ARKADELPHIA, Ark. -- The No. 4 seed Ichabods travel to Arkadelphia, Arkansas, to face No. 1 seed Ouachita Baptist in the NCAA Central Regional on May 9 at 2 p.m.

First serve

• The men's team appears in the NCAA Tournament for the 16th time in program history and the second year straight
• The Ichabods were unable to make it out of the first round of the NCAA Regionals in 2021
• The Ichabods hold a 3-2 all-time record against the Tigers, including a home win back in February
• Washburn has won two of the three neutral-site matches against Ouachita Baptist and lost the only match ever played in Arkadelphia in 2002
• The Ichabods compiled a 17-5 throughout the 2021-22 season

2022 Ichabods

• Daniel Bird, since joining the Ichabods, holds a 19-8 singles record and a 17-6 doubles record. Bird earned All-MIAA Honorable Mention at No. 5 singles
• Raul-Alin Dicu is a fifth-year senior holding an overall singles record of 56-44 and an overall doubles record of 53-40. He is a four-time Academic Honor Roll member, two-time MIAA Scholar-Athlete, three-time All-MIAA Honorable Mention and an ITA Scholar-Athlete
• Miquel Perez has gone 24-16 in singles and 28-11 in doubles at Washburn. He is a two-time All-MIAA Honorable Mention in singles and All-MIAA Second Team at No. 2 doubles in 2021.
• Sebastian Pjontek is 17-11 in singles and 24-15 in doubles since joining the Ichabods in 2020. Pjontek, along with partner Eidenmueller, earned ITA All-American in doubles last season. This season, he earned All-MIAA Honorable Mention in singles and doubles
• Miller Zeiders holds an 11-3 overall singles record and 9-6 in doubles play. He was named an ITA Scholar-Athlete in 2021
• Freshman Matthew Earle led St. Michael's College the team to Leinster School Senior Champions twice and as an individual was a two-time National Doubles champion and National Grade 1 singles champion. As an Ichabod, he is 4-4 in singles and 14-9 in doubles in his first season. He also earned All-MIAA Honorable Mention at No. 1 doubles
• Freshman Tim Hammes leads the team with a 20-6 singles record while also having a 3-1 doubles record. He was named MIAA Freshman of the Year and All-MIAA Second Team at No. 2 singles
• Kim Niethammer holds a 6-2 singles record, and Noah Neideck is 14-4 in doubles with partner Dicu and has four singles wins
• Sophomore transfer Santiago Rendon, from Norfolk State, is 6-6 in singles and 11-3 in doubles play. He earned All-MIAA Second Team honors at No. 6 singles and Honorable Mention at No. 3 doubles

Milestone Tracker

• Dicu's 56 career singles wins are tied for 15th in Washburn history. He needs four more singles wins to be the 11th Ichabod to have 60 wins.
• Perez is in Washburn's top-20 for career doubles win percentage (.718)
• Perez is two doubles wins away from 30 in his career
• Hammes tied  Aleja Valarezo Plaza for the most singles wins by a freshman at Washburn with 20
• Bird is one singles win and three doubles wins away from 20 in his career
• Pjontek is three singles from 20 as well

Washburn Notes

NCAA TOURNAMENT

• The Ichabods will appear in the NCAA Central Regional as the No. 4 seed, taking on the No. 1 seed Ouachita Baptist
• Washburn earned the No. 3 seed in 2021. The team season ended against the No. 2 seed in Northwest Missouri
• Coach Ronning has led the team to back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances in his two seasons coaching Washburn
• Coach Ronning is looking for the first NCAA Tournament victory of his head coaching career
• The winning team from each site will advance to the finals from May 18-22

PREVIOUSLY AGAINST THE TIGERS

• The Ichabods swept the Tigers, 4-0, on February 19
• Washburn won all three doubles matches to take the doubles point and the lead. Pjontek/Earle won 6-4, Dicu/Neideck won 6-1, and Perez/Bird won 6-4
• The Ichabods then won three straight-set singles matches to clinch the victory
• At No. 1 singles, Dicu won 7-6 (6), 6-4; at No. 2 singles, Hammes won 6-0, 6-4; and at No. 3 singles, Pjontek won 7-6 (5), 6-2

MIAA Tournament Recap

• In the quarterfinals round against Harding, Washburn lost the doubles point from the top two positions. No. 3 doubles did not finish their match
• In singles play, the Ichabods grabbed the lead with two straight-set victories from the top of the lineup
• At No. 1 singles, Perez defeated Dani Ortiz, 6-4, 6-3. At No. 2 singles, Hammes topped Arthur Bellan 7-5, 6-2
• The Ichabods lost the next three singles matches, falling to the Bisons, 4-2

Ichabods Head Coach Kirby Ronning

• Kirby Ronning is in his second 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. 
• Ronning has compiled a 28-10 men's record and a 31-14 women's record while coaching at Washburn
• 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.

Scouting the Tigers

• No. 17 Ouachita Baptist posted a 17-3 overall record and won the MIAA/GAC Championship on their way to being the No. 1 seed in the region
• The Tigers won their 23rd conference title in program history. it is the first MIAA/GAC title
• This will be Ouachita Baptist's 19th appearance in the NCAA Tournament
• The team is led by senior Francisco Oliveira as he plays at No. 1 singles and at times No. 1 doubles. Oliveira compiled a team-leading 16-3 singles record and a 13-7 doubles record. He also earned All-MIAA/GAC Second Team at No. 1 singles and First Team honors at No. 2 Doubles
• Oliveira's partner, Santiago Kearney went 15-2 at No. 2 singles and 12-7 in doubles with Oliveira. Kearney was named MIAA/GAC First Team at No. 2 singles and doubles. He also earned the MIAA/GAC Sportsmanship Award
• The final senior Tobias Fuerschuss tallied a 13-2 singles record and a 13-6 doubles record. Fuerschuss received All-MIAA/GAC First Team at No. 5 singles and Second Team at No. 3 doubles
• Sophomore Fernando Doctors went 10-6 in singles and 13-5 in doubles while paired with Fuerschuss. Doctors earned All-MIAA/GAC Honorable Mention at No. 3 singles
• Alex Blanchar went 10-6 in singles and 15-1 in doubles with Phil Exner. Blancher achieved All-MIAA/GAC Honorable Mention at No. 4 singles and No. 1 doubles
• Freshman Exner had a standout first year with a 14-4 singles record and a 15-1 doubles record. Exner joined Blanchar in receiving All-MIAA/GAC Honorable Mention at No.1 doubles while also earning All-MIAA/GAC First Team at No. 6 singles
• The duo of Blancher and Exner lost just one doubles match while playing at all three positions. Their one loss came against Washburn's Miquel Perez and Daniel Bird

Tigers Head Coach Craig ward

• Greg Ward is entering his 31st year coaching the Tigers' men's and women's tennis teams
• Ward received MIAA/GAC Coach of the Year this season
• Ward is Ouachita's most successful tennis coach with a 262-99 record
• He has earned many coaching accolades including GSC Coach of the Decade, National College Coach of the Year, United States Professional Tennis Association College Coach of the Year, etc.
• Ward has led the Tigers to two NCAA Division II Final Four appearances, two No. 1 National rankings, 25 Tennis All-Americans, and 11 Conference Championships
• He also was inducted into the Arkansas Tennis Hall of Fame
• He is 2-3 against Washburn

 Ichabods IN the Rankings

• The Ichabods are currently ranked as the 18th best team in the ITA Team Rankings released on April 28
• Washburn earned the No. 4 seed in the NCAA Central Regional
• There are three Ichabods ranked in the ITA DII National Singles and Doubles Rankings.
• Freshman Hammes fell a couple of spots to No. 28. He holds a 20-6 singles record in 2021-22
• Senior Dicu fell out of the ITA Singles Rankings
• Earle and Pjontek are back into the ITA Doubles Rankings' top-25 at No. 22. The doubles team is 14-9 together this season

Looking Ahead

A win advances the Ichabods to the finals from May 18-22, in Altamonte Springs, Florida, hosted by Rollins College