy last Sunday. It marked the second straight season that the Wildcats have opened 1-0 in conference play, and just the fourth time in the 10-year history of the program. Frida Rubio, Christina Stasiuk, Kitsa Scime and Yinett Del Leon all scored wins in both singles and doubles play to lead the Wildcats.

3. CLIMBING THE LADDER
In Daemen's win over Molloy, graduate student Christina Stasiuk surpassed 2019 graduate Jessica Robins for third place on the program's all-time wins list. Stasiuk now has 74 combined singles/doubles wins in her career. Only Hayle Scanlan (93) and Gretchen Ringler (84) have won more matches in a Wildcat uniform.

4. RUBIO TO THE ROUND OF 16
Sophomore Frida Rubio was Daemen's standout player at the ITA East Region Championships, held Sept. 17-20 at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City. Rubio entered the singles draw as the No. 6 seed and picked up a pair of victories to advance to the round of 16. She took down Yana Semerly of Assumption with a 6-2, 6-1 win in the opening round, and followed up with a 7-5, 6-4 defeat of Adelphi's Carolina Chaves. Rubio is a team-best 5-3 in singles play this season, and has totaled 12 singles victories in her career to date. With 22 combined singles/doubles wins, Rubio is already one win shy of moving into the top 10 in program history.

5. ON THE HORIZON
The Wildcats host defending ECC champion Queens for a 7 p.m. match Friday, Oct. 8 at Miller Tennis Center.

QUEENS KNIGHTS SCOUTING REPORT
Queens is a member of the East Coast Conference, and the Knights are led by coach Alan Nagel - one of the longest tenured coaches in the country across all sports. Nagel is in his 43rd season at the helm and has built Queens into a perennial NCAA tournament team. The Knights have earned 20 consecutive NCAA tournament berths and are the defending conference champions. Queens returns five players from their 2020-21 team and the Knights were picked first in the ECC preseason coaches' poll. The Knights were upset in their season opener as they fell 4-3 to District of Columbia in a rare ECC setback. They rebounded last weekend with a 7-0 win at Dominican. ECC Preseason Player of the Year Maja Makal headlines the Queens roster.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. QUEENS
Series Record: Queens leads 8-0
At Daemen: Queens leads 3-0
Current Streak: Queens won 8
Last Meeting: Queens 4, Daemen 0 | April 30, 2021 | at Flushing, N.Y. | ECC Championships First Round

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS SPARTANS SCOUTING REPORT
STAC is a member of the East Coast Conference, and the Spartans are led by head coach Matthew Capell. Capell has turned the Spartans into a perennial contender at the conference level, leading them to back-to-back appearances in the ECC Championships. The Spartans featured a veteran roster with 10 returning players from their 2020-21 team that went 9-2 overall and 5-1 in conference play leading to Capell's selection as the ECC Co-Coach of the Year. Junior Samantha Villegas Robles, an All-ECC selection last season, headlines the Spartan returners. The Spartans were picked second in the ECC preseason coaches' poll, but were upset by District of Columbia in their season opener, 5-2. They've rebounded with non-conference wins over New Haven (4-3) and Jefferson (6-1), and they'll face Le Moyne on Friday before heading further west to play Daemen.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
Series Record: STAC leads 9-0
At Daemen: STAC leads 4-0
Current Streak: STAC won 9
Last Meeting: STAC 6, Daemen 1 | April 27, 2021 | at Williamsville, N.Y.

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