First serve . . . 

•    The Washburn Ichabod women's tennis team opens its 2017 spring season when it faces No. 20 Drury on Feb. 3 and McKendree on Feb. 4 in Springfield, Mo. 

•        The Ichabods kicked off standard dual-match play in September when the team knocked off William Jewell (9-0) and Truman State (8-1).

 Racking up Rankings . . . 

•    Washburn heads into its third season under head coach Lance Lysaught led by sophomore Madeline Hill who holds the No. 1 spot in the ITA Division II singles rankings.

•    Hill leads the team with a near perfect 18-1 record in singles. 

•    Jacqueline Engelbrecht and Hill have teamed up to post a 13-1 doubles record and head into the season ranked 12th nationally.

The Opps. . .

•  Washburn will open its season against the 20th-ranked Drury Panthers who were unanimously selected to win the GLVC for the third year in a row.

•  The Panthers ended the 2015-16 season with a 20-4 overall record after going undefeated in conference play.

• McKendree was tabbed fifth in the preseason GLVC poll and are looking to build after going 2-1 during the fall in its first season under Malcolm Leake.

Tournament success. . .

•  The Ichabods closed out the 2016 calendar year with each player picking up at least one flight victory in tournament play.

•    Three Ichabod netters ended 2016 with a spot in a ITA Central Regional final which was capped off with a singles victory by Madeline Hill.

The young and the restless. . .

•    With one senior on both the men and women's tennis teams combined the Ichabods have the youngest roster in the MIAA conference.

Coaching . . . 

•  Former Ichabod tennis player Lance Lysaught is in his third season at the helm of the Ichabod women's tennis program. He is 25-44 as a women's collegiate head coach in his fifth season and 14-27 at Washburn.

• Washburn added former Washburn men's tennis standout, David Price, as the assistant coach to both the men and women's teams during the offseason.

 Up next . . . 

• Washburn will next head to Shawnee, Okla. to face Oklahoma Baptist on Feb. 11 and take a three-week hiatus before hosting William Woods (Mo.) on March 1st.