TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 44 Washburn men's tennis starts a four match swing in Florida with two ranked opponents as the Ichabods will face No. 2 Saint Leo University on Wednesday at 3 p.m. CT followed by No. 19 Rollins College at 2 p.m. CT on Thursday. 

Ichabod Breakdown

• Washburn will begin its trip across Florida with two mid-week matchups against ranked opponents, No. 2 Saint Leo University and No. 19 Rollins College.
• The Ichabods are 7-1 on the year after a 5-2 win over McPherson on Feb. 28.
• Saint Leo is undefeated at 13-0 in 2022-23 while Rollins College is 11-1 entering the week.
• Washburn is 0-1 all time against the Lions and 0-2 against the Tars.
• The Ichabods are ranked 44th nationally in the first ITA Coaches Poll of the spring 
• Washburn was picked to finish second in the MIAA/GAC Preseason Coaches Poll 
• The Ichabods went 17-6 in 2021-22 and earned a second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. 
• The Ichabods return eight players from last seasons roster and add one transfer and one freshman. 

Washburn who's who

• In the latest ITA rankings Tim Hammes was ranked No. 47 in the nation after previously being unranked
• Daniel Bird also joined the singles rankings, coming in at No. 72
• In doubles Hammes is joined by Sebastian Pjontek and the duo are ranked No. 26
• Daniel Harkin and Yoshinobu Nakatsuji are the No. 32 ranked pairing 
• Santiago Rendon leads the Ichabods with 11 singles victories going 11-4 on the year and has won his last four matches.
• Bird has a 10-2 record in singles play, is 7-0 in duals and has won his last eight matches overall.
• Hammes is 6-2 in singles play going 6-1 at No. 1 and winning his last four 
• Daniel Harkin has won his last three matches and is 3-0 in duals from No. 5 and No. 6
• The Ichabods have won 61.4% of their singles matches going 54-34
• Hammes leads Washburn with 12 doubles wins, going 7-0 in duals and 3-0 at No. 2
• Bird has a 10-2 doubles record this season and is 7-0 in duals. Him and Yoshinobu Nakatsuji are a perfect 5-0 together.
• Overalla Nakatsuji is 7-4 in doubles with a 3-0 mark at No. 2 
• Hammes and Santiago Rendon are 6-0 as doubles partners splitting time at No. 1 and No. 2
• The Ichabods have won 63.0% of doubles matches this season with a 29-27 record
• In duals Washburn's doubles winning percentage is 77.3%
• Washburn is 2-0 in true road contests
• The Ichabods have won four in a row heading into the week

Last time on the court

• Washburn defeated McPherson College 5-2 at the Washburn Tennis Complex Feb. 28
• The Ichabods won two of three doubles matches to earn the doubles point
• Tim Hammes and Santiago Rendon stayed undefeated together with a 6-4 No. 1 win while Daniel Bird and Yoshinobu Nakatsuji also stayed unbeaten, winning 7-5 at No. 2
• All of Hammes, Rendon and Bird went 2-0 on the day with singles wins 
• All three wins for Washburn at 1-3 were decided in two sets, with Bird's No. 3 win clinching the match.

Milestone markers

• Tim Hammes is three singles victories away from 30 in his career
• Miquel Perez is one singles wins away from 30 in his career
• Daniel Bird reached 30 career singles wins against the Bulldogs and needs three more doubles victories to reach the same mark
• Noah Neideck needs one more singles victory to reach 10 career 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 75-29 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 Raul-Alin Dicu round out the men's coaching staff

Schedule spring forward

• Washburn's matches against Saint Leo and Rollins College will be two of four that the Ichabods play in Florida within a week. 
• Washburn has three remaining 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 Men's MIAA Tournament will take place from April 19-21

Opponent Quick Scout
Match #9 - at No. 2 Saint Leo

Look at the Lions

• Saint Leo is ranked No. 2 nationally in the latest ITA Poll
• The Lions are undefeated at 13-0 this season with a 5-0 record at home following a 7-0 win over Hillsdale College on March 13
• Saint Leo has four players ranked inside of the top-30 in the ITA singles rankings led by TaeCastillo at No. 14
• Ivan Marrero is No. 15, Vincent Thiel No. 22, and Martin Soukal No. 27
• Thiel is a perfect 12-0 this season and 11-0 at No. 3
• Marrero and Soukal are both 11-0, Marrero is 11-0 at No. 1 and Soukal is 10-0 at No. 2
• The Lions have won 92.9% of their singles matches this season going 65-5
• Luis Iriarte, Tao Castillo Bernal and Marrero lead Saint Leo with eight wins in doubles 
• Castillo Bernal and Marrero are 5-2 together in doubles play
• Saint Leo has won 67.6% of doubles matches, going 25-12

Saint Leo Staff

• Chad Berryhill leads the Lions in his eighth season at the helm
• Berryhill has led the Lions to a combined seven NCAA postseason appearances, five CoSIDA honors, 15 ITA All-Americans and a Sunshine State Conference (SSC) Men's Tennis Regular Season Championship title
• Was honored as the ITA South Region Men's Tennis Coach of the Year (2018), SSC Men's and Women's Tennis Coach of the Year (2018), and the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) Coach of the Year for the Florida Division (2019)
• Assistant coach Matthew Alexander and volunteer assistant and former Ichabod tennis All-American Brad Eidenmueller round out the coaching staff

History with Saint Leo

• Washburn is 0-1 all-time against the Lions
• The only match was a 7-2 win for Saint Leo on March 22, 2018 in Orlando Fla. 

Match #10 - at No. 19 Rollins College

• Rollins College is ranked No. 19 nationally in the latest ITA Poll
• The Tars are 11-1 on the season and 10-0 at home after a 6-1 win over Hillsdale College on March 12
• Rollins' only loss was to No. 4 Flager to open the season
• Luke Quaynor paces the Tars with an 11-0 singles record, he has gone 7-0 at No. 2
• Efe Comu and Richard Stoiberer both have 10 wins this season
• Comu is 10-1 with a 7-1 record at No. 1
• Stoiberer is 10-2 and has played at four spots, going 5-1 at No. 4
• Rollins has won 83.8% of its singles matches going 60-12
• Mikkel Baumann is 12-0 to lead the Tars in doubles victories
• Guillermo Castaneda is 11-0 in doubles
• Castaneda and Baumann are 9-0 together, all at No. 2
• Quaynor and Comu are 7-3 as a pair this season all at No. 1
• Rollins has won 77.8% of its doubles matches this season, going 28-8

Rollins College Staff

• The Tars are led by Jay Friedman in his second season at Rollins
• In 11 years as a collegiate tennis coach prior to coming to Winter Park, Friedman has guided six conference championships teams, three nationally ranked teams, and reached six NCAA Tournaments
• Friedman joined the Tars after serving as the assistant coach at Brown University for four years
• He earned his Bachelor's Degree from George Mason, where he was also a four year member of the Patriots' tennis team

History with the Tars

• Washburn is 0-2 all time against Rollins College, both matches coming on the road
• The first match was a 6-3 loss on March 19, 2008
• The two teams most recently played on March 20, 2014 in Winterpark which was a 9-0 loss for the Ichabods