AMHERST, N.Y. -- Daemen University student athletes Arturo Bustamante (South Gate, Calif.) of the men's soccer team and Kitsa Scime (Williamsville, N.Y.) of the women's tennis team have been named the September Athletes of the Month after success on the pitch and on the court. The Daemen Athletics Athlete of the Month series is sponsored by WNY Knee and Orthopedic Surgery and is given out monthly to a male and female student athlete that put together a standout month in their respective sport.



Bustamante was named Athlete of the Month for the first time in his career after helping the Wildcats to a 3-2-2 record in the month of September while starting and playing the full 90 minutes in all seven matches. The senior goalkeeper recorded an East Coast Conference-high 33 saves during September, good for 18th in the nation. 

The 6-foot senior earned two shutouts with 0-0 draws in the month against Saint Michael's on Sept. 15 and St. Thomas Aquinas on Sept. 28, shutting out the Spartans who were ranked eighth in the East Region at the time. Bustamante made a career-high 10 saves on 25 shots faced in the Wildcat's 2-1 win over Walsh on Sept. 7, marking a .909 save percentage in the victory. It marked the most saves by a Daemen goalkeeper since Marcos Lerma Escobar saved 10 shots against Gannon on Oct. 5, 2022. 



Scime had an outstanding September and earned Athlete of the Month for the first time in her career after compiling a team-best 6-1 record in singles play. The 5-foot-5 senior was 2-0 at No. 1 singles and 4-1 at No. 2 singles during the month. She also recorded a 3-2 record in No. 2 doubles play with fellow senior Yinett Del Leon (Cape Coral, Fla.).

A staple on the Daemen women's tennis team over the past three years, Scime played two whole matches without dropping a game, going 6-0, 6-0 in matches against Houghton (Sept. 7) and Nazareth (Sept. 10). She was the sole Wildcat to record a point against Division I Niagara University as she defeated the Purple Eagles' Mercedes Velasco 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 in No. 2 singles on Sept. 14. Scime won every singles match but one during the month of September, and currently sits third all-time in the Daemen record books for career singles wins with 44. She's six wins away from establishing the new program record for career singles victories (50). Scime and the Wildcats are 5-2 on the year and she has been named the ECC Player of the Week once this season.
 

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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.