It's A 3-Match Kind Of Weekend For Daemen Men's Tennis

Wildcats to face Millersville, St. Thomas Aquinas & Queens

4/15/2021 11:00:00 AM

MATCH #4
DAEMEN WILDCATS (1-2, 0-2 ECC) vs. MILLERSVILLE MARAUDERS (2-6, 2-2 PSAC)
FRIDAY, APRIL 16
MCCOMSEY TENNIS COURTS (MILLERSVILLE, PA.) - 2 P.M.
NO VISITING TEAM SPECTATORS PERMITTED DUE TO COVID-19 - SEE MILLERSVILLE SPECTATOR POLICY

MATCH #5
DAEMEN WILDCATS vs. ST. THOMAS AQUINAS SPARTANS (0-0, 0-0 ECC)
SATURDAY, APRIL 17
RILEY FAMILY TENNIS COURTS (SPARKILL, N.Y.) - 1:30 P.M.
NO SPECTATORS PERMITTED DUE TO COVID-19

MATCH #5
DAEMEN WILDCATS vs. QUEENS KNIGHTS (3-4, 2-0 ECC)
SUNDAY, APRIL 18
QC TENNIS CENTER (FLUSHING, N.Y.) - 11 A.M.
NO SPECTATORS PERMITTED DUE TO COVID-19 - SEE QUEENS SPECTATOR POLICY

Here's five things to know about upcoming matches for the Daemen men's tennis team...

1. The Daemen men's tennis team has its busiest week of the season to date as the Wildcats will play three matches in three different cities over as many days. The road trip kicks off with a non-conference match against Millersville on Friday afternoon. The Wildcats return to East Coast Conference play Saturday when they visit St. Thomas Aquinas. They'll close the weekend by facing perennial ECC powerhouse Queens.

2. After defeating Division III Houghton in their season opener March 26, the Wildcats are coming off back-to-back home losses to Queens last weekend. The Knights scored a 7-0 victory last Saturday in a match played outdoors at the Willamsville South High School courts. Persistent rain forced Sunday's match to be played indoors at Miller Tennis Center where the Knights won 5-1. The losses came despite stellar play from Daemen's top doubles pair of sophomore Ben Davis and freshman Sam Greco who won both of their matches against the highly-touted Knights. Sophomore Phillip Vance and senior Jose Williamson III picked up a 6-2 win in the No. 2 doubles position Sunday, clinching the match's doubles point for the Wildcats.

3. Millersville is a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. The Marauders and Wildcats will be meeting for the sixth straight season. Daemen owns a 3-2 advantage in the series, but the Marauders have won two straight, including a 6-1 final in the teams' last meeting on Sept. 7, 2019. The Marauders return eight players from their 2019-20 team that went 5-0 before having their final 16 matches cancelled due to the pandemic. They're off to a 2-6 start this season with wins over Kutztown and Mercyhurst. Redshirt junior Carlos Martinez-Lucas (6-2 singles) and freshman Zach Pernia (6-2 singles) have paced the Marauders thus far.

4. After fielding a 16-player roster in 2019-20, St. Thomas Aquinas is going with six players this spring. The roster includes returners Alvara Barranco, Matthew Corsi and Enej Hasicevic as well as three newcomers. Five of the six players hail from overseas. The Spartans open their season Thursday with a non-conference match vs. West Chester. They're coming off a 7-2 campaign in 2019-20 which saw 13 matches cancelled due to the pandemic.

5. Queens returns 10 players from their 2019-20 team that went 6-1 overall prior to the COVID-19 shutdown. The Knights have won the last three ECC championships and advanced to the NCAA tournament in 18 consecutive seasons before last year's competition was cancelled. Queens is led by head coach Somadi Druker. Now in her seventh season at the helm, Druker has led the Knights to an average of 13.7 wins per season while also posting a 25-3 mark in conference play. Among the team's returners are German native Tim Ostheimer - the No. 48 ranked singles player in the Oracle/ITA Division II rankings - and Egyptian native Kareem Rashad - the ECC Preseason Player of the Year. The Knights are 3-4 overall and 2-0 in conference play this season. They're coming off a 5-2 loss to nationally ranked Concordia (N.Y.) earlier this week.

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