WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. - For the second time in the nine-year history of the Daemen women's tennis program, the Wildcats are off to a 2-0 start after defeating D'Youville by a 7-0 final score tonight at Miller Tennis Center. It marked the second meeting between the Wildcats and Saints this season, and the first since both teams opened the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign March 20 when Daemen scored another 7-0 shutout victory.

Tonight's match was also an East Coast Conference contest as the Wildcats improved to 2-0 in league play for the first time in program history. D'Youville, which dropped to 0-2 both overall and in league play, is transitioning from NCAA Division III to Division II and is competing in its first season as an ECC member. 

DOUBLES REPORT
The Wildcats opened the match by sweeping through doubles play and dropped only three games in the process. Freshman Frida Rubio (San Diego, Calif.) and senior Christina Stasiuk (Bowmansville, N.Y.) powered the top of the Daemen lineup, winning 6-0 in the No. 1 position over DYC's Julia Clapper and Faith Falkowski. Junior Courtney Otis (Marcellus, N.Y.) and freshman Kayla Nguyen (Poway, Calif.) were equally as effective, winning their No. 2 doubles match 6-0 over the Saints' Alisson Meissner and Amanda Waliszewski.

The Wildcats closed out the doubles sweep with a 6-3 win in the No. 3 position by sophomores Hannah Pagano (Goshen, N.Y.) and Mackenzie Schayes (Honeoye Falls, N.Y.) over D'Youville's Taylor Nash and Lilly Nguyen. 

SINGLES REPORT
More of the same followed as the match shifted to singles play. Rubio, who was named the ECC Rookie of the Week following Daemen's last shutout of D'Youville, and Stasiuk cruised through their first and second singles matches, respectively, without dropping a game (6-0, 6-0). By winning in both singles and doubles, Stasiuk increased her career win total to 58, surpassing former Wildcat and current assistant coach Karli Hollins for fourth place on the program's all-time wins list. 

Daemen's Nguyen was a 6-3, 6-1 winner in the No. 3 position over Falkowski, while Otis ousted Nash 6-1, 6-4 and Schayes won 6-1, 6-3 over Waliszewski. 

The biggest drama of the match came in the No. 6 singles position where Pagano outlasted DYC's Taylor Anne-Austin with a 6-7, 6-3, 10-7 victory. 

UP NEXT
The Wildcats were slated to compete in an ECC contest Saturday afternoon vs. league favorite Queens, but that match has been postponed following a positive COVID-19 test result within the Knights' Tier 1 personnel. Daemen will next compete Sunday (April 11) when they visit Fredonia for a non-conference contest that's scheduled to get underway at 1 p.m.