First Serve … 

• The 24th-ranked Washburn women's tennis team (6-1) is set to take on their first conference opponents of the season with a pair of home matches this weekend.
• The Ichabods take on the Fort Hays State Tigers (3-2) on Friday, March 8, at 6 p.m.
• On Sunday, March 10, Washburn will play Nebraska-Kearney (7-5) at 9 a.m.
• Both matches will take place at the Topeka Country Club.

 Last Week …

• Washburn turned in a dominant performance on March, 2,  as they swept both the doubles and singles competition in a 7-0 victory over the Newman Jets (7-4). 
• The Ichabods quickly took control of the dual as they dropped just one set over the course of the three doubles matches played.
• The duos of Alexis Czapinski / Logan Morrissey and Maria Soler Valverde / Kinsey Fields blanked their opponents 6-0 at the No 1 and 3 slots.
• Svea Crohn and Jacqueline Engelbrecht won at No. 2 by the score of 6-1.
• The Ichabods carried their momentum into singles and won at each line down the order.
• Czapinski improved to 7-0 at No. 2 singles with her 6-4, 6-0 win.
• Engelbrecht and Morrissey also added to their individual win totals at the first and third spot in the lineup.
• At the No. 4 position, Soler Valverde cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 decision and clinched the team match victory.
• Crohn and Madison Lysaught completed the successful day for Washburn at No. 5 and 6.

Scouting the Opposition ...

Fort Hays State Tigers

• Fort Hays State completed the 2017-18 season with a record of 6-10 and went 1-8 against conference opponents.
• Brian Flax is in his 22nd year as the head coach and has led the program to over 180 victories.
• The Tigers went 3-2 during the 2018 fall season and will be playing their first spring matches against Emporia and Washburn on Friday, March 8.
• The two-time all-MIAA honorable mention doubles team of Nicole Lubbers and Laura Jimenez-Lendinez return take the court again this season.
• The Ichabods have the upper-hand in the all-time series with the Tigers at 22-9 and have not lost a match to them since 1997. Washburn is currently on a 20 match win streak.

Nebraska-Kearney Lopers

• The Lopers are coming off an impressive 16-8 season (5-4 MIAA). The team reached the NCAA Central Regional Championship match before falling to fellow MIAA team, Central Oklahoma.
• UNK headed into the new season tabbed fifth in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll and ranked seventh in the Central Region.
• The Lopers are currently 7-5.
• Jake Saulsbury is in his 10th year as head coach for Nebraska-Kearney and has compiled over 160 victories.
• After winning the first 14 matches ever played against each other, the Ichabods have lost the previous six consecutive matches to the Lopers. Washburn's last victory against UNK came at home in 2012.

Ichabods in the Rankings …

• Washburn is ranked 24th in the nation.
• This is the first time the team has appeared in the top-25 ITA rankings since 2007, when Washburn was ranked 25th in all of Division II.
• As a team, the Ichabods are ranked No. 6 in the Central Region.
• Reflecting their finish at the ITA National Cup, Morrissey and Czapinski will begin the season as the third-ranked doubles team in all of Division II.
• Additionally, the duo also holds down the top ranking in the Central Region. 
• Individually, Engelbrecht is ranked fouth in the region and 28th in the nation.
• Czapinski also joins the region's top-10 list at No. 9 in women's singles.
• Washburn was picked fourth in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll.

'Bods and ends …

• Czapinski picked up her sixth career MIAA Athlete of the Week award on March 5th. She has already received the honor three times this season.
• At No. 3 doubles, Fields and Soler Valverde are a perfect 6-0.
• The Ichabods' 6-1 record matches the best start for a Washburn women's team since the 2010-11 season, where the team started with six straight wins.
• Washburn is 1-1 when playing at the Topeka Country Club this spring.

Coach Lance Lysaught …

• is in his fifth season as the head coach of the Washburn men's and women's tennis teams.
• has coached the Washburn women to a 43-45 overall record and is 16-22 in MIAA matches.
• led the Ichabod men to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinal round in 2018, the first time the program had ever advanced beyond the national round of 16.
• was tabbed to start up the men's and women's tennis programs at Ottawa University in 2012 where he was the head coach for two seasons.
• is a former Washburn student-athlete who played tennis for the Ichabods from 1987-91.
• was a two-time District 10 singles champion and an NAIA national qualifier in both singles and doubles over his tenure as a player.

By the numbers after four seasons coaching both Washburn men and women

7: All-American awards

5: ITA Central Region Championship titles

1: ITA Women's singles National Champion

1: MIAA Most Valuable Player

33: All-MIAA selections

3: NCAA National Tournament appearances

51: MIAA Academic Honor Roll selections