FREDONIA, N.Y. - The Daemen women's tennis team continued its strong start to the 2020-21 season by shutting out host Fredonia State 9-0 in non-conference action this afternoon at the Steele Hall Courts.
With the win, Daemen improved to 3-0 on the season. It marks the best start to a season in the nine-year history of the program. The Wildcats are a perfect 18-0 in singles matches and a perfect 9-0 in doubles matches so far this season.
Fredonia State, which opened its season yesterday with an 8-1 victory over D'Youville, dropped to 1-1. The Blue Devils are members of NCAA Division III and the State University of New York Athletic Conference.
The match was played under the Division III scoring format, awarding one point for each singles and doubles match, as opposed to Division II scoring which awards a single point to team that takes at least two of the three doubles matches.
DOUBLES REPORT
Daemen got off on the right foot by sweeping through doubles play. Senior
Christina Stasiuk (Bowmansville, N.Y.) once again teamed with freshman
Frida Rubio (San Diego, Calif.) at the top of the Wildcat lineup, winning 6-2 over Jane Chiacchia and Taylor Marelli.
Freshman
Kayla Nguyen (Poway, Calif.) and junior
Courtney Otis (Marcellus, N.Y.) scored a 6-1 victory in the No. 2 position over Princess Unita Obi and Bella Surma. On the No. 3 doubles court, it was Daemen's
Mackenzie Schayes (Honeoye Falls, N.Y.) and
Hannah Pagano (Goshen, N.Y.) outlasting the Blue Devils' Dominique Martello and Sarah O'Leary.
SINGLES REPORT
Daemen dominated the singles portion of the match, dropping only 10 games in the six matches. Three Wildcats - Rubio at No. 1, Stasiuk at No. 2 and Schayes at No. 5 - swept their respective competitors 6-0, 6-0. Nguyen narrowly missed accomplishing the same, winning her No. 3 singles match 6-0, 6-1 over Unita Obi.
Otis was a 6-1, 6-2 winner over Surma on the No. 4 court, and Pagano completed the whitewash with a 6-3, 6-3 win over O'Leary on the No. 6 court.
GAME NOTES
- With wins in both singles and doubles play today, Stasiuk became just the fourth player in program history to reach 60 combined wins in a career. She joins Hayle Scanlan (93), Gretchen Ringler (84) and Jessica Robins (72).
- Daemen's victory today surpasses the previous best start in program history which was 2-0 achieved in 2017-18.
- It was the first meeting between the Wildcats and Blue Devils since Sept. 19, 2014. Daemen has won two straight to even the series at 2-2.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats return to East Coast Conference play and will face their stiffest tests of the season next weekend when they visit St. Thomas Aquinas (April 17) and Queens (April 18).
Daemen College features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.
Support Daemen College's return to intercollegiate athletic competitions by making a contribution to the Game On Campaign and the Daemen Wildcats Gotta Play Fund. This comprehensive fundraising campaign was established to help offset the loss of valuable external revenue streams that directly support Daemen's 17 varsity programs. To learn more, visit daemenwildcats.com/gameon.
