First Serve … 

• The Washburn men's tennis team (8-4, 1-1 MIAA) will play their final home match of the regular season on Tuesday, April 2, against William Jewell.
• Senior Alejandro Valarezo Plaza will be recognized before the match for his contributions over the course of his career at Washburn.
• The match is slated to begin at 2 p.m. at the Washburn Tennis Complex. 

Last Time Out …

• The Ichabods captured their first conference win of the season on Sunday afternoon with a 6-1 victory over longtime rival, Emporia State (6-5, 0-2 MIAA).
• Washburn grabbed the doubles point after winning two of the three matches played.
• Alejandro Valarezo Plaza / Paul Haase and Chase Brill / Bradley Eidenmueller both won their matches by the score of 6-1 at No. 1 and 3.
• Raul-Alin Dicu and Luke Howard narrowly lost the tiebreaker in their match, 6-7 (3-7).
• The Ichabods continued their success in the singles competition, with four of their five victories coming in straight sets.
• At the top of the order, Valarezo Plaza won 6-2, 6-3. 
• Haase rolled to a 6-4, 6-1 victory at No. 3 while Raul-Alin Dicu clinched the team victory with his 6-4, 6-2 decision at the second position. 
• At No. 4, Marc Roura Casi posted a 7-5, 6-0 victory and Bradley Eidenmueller rounded out the scoring for Washburn with a three set win of 6-0, 0-6, 6-1.
• The Ichabods improved to 8-4 (1-1 MIAA) while the Hornets fell to 6-5 (0-2 MIAA).

Scouting the Opposition ...

William Jewell Cardinals

• The William Jewell Cardinals went 3-18 (0-6 GLVC) in 2017-18.
• In January 2019, Doug Elly was tabbed as the new head coach for William Jewell's men's and women's teams.
• After winning the first match of the season against Baker (W, 6-1), the Cardinals went on a 10 match losing skid.
• The team added a sweep over Central College and William Jewell is currently 2-14 (0-1 GLVC)
• The first-ever meeting between these two teams was back in 1920 and the Ichabods won 2-1.
• Washburn has never lost to William Jewell and holds a 12-0 record over the Cardinals.

Nationally Ranked Ichabods …

• As a team, the Ichabods are ranked 47th in Division II (as of March 27).
• In addition to the team ranking, two players remain ranked in the ITA national ranking.
• The doubles team of Valarezo Plaza / Haase stay put as the second-ranked duo in all of Division II.
• Valarezo Plaza checked in as the No. 12-ranked men's singles player.
• The national rankings will be released every Wednesday until May 1.

Regional Rankings Abound …

• The Ichabods are ranked No. 2 in the Central Region, trailing only MIAA rival Southwest Baptist.
• Washburn represents three of the top-10 doubles teams in the region. 
• The tandem of Valarezo Plaza and Haase hold down the No. 1 ranking in men's doubles.
• Bradley Eidenmueller / Raul-Alin Dicu and Chase Brill / Marc Roura Casi are ranked back-to-back at seventh and eighth.
• In singles, Valarezo Plaza is ranked second and Haase checks in at 10th. Dicu also made the top-20 with his No. 16 ranking.
• In addition to the regional and national rankings, Washburn was selected second in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll.

'Bods and Ends …

• The Ichabods are 4-1 when playing at home this season.
• Haase reached two career milestones with his wins against Emporia State. He notched his 50th singles victory and his 60th doubles victory.
• Brill needs one more singles victory to reach 50 career wins. He is also two wins away from hitting his 50th doubles victory.
• Eidenmueller has won the last three singles matches he's played.
• Valarezo Plaza is the only current player on the team who has faced William Jewell before. On Sept. 21, 2016, he blanked his opponent at No. 1 singles 6-0, 6-0. He also won at No. 1 doubles, 8-4. 

Coach Lance Lysaught …

• is in his fifth season as the head coach of the men's and women's Washburn tennis teams.
• has coached the Washburn men to a 56-32 overall record and is 10-12 in MIAA matches.
• led the Ichabods to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinal round in 2018, the first time the program had 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