Match #17
Daemen Wildcats (4-13, 1-3 ECC) vs. Southern Virginia Knights (6-2, 3-1 USA South)
Date: Tuesday, April 11
Time: 3 PM
Location: Buena Vista, VA
Match #18
Daemen Wildcats (4-13, 1-3 ECC) vs. Shenandoah Hornets (9-3, 5-1 ODAC)
Date: Wednesday, April 12
Time: 3 PM
Location: Winchester, VA | Lowry Tennis Courts
Live Stats: via
ioncourt.com
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Daemen University men's tennis team travels down to Virginia to play a pair of midweek non-league matches against NCAA Division III opponents Southern Virginia University and Shenandoah University. The 4-13 Wildcats will first play the Knights of Southern Virginia on Tuesday at 3 PM in Buena Vista, VA before taking on the Hornets of Shenandoah in Winchester, VA on Wednesday at 3 PM.Â
RETURN TO NON-LEAGUE PLAY
The Wildcats have fared pretty well against non-conference opponents this season, with all four of their spring season wins coming in non-league matches. Two of Daemen's four wins were against Division III teams, as the Wildcats picked up a 4-3 win over Rochester Institute of Technology in the spring opener and went on to beat Houghton, 8-1, on March 15. Daemen is 4-6 in matches played against non-conference teams in the spring.Â
SENIORITY
Zachary Laplante is having a solid senior season and leads the team with a 7-6 record in singles play and 4-7 with Vance with his doubles partner on the season. The native Canadian has gone an impressive 6-3 in the No. 5 singles spot this year, and has put together a team-high 4-4 record over the last 10 matches. The doubles pair of Laplante and Vance is the only Daemen duo that has seen a lot of success, going 4-6 in their last eight matches playing together.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats return to East Coast Conference action this weekend as they host Queens College on Saturday, April 15 in a 6:30 PM match at the Williamsville Tennis Courts.Â
Â
SCOUTING THE SOUTHERN VIRGINIA KNIGHTS
A NCAA Division III institution and a member of the USA South conference, Southern Virginia comes into Tuesday's match with a 6-2 overall record and a 3-1 record in conference play. The Knights opened up the 2023 season with a five match win streak before dropping a pair of matches to Averett University and North Carolina Wesleyan University, but got back on track in the year with a 9-0 conference win over Greensboro College last Wednesday. On the season, the Knights have excelled at both No. 1 and No. 3 singles with junior Marcos Dias and Freshman Spencer Knight excelling on the court. SVU has won at least two of three doubles pairings in all but two matches this season, and have posted two sweeps in the spring. Tuesday's matchup will be the first between the Wildcats and the Knights.
SCOUTING THE SHENANDOAH HORNETS
Shenandoah is an NCAA Division III school and plays in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC). On the year, the Hornets are 9-3 with an impressive 5-1 record in ODAC play. After dropping their spring opener 4-5, Shenandoah comes into Wednesday's match riding a nine-game win streak that dates back to the second match of their spring season. Three Hornets, Artem Babalev, Keith Orr and Dominick Suwak, have won their last 10 singles straight matches. Orr and Suwak have gone in the No. 2 doubles spot. Wednesday's match will mark just the second time these two programs have played.Â
SERIES RECORD
All-Time Record: 1-0 Daemen
Last Meeting: 8-1 Daemen | Winchester, VA | March 30, 2022
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 men's tennis program on Facebook and Twitter at @DaemenTennis
