FIRST SERVE … 

• The Washburn women's tennis team returns to Topeka to host Bethel College on Tuesday, March 3. First serve at the Washburn Tennis Complex is slated for 2 p.m.
• Washburn is 2-4 on the season while the Threshers are winless at 0-6-1.

LAST WEEK …

• Last weekend, Washburn competed in the first-ever ITA Indoor Championships in Edmond, Okla., and faced three teams ranked in the top-10 nationally.
• The Ichabods faced a tough task in their opening match as they played No. 1-ranked Barry.
• The Buccaneers remain undefeated and improved to a record of 7-0 with a shut out against the Ichabods.
• Barry has won the last three-straight NCAA national titles and have compiled a record of 91-2 since 2017.
• Barry swept the doubles competition to take an early 1-0 lead. The Buccaneers carried their momentum into singles play, capturing wins on courts one, two, and three to clinch the match victory.
• The following day, Washburn fell to No. 6 Saint Leo, 4-0.
• The Lions clinched the doubles point with a pair of 6-1 victories on courts one and two.
• Saint Leo went on to clinch the match with wins at the top-three spots in the singles lineup. 
• Cadence Lynn and Kinsey Fields won their first set at Nos. 5 and 6, respectively, but the matches went unfinished once the Lions clinched.
• In the seventh place match, the Ichabods faced a familiary foe in No. 9-ranked Central Oklahoma.
• Central Oklahoma won the doubles point with victories on courts one and two. 
• At the No. 2 slot, the duo of Kinsey Fields and Maria Soler Valverde took on the seventh-ranked doubles team in Division II, but lost in a 6-3 decision.
• The Bronchos clinched the duel with straight-set victories at Nos. 3, 5, and 4. 
• Soler Valverde won the first set, 6-4, at the top of the order against Adel-Byanu Abidullina, who is ranked 26th in the country and was recently awarded with ITA Division II Player of the Week honors. Her match went unfinished as the Bronchos had already clinched while she was in the second set.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION ...

BETHEL THRESHERS

• The Threshers are looking for their first win of the season as they hold a record of 0-6-1.
• They tied Baker earlier in the season, 3-3, when neither team fielded a No. 6 singles player.
• Tuesday's match will be considered an exhibition match for the Threshers.
• Last season, Bethel finished 9-6 overall and had a record of 5-4 in conference play in the KCAC.
• This season's squad mainly consists of upperclassmen, with four seniors and two juniors. One freshman joins the team.
• Former Bethel tennis player Gabe Johnson is in his first season in a new role with the team as he was named the program's head coach in October.
• The Washburn women are 15-4 against Bethel since their first meeting in 1982.
• Washburn has won the last six matches in a row. The two teams last faced in September of 2000 with Washburn capturing a 9-0 sweep over Bethel.
• When playing Bethel in Topeka, Washburn is 9-1.

ICHABODS IN THE RANKINGS …

• Washburn is receiving votes in the most recent ITA National top-25 poll, which was released Feb. 19.
• The next ITA rankings will come out on March 18.
• In the 2020 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll, the Ichabods landed in a tie for third.
• The doubles team of Morrissey/Crohn are No. 22 in the latest national rankings (Nov. 20) and are second in the Central Region.
• Three Ichabods are ranked in the top-15 of singles in the Central Region.
• Soler Valverde checked in at seventh while Morrissey landed in ninth.
• Crohn rounded out the top-15.

BODS AND ENDS …

• The Ichabods went 5-1 last season when playing outdoors at the Washburn Tennis Complex.
• In home matches overall last year, Washburn went 9-2.
• Svea Crohn, a sophomore, is one singles win shy of achieving 30 career wins.
• Morrissey is four doubles wins away from becoming the winningest doubles player in Washburn's program history. 
• She currently holds a record of 78-31 and is in a three-way tie for the second-most career wins.

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 …

• The Ichabods will stay at home to take on Tabor College at the Washburn Tennis Complex on Friday, March 6, at 1 p.m.