FIRST SERVE … 

• The Washburn Ichabod men's tennis team opens the 2020 spring season this weekend on the road for a pair of matches held in Springfield, Mo. at the Cooper Tennis Complex.
• The Ichabods take on the Cameron Aggies on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 1 p.m.
• The following day, they will face off against the Drury Panthers starting at 10 a.m.

FALL SEASON RECAP …

• The Ichabods competed at the Midwestern State Invitational and the ITA Regional Championships for the 2019 fall season.
• Paul Haase posted a singles record of 6-2 and reached the quarterfinals of the Main A Draw singles bracket at the 2019 ITA Central Regional.
• He and teammate Chase Brill finished with a doubles record of 4-1.
• In singles action, Brill ended the fall campaign with a 6-3 record and advanced to the A Back Draw championship match at the ITA Regionals.
• Bradley Eidenmueller finished the fall with a singles record of 4-3 and a doubles record of 3-2 alongside his  partner Raul-Alin Dicu.
• In singles play, Dicu went 5-3.
• Miller Zeiders played in his first matches as an Ichabod and went 3-2 in singles and 3-3 in doubles with Marc Roura Casi.
• Roura Casi went 2-2 in singles action.
• Luke Howard competed only in singles, where he went 1-3.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION ...

Cameron Aggies

• The Cameron Aggies start the season tied for 20th in the nation and ranked third in the South Central Region.
• Cameron advanced to the first round of the NCAA National Tournament and closed out the 2019 campaign with a record of 19-5 and an undefeated 3-0 in Lone Star Conference action.
• The Aggies claimed the NCAA South Central Region II title over St. Edwards in straight sets.
• Cameron returned four Aggies from last season and added six new players.
• Julen Gutierrez returns for his senior season after earning an All-American award in doubles last year, going 18-5, and finishing ranked ninth in the nation.
• Bruno Vietri enters the season ranked 28th in the nation in singles and fourth in the region.
• Oscar Del Granado (10th), Gutierrez (12th), and Pierre Marion (14th) all rank in the top-15 in the region.
• The doubles team of Marion and Vietri rank 10th in the region. 
• Josh Cobble is in his third full season leading the Aggies. Prior to joining Cameron, he was the head coach at Cowley College for seven years.
• The Ichabods trail the all-time series, 2-10.
• The Aggies won the first match of the season last year (Feb. 2, 2019) against the Ichabods in a down to the wire 4-3 match.

Drury Panthers

• The Drury Panthers are tied alongside Cameron for 20th in the first National ITA rankings of the year. They are also ranked third in the Midwest Region. 
• Similar to the Aggies, the Panthers reached the NCAA National Tournament Round of 16 last season.
• The team finished with an overall record of 17-6 and posted their 14th-straight perfect GLVC record at 6-0.
• Drury returns an experienced team in 11 players, seven of which will be playing their senior season this year.
• Nico Hadeler is one of those seniors and is coming off an All-American season. He finished the season ranked 15th in the nation and went 18-2 in singles play.
• Hadeler is ranked 20th in singles in the latest ITA national rankings.
• He and Gregor Kokalj make up the 19th-ranked doubles team while Paul Porcher/Augustin Diot are ranked 24th. They are also ranked back-to-back in the Midwest Region in second and third.
• Jarrod Smith will enter his 10th season as head coach of the DU men's tennis program in 2020.
• The Panthers are 15-3 all-time against the Ichabods.
• Washburn topped No. 20 Drury, 4-3, last year.

ICHABODS IN THE RANKINGS …

• The Ichabods were picked second in North Division of the 2020 MIAA-GAC Coaches Preseason Poll.
• Washburn will start the season ranked sixth in the Central Region.
• Individually, two Ichabods are listed in the top-20 of the Central Region singles rankings which were released on Nov. 19, 2019.
• Haase checked in at No. 9 on the list while Dicu came in at No. 20.
• Haase is also ranked in doubles as he and partner Chase Brill are ranked sixth in the Central Region.

INTERIM HEAD COACH DAVID PRICE …

• David Price was appointed the interim head coach for the 2020 spring season on January 22, 2020. 
• Price has been in his second stint as an assistant coach for the Washburn tennis programs for past three seasons. He also previously served as an assistant under head coach Peg Marmet.
• He brings over 20 years of coaching experience to the program.
• He was an Ichabod himself as he played for Washburn from 1988-92 where he played the No. 1 singles and doubles position.
• Price earned the NAIA singles and doubles champion titles at the No. 1 position his freshman year as well as winning the conference championship at No. 1 singles as a senior.

 
TAKE A LOOK AHEAD …

• Washburn will play host to McKendree next time out on Saturday, Feb. 22. The match is scheduled for indoors at the Topeka Country Club with a first serve set for 4 p.m.