Stephanie Baier rallies a ball against Allegheny on Sept. 8, 2024

Max Sacco

Women's Tennis Begins Conference Play Against District of Columbia; Face West Virginia Wesleyan Saturday

9/19/2024 11:00:00 AM

By: CONTACT: Max Sacco, msacco@daemen.edu

ON THE COURT
The Daemen University women's tennis team returns to their home court with a pair of matches on the docket, starting with their East Coast Conference opener against the University of the District of Columbia on Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. The next day, the Wildcats take the court against West Virginia Wesleyan University at 5 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
Daemen dropped their first dual match of the season, losing to Niagara University, 6-1, on Sept. 14. The Purple Eagles opened the contest by winning all three doubles matches to take the doubles point and a 1-0 lead. On the singles courts, senior Kitsa Scime (Williamsville, N.Y.) earned a point back for the Wildcats, defeating Mercedes Velasco, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4,at No. 2 singles. With the win, Scime remained undefeated in singles matches during the 2024 season and moved to within eight wins of the program record for singles victories. On the other courts, the Purple Eagles picked up wins on No. 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 singles to seal their 6-1 win.

CLOSING IN ON HISTORY
Scime sits eight wins away from setting the new program record for career singles wins with 50. The current record is held by Christina Stasiuk who notched 49 victories between 2017 and 2022. Currently, Scime has 42 career singles wins which ties her with Jessica Robins (2015-19) for fourth all-time. This season, the Williamsville, N.Y., native is 4-0 with three wins at No. 2 singles and one at No. 1 singles.

NEW COMBO
The doubles partnership of junior Carly Armitage (Rochester, N.Y.) and freshman Stephanie Baier (Boise, Idaho) have found early success, going 3-1 with an unblemished 2-0 mark at No. 2 doubles. The duo represents the only two Wildcats who have played in all four matches in doubles and twice this year have won their match by a final score of 6-0 (Sept. 7 at Houghton, Sept. 10 at Nazareth).

WILDCATS IN THE POLLS
The Wildcats were tabbed fourth in the 2024 East Coast Conference Women's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll following a vote of the leagues six coaches back on Aug. 19. Greco has led Daemen to the postseason all three years while at the helm of the program, qualifying as the fourth seed last season. Queens College, the defending ECC Regular Season champions, received four first-place votes and topped the poll with 34 points. Defending ECC Tournament champions St. Thomas Aquinas College finished second in the poll, garnering two first-place votes (31 points) and the University of the District of Columbia (24 points) rounded out the top three. The ECC Women's Tennis Championship is set for Oct. 25-26 in Flushing, N.Y., with the top four teams qualifying.

SCOUTING DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
District of Columbia, who were picked third in the preseason poll, have yet to take the court for a dual match this season. The Firebirds only action came from Sept. 12-14 when they competed at the ITA East Regionals in Flushing, N.Y. Desire Parn made it the farthest of any member of the Firebirds in singles action, advancing to the quarterfinal round before losing to Karim Carreras of New Haven University, 6-1, 6-3.

SERIES HISTORY
The Firebirds lead the all-time series against the Wildcats, 11-0.

SCOUTING WEST VIRGINIA WESLEYAN
The Bobcats opened their year at the ITA Atlantic Regionals with their doubles partnership of Dominique Van Vuuren and Sneha Sundaraneedi advancing to the quarterfinal round before losing to Sara Martinez and Michelle Connor of the University of Charleston, 6-3. Prior to facing Daemen, West Virginia Wesleyan will face UVA Wise at home on Sept. 20.

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's contest will mark the first meeting between Daemen and West Virginia Wesleyan in women's tennis

UP NEXT
The Wildcats are back in action on Sept. 28 when they head one hour south to play SUNY Fredonia at 10 a.m.

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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