Women's Tennis Hosts D'Youville In Season Opener

3/18/2021 10:30:00 AM

MATCH #1
DAEMEN WILDCATS (0-0) vs. D'YOUVILLE SAINTS (0-0)
SATURDAY, MARCH 20
MILLER TENNIS CENTER (WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y.) - 8 P.M.
NO SPECTATORS PERMITTED DUE TO COVID-19

Here's three things to know about upcoming matches for the Daemen women's tennis team...

1. The Daemen women's tennis team makes their long-awaited debut for the 2020-21 season Saturday night when they host East Coast Conference newcomer D'Youville at Miller Tennis Center. It's the first of 10 matches this spring for the Wildcats who will be competing for the first time in 374 days. The Wildcats last took the court March 11, 2020 when they fell 7-0 to Palm Beach Atlantic in the final match of a week-long trip to South Florida. The final five matches of the team's 2019-20 season were wiped out by the pandemic. Daemen's 2020-21 roster includes four returners and three newcomers. Senior Christina Stasiuk headlines the returning bunch. She enters the season with 54 combined singles and doubles wins in her career - fifth-best in program history. Junior Courtney Oits and sophomores Hannah Pagano and Mackenzie Schayes also return, while freshman Frida Rubio is expected to make an immediate impact at the top of the Wildcat lineup.

2. Saturday's match marks the debut for Daemen head coach Jesse Plote who was named to the position late last summer replacing the departed Kerry McDermott. Plote brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the position with prior head coaching experience at Division II Nebraska-Kearney and Division I Bradley where he led the men's programs. At Nebraska-Kearney, Plote led the team to three consecutive NCAA tournament berths and was a two-time Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. He moved on to Bradley where his teams averaged 11.6 wins over his five seasons, including a 15-win season in 2011-12, the program's highest win total since the late 1980's. Plote has also brought former Wildcat Karli Hollins back to the program to serve as assistant coach. Hollins totaled 57 combined singles and doubles wins in her three-year playing career (2014-17) with the Wildcats, a total that ranked second in program history at the conclusion of her eligibility.

3. D'Youville will also be competing in their first match in more than a calendar year. The Saints are transitioning from NCAA Division III to Division II and are in their first season as members of the East Coast Conference. They'll return eight players from their 2019-20 team that finished 6-7 overall. Junior Lauren Karoglan headlines the team's returners. Karoglan posted a 9-2 singles record while appearing in D'Youville's No. 1 singles position in 2019-20. Junior Amanda Waliszewski (5-5 singles) and sophomore Faith Falkowski (6-5 singles) also return. Saturday's match is just the second all-time meeting between Daemen and D'Youville, and the first since a 9-0 Wildcat victory on Sept. 18, 2013. The Wildcats and Saints will meet three times between now and late April.

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