First Serve …
•    The Washburn women's tennis team get its first crack against conference opponents this week, taking on Northwest Missouri and Missouri Western.
•  The Bearcats are 1-3 this season, while the Griffons are 7-4. The Griffons have already won more matches this season than last, finishing 2017 with a 5-17 record.
•  Against Northwest Missouri, the Ichabods are 12-23 all-time, and hold a commanding lead over the Griffons all-time, with a record of 25-2.
•  Head Coach Lance Lysaught is 1-2 against both squads, winning his last matchup against each in 2017.

 Week in Review …
•    The Ichabods are on a season-high three-match win streak after defeating Newman 6-3 on Saturday.
•    No. 1 singles player Alexis Czapinski and No. 3 singles player Jacqueline Engelbrecht both improved their records to 5-1, with Engelbrecht winning her match 6-0, 6-0.
•    Logan Morrissey won her fourth match of the year at No. 2 singles in a hard-fought match against Newman that ended in a 12-10 tiebreaker.
•    High school teammates Ally Burr and MaKenna Gonzales have found their groove as a doubles team, winning their third straight match out of the No. 3 slot.

 Ichabods Season Outlook …                                          
•    In the ITA preseason poll, the Ichabods are ranked No. 9 in the Central Region.
•    Two singles players find themselves in the ITA preseason regional rankings; Alexis Czapinski debuts at No. 12, while Logan Morrissey begins the year at No. 15.
•    In regional doubles rankings, the team of Czapinski and Morrissey are ranked No. 5.

Making Adjustments …
•      After playing No. 3 singles last season, Logan Morrissey has moved up to the No. 2 spot, and has found success with a 4-2 record so far.
•    After pairing with Madeline Hill at the No. 1 doubles slot last season, Engelbrecht has found a new partner in freshman Alysha Nowacki, playing No. 2 doubles.

 Successful Fall …
•  The Ichabods had multiple first-place finishes in fall season tournaments, including sweeping each singles bracket at the Wheatstate Fall Classic.
•    Alexis Czapinski also won the singles bracket in the Bearcat Invitational, hosted by Northwest Missouri State.

 Impressive ITA Showings …
•     Czapinski and Morrissey each made the round of 16 in the regional singles tournament, as well as the duo making it to the quarterfinal round of the doubles tournament.

 New Faces …                                                                     
•    Czapinski, in her first spring with the Ichabods, is racking up impressive victories on both the singles and doubles sides. She is 16-3 in singles action this season, with an MIAA Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week Honor already under her belt.
Freshman Alysha Nowacki, after joining the team for the spring semester, has found chemistry with her doubles partner, Jacqueline Engelbrecht. The pair is 4-2 on the season. Nowacki is also 3-3 in the No. 4 singles slot.
The coaching staff has also seen an addition, as former Ichabod men's player and MVP Matt Barlow joins the coaching ranks under head coach Lance Lysaught. He is assisting both the men's and women's teams.