FIRST SERVE

• The No. 20 Ichabods men's tennis team earned the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Central Regional Tournament, hosted by Central Oklahoma at Edmond Center Court in Edmond, Okla. They will face No. 2 Northwest Missouri in the first round at 10 a.m. on Friday. 
• Should the Ichabods advance, they will then go on to play the winner of No. 1 Central seed Southern Arkansas/No. 4 Central seed Harding on Saturday at 3 p.m. in the same location to compete for a spot in the final 16 teams to compete at the NCAA Championship in Sunrise, Ariz.
• This marks Washburn's 15th NCAA Regional appearance in the program's history. The last time the Ichabods went to the Central Regional Tournament was in 2018 and even advanced to the NCAA Championship.

 
MIAA/GAC TOURNAMENT RECAP

• In the 4-2 win over Southern Arkansas in the semifinal, the Ichabods swept the doubles point as they won the doubles matches at No. 2 and No. 3 in order. At the middle spot, Paul Haase and Miquel Perez defeated their opposition by 6-3. The No. 3 duo of Daniel Bird and Raul-Alin Dicu then followed with a 6-4 victory to ensure the doubles point for the Ichabods. 
• 37th ranked Perez defeated his opponent at the No. 2 spot by set scores of 6-3, 6-2. No. 24 ranked Dicu then took down Southern Arkansas' No. 34 ranked singles player Sander Jans at the top of the lineup by 6-3, 6-2. Bradley Eidenmueller sealed the win for Washburn as he bested his opponent by 6-3, 6-4. 
• In the 4-0 loss to Northwest Missouri, the Bearcats won the doubles point as both the No. 12 ranked doubles duo of Bradley Eidenmueller/Sebastian Pjontek and the duo of Paul Haase and Miquel Perez fell by the same 6-1 score, giving the Bearcats an early advantage.
• In singles action, the No. 1, 4 and 5 spots went down in order, starting with No. 24 ranked Raul-Alin Dicu fell to No. 6 Andrea Zamurri by set scores of 6-2, 6-1 at the top of the lineup. Eidenmueller was defeated by his opponent at the fourth spot by 6-1, 6-2. Daniel Bird then fell to his opponent by set scores of 6-4, 6-2 at the fifth spot.

 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

• Northwest Missouri has a 14-4 record this season. They won the MIAA/GAC Championship for the automatic berth and No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Ichabods defeated the Bearcats, 4-3, on April 24, then fell to the Bearcats, 4-0 in the MIAA/GAC Championship on May 1.
• Southern Arkansas holds a 12-5 record to earn the No. 1 Central seed and face No. 4 seed Harding in the first round. The Muleriders swept the Ichabods, 4-0, on April 10, then the Ichabods defeated the Muleriders, 4-2, in the MIAA/GAC Semifinal on April 30.
• Harding earned a 8-7 overall record this season and earned the No. 4 seed for the Central Region. The Ichabods and Bisons have not faced each other this season.

 
CONFERENCE ACCOLADES 

• Paul Haase earned the last MIAA Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week of the season on April 26. This was his second time earning the award this season.
• Five Ichabods earned spots on the All-MIAA Second Team- Haase, Bradley Eidenmueller, Daniel Bird and Marc Roura Casi at the No. 3-6 singles spots, respectively. Haase and Miquel Perez earned the award at No. 2 doubles as well.
• Two Washburn student-athletes were named to the All-MIAA Honorable Mention Team as well- Raul-Alin Dicu at No. 1 singles and Perez at No. 2 singles.

 
CHECKING IN WITH THE BODS

• Bradley Eidenmueller has gone a stellar 10-1 in singles action, playing mainly at the No. 4 spot. Eidenmueller is also 9-5 in doubles action. With partner Sebastian Pjontek, they have gone 7-3 from the No. 1 doubles spot. 
• Paul Haase holds an 9-3 singles record this season. Haase also has a 9-5 doubles record. With partner Miquel Perez, he has earned a 7-3 doubles record from the second spot.
• Newcomer Daniel Bird has gone 7-1 in singles action to make a commanding first impression on the Washburn team.
• Playing at the bottom of the lineup, Miller Zeiders and Marc Roura Casi have split duties throughout the season. Zeiders holds a perfect 4-0 record so far, while Roura Casi has a 7-3 record.

 
ICHABODS IN THE RANKINGS

• The Ichabods are ranked No. 20 in the nation according to the most recent ITA national team rankings released on April 20, 2021. Regionally, they are ranked first in the central region, released on March 23.
• Two Ichabods were listed in the top-40 of the first national singles rankings of the season, released on April 8, 2021. Raul-Alin Dicu checked in at No. 24 and Miquel Perez sits at No. 37.
• The No. 1 doubles duo of Sebastian Pjontek and Bradley Eidenmueller are ranked No. 12 in the national doubles rankings.
• The Ichabods were picked second in the north division in the MIAA/GAC Preseason Coaches Poll, released on February 5, 2021. The team gathered three-first place votes and 26 points total.

 
HEAD COACH KIRBY RONNING

• Kirby Ronning is in 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 winner of the Central Region Tournament will advance as one of 16 teams to compete in the NCAA Championship on May 19-21 in Surprise, Ariz.