Women's Tennis Makes Conference Tournament Debut Friday

4/29/2021 2:00:00 PM

MATCH #10
ECC CHAMPIONSHIP - PLAY-IN ROUND
DAEMEN WILDCATS (5-4, 3-2 ECC) vs. QUEENS KNIGHTS (1-1, 1-1 ECC)
FRIDAY, APRIL 30
QUEENS COLLEGE TENNIS CENTER (FLUSHING, N.Y.) - 11 A.M.
NO SPECTATORS PERMITTED DUE TO COVID-19 - SEE QUEENS SPECTATOR POLICY

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

1. The Daemen women's tennis team will make its first-ever appearance in the East Coast Conference Championship on Friday when they take on tournament host Queens (N.Y.) in a play-in round match beginning at 11 a.m. All three postseason-eligible ECC teams that competed this season are included in the conference tournament. Daemen and Queens will be playing for the right to advance to Saturday's tournament final where St. Thomas Aquinas awaits. Daemen enters the tournament with an overall mark of 5-4 and an ECC mark of 3-2 this season. It marks the first time in Daemen's program history that the team has finished with a winning record in conference play, and the three ECC wins are a program-best. Friday's match will be live streamed on the ECC Network. The broadcast will focus primarily on the No. 1 singles and doubles courts, but will intermittently switch to coverage of other courts as well.

2. The Wildcats have gone 35-19 in singles matches and 17-10 in doubles matches this season. If the season ended today, their .648 singles winning percentage and .630 doubles winning percentage would shatter program records. They've been led by senior Christina Stasiuk, sophomore Mackenzie Schayes and freshman Frida Rubio who are each 7-2 in singles play this season. Rubio earned perhaps her most impressive singles win of the season in Tuesday's regular season finale, accounting for Daemen's lone point in a 6-1 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas. The San Diego native outlasted STAC's Viktoriia Pavlovets 6-5, 7-6, extending her personal winning streak to three straight matches. It also marked only the sixth singles loss by a STAC player this whole season.

3. Not only will the Wildcats be seeking their first-ever postseason victory, they'll be looking to knock off perennial powerhouse Queens for the first time in program history. Led by head coach Alan Nagel who is now in his 37th season with the program, the Knights are the defending ECC champions and have advanced to 18 consecutive NCAA tournaments. COVID-19 protocols have limited the Knights to just two matches this season. They split a pair of 4-3 decisions against St. Thomas Aquinas last weekend - their first action in 416 days. Queens returns five players from their 2019-20 team that finished with a 10-1 overall record and a No. 24 national ranking - the program's highest since the 2011-12 season. Among the returners is sophomore Maja Makal - the ECC Preseason Player of the Year.

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