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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
vance mten at queens
3
Daemen DAEM (1-9)
4
Winner St. Thomas Aquinas STACM (6-3)
Daemen DAEM
(1-9)
3
Final
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St. Thomas Aquinas STACM
(6-3)
Winner

Match Recap: Men's Tennis | | CONTACT: Mike Miranto, Senior Associate A.D. for Communications & Operations

Men's Tennis Nipped By Spartans In Conference Tourney

Wildcats suffer second 4-3 loss to STAC this week

FLUSHING, N.Y. - For the second time this week, the Daemen men's tennis team came one point shy of an upset victory. The third-seeded Wildcats suffered a 4-3 defeat to second-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas in an East Coast Conference Championship play-in round match this afternoon at the Queens College Tennis Center. 

It marked Daemen's first-ever postseason appearance as the conference tournament features all three ECC teams that competed this season. STAC improved to 6-3 overall and the Spartans advance to tomorrow's tournament final where they'll meet top-seeded Queens in a rematch of the 2019 championship match. Queens has claimed the last three ECC titles. This weekend's tournament is the first held by the conference since 2019 with last season's event wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Daemen finishes its season with a 1-9 overall record. The Wildcats have had three one-point losses in the last nine days, including a 4-3 decision against STAC in both teams' regular season finale Tuesday.

Today's match played out nearly identically to the teams' last meeting. With STAC fielding only a five-player roster, the Spartans were forced to concede matches at third doubles and sixth singles. That allowed Daemen the opportunity to open up a 2-0 lead if they could pick up a win at first or second doubles, and that's exactly what transpired. For the second straight match, the duo of Phillip Vance (Orchard Park, N.Y.) and Jose Williamson III (Minneapolis, Minn.) bested STAC's Alvaro Barranco and Enej Hasicevic in second doubles, winning 6-3 and clinching the doubles point for the Wildcats. The win by Vance and Williamson III came after STAC's Kas Roosch and Ivan Laiz won 6-3 in first doubles to give the Spartans a chance at claiming the doubles point despite defaulting in the third position.

With their doubles point and a defaulted win for Matthew Garry (Depew, N.Y.) at sixth singles in the bag, Daemen needed to win just two singles matches to advance. But STAC rattled off three straight wins to gain control: Laiz in fourth singles (6-1, 6-1); Barranco in third singles (6-2, 6-3); and Roosch in second singles (6-0, 6-4). 

Daemen evened the match score at 3-3 when sophomore Ben Davis (Rochester, N.Y.) ousted Lennart Lehmann in straight sets (6-3, 6-4) at the top of the lineup. It marked the fourth straight singles victory for Davis who just joined the program this semester after beginning his career at Roberts Wesleyan. Two of Davis' recent singles wins have come over Lehmann - the only two singles setbacks of the season for the STAC freshman. 

The match came down to fifth singles where Hasicevic earned a 6-1, 6-2 victory to lift the Spartans into tomorrow's tournament final. 

The result today brings an end to the career of Daemen's Williamson III - the team's lone senior. He'll graduate with 47 combined singles and doubles wins, good for seventh in program history. His doubles win today was the 31st of his career, pulling him into a tie with former teammate Ricardo Ruiz Martinez for fifth place among the program's all-time leaders. 

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 teams. To learn more, visit daemenwildcats.com/gameon.

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