FIRST SERVE

• After the Ichabods first match was canceled due to COVID-19 precautions, Washburn is ready to start its spring season on the road against Drury.
• The team is set to face off against the Panthers on Feb. 7 at 10:15 a.m. (CT) in Springfield, Mo.
• Drury holds the 10-4 advantage in the all-time record against Washburn.
• The last time the two teams played each other was Feb. 9, 2020, when the Panthers defeated the Ichabods, 4-3.

 
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS

• The Drury Panthers ended the 2019-20 season with a 9-1 record, after the season was canceled on March 16, 2020 due to COVID-19. 
• The Panthers return six from last year's roster, including Alma Abazi, Kseniia Eremina, Maria Fernanda De La Torre Ugarte Espejo, Lily Gardner, Clara Kuehnle and Viktoriya Zheleva. The squad welcomes four newcomers Nastasia Jedrychowski, Rupkatha Mukherjee, Madeleine Schneider and Anastasia White.
• In the 2020 spring season, Eremina led the team with a 10-0 record in singles while also posting a 7-3 doubles record with partner Zheleva. Abazi and Kuehnle followed close behind as each of them recorded a 9-1 record in singles action.
• The team is currently receiving votes in the ITA preseason rankings released on Feb. 2, 2021.
• Drury was named a Scholar All-American Team by the ITA after the 2019-20 season.

 
CHECKING IN WITH THE BODS

• The Ichabods return six from last year's roster, while welcoming in two newcomers.
• Washburn had three regionally-ranked student-athletes in the final 2020 ITA rankings - Logan Morrissey, Maria Soler Valverde and Svea Crohn - are among the returners and will be key performers for the Ichabods this season.
• Morrissey ended the 2020 season with a 7-7 singles record and a 10-5 doubles record with partner Crohn. Crohn also held a 9-4 record in singles. Soler Valverde had a 9-5 record while playing the No. 1 spot for Washburn.
• Sophomore Kinsey Fields and freshmen Sydnee Foster and Cadence Lynn also rejoin the team this season. Fields went 5-4 in singles and 3-6 in doubles last season, while Sydnee Foster held a 5-3 singles record and 1-4 doubles record. Lynn ended the season with a 4-8 record for singles and 0-5 record for doubles.
• Two newcomers - Maja Jung and Marta Torres - join the team this spring season as true freshmen.

 
ICHABODS IN THE RANKINGS

• The ITA national team rankings were last updated on Feb. 2, 2021.
• Washburn was picked third in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll, with two first-place votes and 46 points total, released on February 5, 2021.
• The doubles team of Logan Morrissey/Svea Crohn were ranked second in the Central Region according to its last update on April 15, 2020.
• Three Ichabods were also ranked in the top-15 of singles in the Central Region. Maria Soler Valverde checked in at seventh while Morrissey landed in ninth. Crohn rounded out the top-15.

 
HEAD COACH KIRBY RONNING

• Kirby Ronning begins his first season as the Washburn head tennis coach for the Ichabods men's and women's programs after being named to the position on July 23, 2020. Prior to Washburn, Ronning spent four seasons as the assistant coach at Azusa Pacific, where he helped lead the Cougars to multiple NCAA postseason appearances and earned himself both ITA West Region's Men's Tennis Assistant Coach of the Year and Women's Tennis Assistant Coach of the Year. 
• He earned his bachelor's degree in business from Bethel University (Minn) in 2014 and his master's in physical education from Azusa Pacific in May 2020.
• Ronning also played at Bethel for four years, playing primarily at No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles position.

 
TAKE A LOOK AHEAD

• The team will host William Jewell in their home opener on Feb. 21 at 12 p.m. The match will be played at Genesis Health Club in southwest Topeka.
• The Ichabods will open conference play on March 27, when they host Newman at 1 p.m.