TOPEKA, Kan. -- The No. 15 ranked Ichabod women's tennis squad is on the road for the first time in the spring this weekend, facing No. 8 University of Indianapolis in a neutral court match at 1:30 p.m. on Friday and Illinois Springfield on Saturday beginning at 11:00 a.m.
 

Ichabod Breakdown

• Washburn begins a three match swing away from Topeka with a neutral site match against the University of Indianapolis on Friday and against Illinois Springfield on Sunday
• The Ichabods are coming off a 7-0 home victory over William Jewell College last Saturday.
• Washburn is 3-1 all-time against the Greyhounds and has a 2-0 record against the Prairie Stars in program history.
• The Ichabods were ranked No. 15 nationally in the first ITA Coaches Poll of the spring.
• Washburn was picked to finish first in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
• The Ichabods went 16-12 last season and advanced to the NCAA National Championships for the second time in program history.

Washburn who's who

• Sonia Smagina enters the spring ranked No. 2 in the nation in singles after transferring from Kansas
• Smagina is joined by Lara Schmid and the pair are ranked No. 9 by the country in doubles
• Maja Jung is ranked No. 43 in the ITA singles rankings
• Smagina leads the Ichabods in singles victories with 10 and is 1-0 in duals at No. 1
• Jung has an 8-2 singles record on the season and is 2-0 from No. 2
• Casie Curry is 3-0 in singles duals and is 2-0 from No. 3
• Schmid leads Washburn with nine doubles victories and is 3-0 in duals
• Curry and Jung are 6-1 together in doubles this season and 2-0 from No. 1
• Smagina and Schmid are 7-2 in doubles together and 1-0 at No. 1
• Marta Torres has 10 combined wins and is 6-1 in doubles play including 3-0 in duals
• Isabella Martensson is 4-1 in doubles action on the season and 1-0 in duals
• The Ichabods are 6-0 on the season at doubles No. 1 and No. 2 combined
• Every player on the team has a winning record in doubles, and each player has at least three doubles victories on the season.
• As a team Washburn has a 64.9% winning percentage in singles, going 37-20 overall.
• In doubles the Ichabods have won 78.6% of their matches, going 22-6

Last time on the court

• Washburn defeated William Jewell College 7-0 last Saturday
• It was the second 7-0 sweep this season for the Ichabods, both against the Cardinals
• All three Washburn doubles teams won their matches with 6-1 scores
• Sonia Smagina, Marta Torres, Isabella Martensson, Maja Jung and Casie Curry each picked up wins in singles and doubles on the day
• Jung, Martensson and Smagina each won while surrendering less than three total set points
• Issabella Pensavalle won her first singles dual of the spring in two sets at No. 5
• Lara Schmid picked up her team-leading ninth doubles win at No. 1 with Smagina
• All six singles matches were won in just two sets for the Ichabods

Milestone markers

• Maja Jung is five wins away from 50 career singles victories
• Issabella Pensavalle is two singles victories away from 10 in her career.
• Isabella Martensson is three wins away from 25 career doubles wins

Head coach Kirby Ronning

• Ronning is in his third year as head coach of the Ichabod men's and women's tennis teams
• He has led both teams to the NCAA tournament in both seasons at the helm
• Ronning has a combined record of 66-27 in his two plus seasons at Washburn
• Prior to joining the Ichabods Ronning spent four seasons as the assistant coach at Azusa Pacific from 2016-2022
• Volunteer assistant Kurt Reid and graduate assistant Miller Zeiders round out the men's coaching staff

Schedule spring forward

• Washburn's matches this weekend will be the first two regular season games of the spring on the road.
• The Ichabods will travel to Florida in March to play three matches
• Washburn has eight MIAA matches on the slate in the spring.
• The final home game of the season is March 31 against Newman which will be senior day.
• Washburn wraps up the regular season with two matches in Arkansas, the final regular season game comes on April 15 against Southern Arkansas University
• The Women's MIAA Tournament will take place from April 21-23

Opponent Quick Scout
Match #4 - vs Indianapolis

Glance at the Greyhounds

• Indianapolis enters the spring ranked No. 8 nationally in the ITA Coaches Poll
• The Greyhounds are a perfect 3-0 on the season coming off a 4-1 road win over Ferris State on Sunday, Feb. 5
• Lea Cakarevic is ranked No. 17 in the nation in the ITA Coaches Poll  for singles
• Anna Novikova is right behind her at No. 18
• Cakarevic and Novikova lead Indianapolis in singles wins, each with records of 6-1 on the year.
• Novikova is 2-0 in duals from No. 1 while Cakarevic is 6-1 all in tournament play.
• Novikova and Sofia Sharonova are 5-2 in doubles competition this year and are ranked No. 8 in the ITA Coaches Poll
• Maissane Aik is 4-1 in singles this season for the Greyhounds, and has gone 2-0 at No. 2
• As a team Indianapolis is 23-5 in singles (82.1%) and 6-6 in doubles (50.0%)

Indianapolis Staff

• The Greyhounds are led by head coach Malik Tabet in his ninth season
• Tabet made the transition to Indianapolis from Austin Peay State University where he served as the head men's and women's coach. Prior to that, Tabet had a six-year stint at Indiana State
• Was the National ITA Women's Coach of the Year in 2020-21
• Alfredo Barcelo and Jhovana Brena round out the staff

History with Indianapolis

• Washburn is 3-1 all-time against the Greyhounds
• The only loss came in a match last season on Feb. 12, 2022 which the Ichabods lost 5-2
• The first match came on April 9, 1992 and was a 5-2 win for Washburn in Lawrence, Kan.
• After the 1997-98 season the two teams did not play until last season
• All five matches, including Friday's, will be played on neutral courts

Match # 5 - at Illinois Springfield

Peek at the Prairie Stars

• Illinois Springfield will officially begin its season against Washburn after two exhibition matches in the spring
• The Prairie Stars were 9-9 last season, finishing 4-2 in the GLVC and losing to Drury University in the first round of the GLVC Tournament
• They were 4-3 at the UIS Tennis Courts in 2021-22
• Eva Rubio comes into the season ranked No. 10 in singles in the ITA Coaches Poll
• Riann Hsu is the leading returner in singles wins for Illinois-Springfield, going 12-5 last season including 5-1 at No. 3
• Franca Bucco and Carmen Llopis Fabra are also double-digit singles winners who return, after winning 11 and 10 matches respectively in 2021-22
• Hsu and Piper Schrepferman both return after going 8-5 in doubles last year, all from No. 3
• Both Hsu and Schrepferman had 10 overall doubles victories last season to lead the Prairie Stars
• As a team Illinois Springfield went 57-59 in singles (49.1%) and 23-34 in doubles play (41.4%) in 2021-22
• The Prairie Stars were picked No. 2 in the GLVC East Preseason Poll

Illinois Springfield Staff

• The Prairie Stars are led by interim head coach Ross Graham
• Assistant coach Ignacio Ascarrunz joins him on the staff

History with the Prairie Stars

• The Ichabods are 2-0 in program history against Illinois Springfield
• The last matchup came last season on Feb. 26, 2022 and was a 5-2 win for Washburn in Springfield, Mo.
• The first match was a 8-1 road win for the Ichabods on April 1, 2016
• Washburn has never faced the Prairie Stars in Topeka, and they are 1-0 in road matches