Geoff Schneider

Men's Tennis Heads To St. Lawrence For Non-League Match Saturday

2/10/2023 10:25:00 AM

Match #6
Daemen Wildcats (1-4) vs. St. Lawrence Saints (0-1)
DATE: Saturday, Feb. 11
TIME: 2 p.m.
LOCATION: Canton, N.Y. | Newell Field House

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Daemen men's tennis team heads to Canton, N.Y. for a non-league match against St. Lawrence University Saturday (Feb. 11). It is the second of seven-straight road matches for the Wildcats, who don't play at home again until March 15.

LAST TIME OUT
Daemen opened its 2023 Spring season by splitting a pair of matches last weekend. The Wildcats defeated Rochester Institute of Technology and suffered a loss to Niagara University. Freshman Alex Lumanog (Albuquerque, N.M.) and seniors Luis de Vuyst (Antwerp, Belgium), Phillip Vance (Orchard Park, N.Y.) and Zachary Laplante (Ottawa, N.Y.) all earned singles during the 4-3 win over RIT. The match came down to No. 5 singles and Laplante rallied for a 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 win to earn the Wildcats their first win over RIT since September of 2017—snapping a streak of three-straight losses to the Tigers. Niagara posted a 7-0 win over the Wildcats on Saturday. NU opened the match by sweeping all three doubles matches to earn the one point as per NCAA Division I/II scoring. The Purple Eagles then won all six singles matches to secure the win.

2023 OUTLOOK
Head coach Richard Greco, Jr. returns for his second season. He returns five players from last season and welcomes four freshmen to the team. Seniors Zachary Laplante (Ottawa, Ont.), Luis de Vuyst (Antwerp, Belgium) and Phillip Vance (Orchard Park, N.Y.) top the list of returning players. Laplante and de Vuyst both made an immediate impact on the team last year in their first season with the program. Laplante, wjo transferred to Daemen from Salem University, posted a team-high six singles wins last year and also lead the team in combined singles and doubles wins with 12. de Vuyst posted five singles wins last year, four of which came at No. 1 singles. Vance returns for his fourth season after posting a career best five singles wins last year. Freshmen Alex Lumanog (Albuquerque, N.M.) and Rohan Chitanand (Den Haag, Netherlands) both saw considerable playing time during Daemen's fall season. Lumanog played No. 1 singles in all three dual matches, while Chitanand played in two of the three dual matches and registered his first career win during a 4-3 loss to Allegheny. Fellow newcomer Adam Pasierb (Lancaster, N.Y.) is also expected to see action this spring.

POLL POSITION
Daemen is tied for third in the 2022-23 East Coast Conference Women's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll. After advancing to the second round of the NCAA men's tennis tournament in 2022, Queens picked up all four first-place votes and is selected first in the preseason poll with 16 points. Reigning ECC champion St. Thomas Aquinas, who put together a solid postseason after winning their first ever conference title and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament, earned 12 points and was picked second in the poll. Daemen and District of Columbia each earned six points and tied for third.

ON THE HORIZON
The Wildcats are idle until Feb. 18 when they travel to Mercyhurst University for a non-league match.

SCOUTING THE SAINTS
St. Lawrence is a NCAA Division III affiliate and a member of the Liberty League. Saturday's match will mark the first ever meeting between the Wildcats and the Saints. SLU returns nine players from last year's team that went 9-9 overall and 4-4 in Liberty League play. The Saints played their first dual match of the 2022-23 season yesterday and suffered a 6-1 loss at Division II Saint Michael's College. Senior Nathan Turtledove earned honorable mention All-Liberty League honors last year after posting a 6-9 record at No. 1 singles. Turtledove and junior Ben Moolman collected honorable mention all league for doubles play after going 8-6 at No. 1 doubles last year. Turtledove and Moolman picked up SLU's lone point against Saint Michael's at No. 1 doubles. Sophomore Broderick Pinto also returns after posting an 8-3 singles record as a rookie last year.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. ST. LAWRENCE
Series Record: First Meeting

Daemen University 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.

Follow the Daemen women's tennis program on Twitter and Facebook at @DaemenTennis

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