MATCH 2 – Daemen vs. St. Thomas Aquinas | Sept. 19 | 4 p.m. | Royal Park | Amherst, N.Y.
Daemen Links: Roster | Schedule | Stats
STAC Links: Roster | Schedule

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ON THE COURT
The Daemen University women's tennis team is back home for its ECC opener, hosting St. Thomas Aquinas at 4 p.m. on Friday. The Wildcats were supposed to welcome Queens to Royal Park for a 6:30 p.m. match on Saturday, but the match has been postponed and will be rescheduled at a later time. The 2025–26 season will feature a different format for the conference, with the East Coast Conference Championships moving to the spring. The Wildcats will still play conference matches in the fall, then resume in the spring.

LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats began the season at the Bloomsburg Invite last Friday and Saturday. Marley Conover (San Luis Obispo, Calif.), Ashley Bonilla (Flushing, N.Y.), Lily Goodemote (Sauquoit, N.Y.), and Bella Bjerkan (Elmhurst, Ill.) all earned singles wins for the Wildcats. Conover also teamed up with Stephanie Baier (Boise, Idaho) for a doubles win. Daemen then hosted Nazareth for its home opener and first match at Royal Park, defeating Nazareth 5–2. Two freshman Wildcats earned their first career singles victories, including Conover and Nadja Emmendorfer (Clarence, N.Y.). Ashley Bonilla, Bayisenge Marie-Claire (Syracuse, N.Y.), and Conover also picked up their first career doubles wins.
 
PRESEASON POLL
The Wildcat women were selected fourth in the 2025-26 ECC Women's Tennis Preseason Poll following a vote of the league's five head coaches. Women's tennis powerhouse Queens College received four first-place votes and topped the poll with 22 points after taking home the 2024 ECC Championship title. St. Thomas Aquinas College collected one first-place vote and finished second in the poll with 19 points. University of the District of Columbia is third with 18 points, while Daemen and D'Youville University sit tied for fourth with eight points apiece.

HOT START FOR THE ROOKIE
Conover, a freshman, went 4-2 last weekend between the Bloomsburg Invitational and the match against Nazareth. At the Bloomsburg Invite, she went 1-1 in singles, earning a victory in her first match of the tournament, defeating Bloomsburg's Nakonechna 7-5, 3-6 (10-6). Conover also picked up a doubles win over East Stroudsburg's Lea Stefanovik and Arile Kelsick by a 6–3 margin. She played at the No. 1 spot in both singles and doubles for the Wildcats against Nazareth, earning wins.
 

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SCOUTING ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 
The Spartans were picked second in the ECC preseason poll, receiving one first-place vote. This match will be the team's first of the season. STAC posted a 15-6 record during the 2024-25 campaign, including a 4-1 mark in ECC play.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The squads met last fall, with the Spartans earning a 7-0 win on their home court. The last time the teams met in Amherst was in October 2023, when STAC picked up a 6-1 victory.s.

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UP NEXT
The Wildcats are back home on Oct. 3, hosting D'Youville at 3 p.m. at Royal Park.

Daemen's men's team hosts Niagara at 11 a.m. Sunday.

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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.

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