TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 24 Washburn women's tennis continues its postseason run to the NCAA National Quarterfinals where they will face No. 5 Flagler College on Saturday at 3 p.m. central time in Orlando, Fla.
Ichabod Breakdown
-
No. 12 Washburn faces No. 4 Flagler College in the NCAA Championships Quarterfinals on Saturday, May 13 at 3 p.m. CT in Orlando, Fla. on the UTSA National Campus
-
The Ichabods advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in program history after defeating No. 29 ranked and fifth seeded Azusa Pacific 4-3 on Friday
-
Washburn is 18-6 on the season, winning its last eight matches
-
The No. 5 nationally ranked Saints are 21-4 on the season after defeating Wilmington 4-0 in the opening round
-
Washburn is ranked 24th in the latest ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings.
-
Six Ichabods were named to All-MIAA teams this season and Sonia Smagina was named player of the year overall.
-
Washburn is coming off a 16-12 season in 2021-22 and what was the second appearance in the NCAA National Championships in program history.
-
The Ichabods finished second in the MIAA regular season.
-
The Ichabods return six players from last season's roster and add two transfers and one freshman.
Washburn who's who
-
Washburn enters the quarterfinals with a 18-7 record after its opening round win
-
The Ichabods are the No. 12 seed in the National Championships and have a 5-1 record in neutral court matches
-
Washburn has won eight straight matches, its longest streak of the season
-
Five of the matches have come against ranked opponents, including each of the last four
-
The Ichabods are ranked No. 24 nationally in the latest ITA Rankings
-
Sonia Smagina is ranked No. 2 in the nation in singles
-
She leads the Ichabods with a 30-2 record and is 21-1 in duals, all at No. 1
-
Maja Jung is ranked No. 27 in singles by the ITA
-
Jung is 22-9 in singles overall and has gone 17-7 in duals with a 14-6 mark at No. 2
-
Marta Torres is 16-11 in singles with a 4-1 record at No. 4
-
Casie Curry is 16-10 overall with a 14-6 record in duals, she has won her last nine matches
-
Washburn has won 63.1% of its singles matches as a team, going 111-65 overall
-
Smagina and Jung are ranked No. 8 nationally in doubles
-
Smagina and Lara Schmid are ranked No. 40 together but have been limited playing together in the spring due to injury
-
Jung and Smagina are 19-2 together, all at No. 1, they are 6-2 against ranked opponents and have won their last 12 matches
-
Curry and Torres have gone 14-5 together, including a 10-1 mark at No. 3 doubles
-
Isabella Martensson and Issabella Pensavalle are 11-4 overall this year and have gone 6-2 from No. 2
-
The Ichabods have won 79.1% of doubles matches going 68-18 this season
-
In duals, Washburn has won 64.2% of singles and 80.6% of doubles
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 96-40 in his two plus seasons at Washburn
-
Prior to joining the Ichabods, Ronning spent four seasons as the assistant coach at Azusa Pacific from 2016-2020
-
Ronning played for Bethel University (Minn.) for four seasons and won the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Sportsmanship award two times.
The assistants
-
Volunteer assistant Kurt Reid and graduate assistant Miller Zeiders 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.
-
Zeiders joins the Ichabods after a four-year career at Washburn from 2018-22
Opponent Quick Scout
Match #25 - vs No. 5 Flagler College
Scouting the Saints
-
No. 5 ranked Flagler enters the match 21-4 after a 4-0 win over Wilmington on Friday
-
The Saints are the No. 4 seed in the National Tournament
-
Flagler is 5-2 in neutral court matches this season
-
The Saints beat the Ichabods 4-3 earlier in the season in a home match for Flagler
-
Luisa Hrda is No. 4 nationally in singles, she is 29-7 this season and 16-4 at No. 1
-
Nadja Meier is ranked No. 9 in the latest ITA rankings. She is 36-2 on the season with a 24-0 record at No. 2
-
Dana Heimen is ranked No. 67 for the Saints, she is 26-4 overall with a 16-3 mark at No. 3
-
Charlotta Buss is 25-7 this season with a 15-1 record at No. 6
-
As a team Flagler has won 78.3% of singles matches going 155-43
-
In doubles the pairing of Hrda and Heimen are ranked No. 18 nationally
-
The duo is 18-4 on the season with an 18-2 mark at No. 1
-
Meier and Florencia Massardo Brain are 10-3 together this season and 9-2 at No. 3
-
The Saints have won 71.0% of their doubles matches going 76-31 this season
Flagler College Staff
-
The Saints are led by Rodrigo Puebla in his seventh season at the helm
-
Prior to his time at Flagler he served as an assistant coach at Iowa State University and was the head women's coach at the University of North Florida from 2008-11
-
In his first six seasons Puebla accrewed a 91-40 record, in his career he is 200-62
-
Volunteer assistant coach Aline Berkenbrock rounds out the staff
History with the Saints
-
Washburn and Flagler College have played each other twice in program history with each team winning one match
-
The Saints defeated the Ichabods 4-3 on March 19 in St. Augustina, Fla.
-
Washburn won the doubles point and got singles victories from Sonia Smagina at No. 1 and Casie Curry at No. 5 but fell in the other four singles positions
-
The first match between the two was a 4-3 win for Washburn on March 10, 2021 in St. Augustine, Fla.
Schedule spring forward
