TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 18 Washburn men's tennis is the No. 12 seed in the NCAA National Championships and will play in the Round of 16 against No. 11 nationally ranked Wayne State (MI), the No. 5 seed in the tournament, on Thursday, May 11 at 11 a.m. central time in Orlando, Fla.
Ichabod Breakdown
- No. 12 Washburn faces No. 5 Wayne State in the NCAA Championships round of 16 on Thursday, May 11 at 11 a.m. CT in Orlando, Fla. on the UTSA National Campus.
- The Ichabods advanced to nationals for the fifth time ever after defeating Ouachita Baptist 4-1 in the Central Region tournament.
- Washburn enters nationals at 17-7 overall, winning its last seven matches
- No. 11 nationally ranked Warriors are 22-9 on the year
- The Ichabods are ranked No. 18 in the latest ITA Rankings.
- Washburn had seven players named to All-MIAA/GAC conference teams this season.
- The Ichabods finished in second place in the MIAA/GAC regular season.
- Washburn went 17-6 in 2021-22 and earned a second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
- The Ichabods return seven players from last seasons roster and add one transfer and one freshman.
Washburn who's who
- Washburn enters the tournament with a 17-7 record after advancing out of the NCAA Central Region tournament
- The Ichabods are the No. 12 seed in the National Championships and are 4-2 in neutral court matches this season
- Washburn has won seven straight matches
- The Ichabods are ranked No. 18 nationally in the latest ITA Rankings
- In singles, Tim Hammes is ranked No. 15 in the nation with a 15-7 record at No. 1 in duals
- Sebastian Pjontek moved up to No. 37, this season he is 14-6 overall and 11-5 at No. 2
- Santiago Rendon is ranked No. 68, he leads Washburn with a 21-8 singles record, he is 4-0 at No. 5
- Daniel Bird has a 20-7 singles record and has gone 10-2 from No. 4
- The Ichabods have won 59.6% of singles matches this season going102-69
- Pjontek and Miquel Perez are ranked No. 7 nationally in doubles, they are 8-4 together this season at No. 1 and are 4-2 against ranked opponents
- Hammes and Rendon are No. 12 together in the nation, they are 18-4 together and 14-4 at No. 2
- Hammes and Pjontek are ranked No. 36 together in doubles
- Bird and Yoshinobu Nakatsuji are 14-6 together this season, going 3-0 at No. 2 and 11-6 from No. 3
- Washburn has won 65.2% of doubles matches, going 58-31 this season
Last time on the court
- No. 2 Washburn defeated No. 3 Ouachita Baptist 4-1 in the NCAA Central Region tournament to advance to the NCAA National Championships
- The Ichabods got wins in doubles at No. 2 and No. 3 for the first point of the match
- Tim Hammes and Santiago Rendon won 7-6(2) at No. 2
- Daniel Bird and Yoshinobu Nakatsuji won 7-5 at No. 3 to clinch the point
- Hammes won at No. 1 and Sebastian Pjontek won at No. 2, defeating the No. 3 nationally ranked player
- Bird clinched the match, winning in three sets at No. 4
Milestone markers
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 95-39 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
- Ronning played for Bethel University (Minn.) for four seasons and was honored with the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Sportsmanship award two times.
The assistants
- Volunteer assistant Kurt Reid and graduate assistant Raul-Alin Dicu round out the men's coaching staff
- Reid enters his fourth season as an assistant with the Ichabods.
- He started his collegiate tennis career at Tulsa (1977-78) before transferring to Washburn for the 1978-79 season.
- Dicu joins the Ichabods after a five-year standout career for Washburn from 2017-22
- He finished his career with a 56-45 singles record and 53-41 doubles mark and is in the top-20 in singles and doubles wins in program history
Opponent Quick Scout
Match #25 - vs Wayne State (MI)
Words on the Warriors
- Wayne State is 22-9 on the season after sweeping No. 19 Southwest Baptist 4-0 in the Midwest Regionals to advance to the National Championships
- The Warriors won the GLIAC Tournament, defeating No. 19 Ferris State 4-0
- Wayne State is the No. 5 seed in nationals and is ranked No. 11 in the ITA rankings
- The Warriors are 6-2 in neutral court matches this season
- Cedric Drenth is ranked No. 24 nationally in singles
- Drenth has a 22-11 record overall and is 18-6 at no. 1
- Dom Spicer is ranked No. 69 in singles
- Spicer is 19-17 with a 7-1 mark from No. 4
- Daniel Grey leads Wayne State in victories, carrying a 29-9 record, he has gone 18-4 at No. 2
- Niklas Karcz is 23-7 and a perfect 13-0 at No. 3
- The Warriors won 66.2% of singles matches going 155-79
- In doubles Grey and Drenth are ranked No. 2 together nationally
- The duo has gone 33-9 overall and 22-7 in duals, all from No. 1
- Spicer and Luke Laws are 8-6 together this season, all from No. 2
- As a team Wayne State has won 69.2% of doubles matches this season going 81-36
Wayne State Staff
- Bryan Morrow is in his 15th season as the head coach of the men's tennis team
- He has compiled a 209-135 record in his 14 plus seasons
- Last season Morrow led the Warriors to the National Championship match where they lost to Barry 4-1
- Wayne State has made seven NCAA Tournament appearances under Morrow
- He is a four-time GLIAC Coach of the Year, most recently winning in 2022
- Morrow became the ninth men's tennis player inducted into the Wayne State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.
History with the Warriors
- Thursday's matchup will be the first match between Washburn and Wayne State in program history
Schedule spring forward
- If Washburn wins its opening round matchup against Wayne State they will play against the winner of No. 4 Barry and No. 13 Charleston (WV) at 3 p.m. CT on Friday, May 12
