TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 9 Washburn women's tennis returns home for one match hosting Metropolitan State University of Denver at 1 p.m. in the Genesis Tennis Center.
FIRST SERVE
- No. 9 Washburn women's tennis returns to Topeka for a weekend match against Metropolitan State University of Denver on Feb. 17 at 1 p.m. in the Genesis Tennis Center.
- The Ichabods are 3-0 on the year after a 4-1 win over No. 8 Wayne State (MI) on Saturday last week.
- The Roadrunners enter the weekend with a 1-4 record on the year after a 5-2 loss to Newman on Feb. 3.
- Saturday will be the ninth meeting all-time between the Ichabods and MSU Denver, Washburn leads the all-time series 7-2.
- The Ichabods are ranked No. 9 in the latest ITA rankings.
- Washburn went 18-7 in 2022-23 with a 6-2 record in the MIAA during the regular season. They won the MIAA Championship Tournament and advanced to the NCAA National Quarterfinals for the first time in program history.
- The Ichabods return six players from last season's roster while adding three freshmen and one transfer to complete the roster.
SINGLES SITUATION
- Washburn has one player ranked in the ITA Singles rankings with Maja Jung checking in at No. 3.
- For the season the Ichabods are 48-27 (64.0%) in singles matches and are 11-5 in duals.
- Maja Jung leads the team with an 10-3 record, she has a 3-0 record from No. 1.
- Maddie Shelley is 7-1 on the year, winning her last five matches, she is 2-0 at No. 6.
- Renske Ubachs is 6-4 in singles competition and has gone 2-0 from No. 2.
- Issabella Pensavalle and Daphney Koutsofta have both gone 4-1 on the year.
- Martine Carroll is 5-4 in singles matches this season.
- Isabella Martensson is 3-1 overall with 1-0 records at No. 5 and No. 6.
DOUBLES DOWNLOAD
- The Ichabods have on doubles duo in the ITA Doubles rankings with Maja Jung and Lara Schmid ranked No. 8.
- On the year the Ichabods have gone 31-13 (70.5%) on the year with a 7-2 record in duals.
- Jung and Schmid have the most wins together with an 11-3 record as a duo and they have gone 3-0 together at No. 1.
- Peyton Koper and Cadence Lynn have gone 5-1 together in doubles.
- Maddie Shelley and Renske Ubachs have a 5-1 record together and have gone 3-0 from No. 3.
- Jung and Schmid both lead the team with 11 overall wins in doubles this season.
- Ubachs has an 8-2 record and Shelley is 7-2 on the year.
- Peyton Koper and Isabella Martensson have gone 1-2 together at No. 2 this season.
LAST TIME OUT
Washburn 4, Wayne State 1 (Feb. 10, 2024)
INDIANAPOLIS, Il. -- No. 15 Washburn won the doubles point on Saturday evening and kept rolling on its way to a second straight top-15 win knocking off No. 8 Wayne State 4-1. The Ichabods take on MSU – Denver on Saturday, Feb. 17 in Topeka.
In doubles competition Washburn (3-0) got a quick advantage with Renske Ubachs and Maddie Shelley working a 6-0 victory on court three. The Warriors (2-1) would even things up winning 6-3 at No. 2 over Peyton Koper and Isabella Martensson. On the first court Maja Jung and Lara Schmid needed a tiebreaker but came away with the doubles point for the Ichabods winning 9-7 in the tiebreaker.
Washburn quickly added another point to its total in the neutral court affair with Shelley winning 6-0 and 6-1 sets from No. 6 to kick off singles. Ubachs won 6-3 in her first set and took a 6-2 victory in the second to set up match point.
Wayne State got its first point of the match with Koper falling at No. 3, 6-3 in the first set and 7-5 in the second. At No. 1, Jung took the first set into a tiebreaker and came out on top with a 9-7 win. She carried the momentum into a 6-1 victory in the second set to clinch the match for the Ichabods.
Matches for Schmid at No. 4 and Martensson at No. 5 were left unfinished. Schmid fell just short in a tiebreaker in the first set 7-6(3) and had not started the second set. Martensson fell in the first set 6-3, came back to win 7-5 in the second and was tied 1-1 in the third when the match was decided.
HEAD COACH KIRBY RONNING
- Ronning is in year four as the head coach of the men's and women's tennis teams at Washburn
- Has led both teams to the NCAA Tournament in every season at the helm with a 100-43 combined record with Washburn.
- Was named the ITA Central Region Coach of the Year on both the men's and women's side after the 2022-23 season.
- Prior to joining the Ichabods Ronning spent four seasons as the assistant coach at Azusa Pacific from 2016-2022
- As a player, he played for four years at Bethel University (Minn.). Ronning received his bachelor's degree in Business from Bethel in 2014 and earned his master's degree in Physical Education at Azusa Pacific in May 2020.
THE ASSISTANTS
- Graduate assistants Sofia Smagina and Casie Curry begin their first season on the Ichabod coaching staff while Kurt Reid and Miller Zeiders enter their fifth and second seasons respectively.
- Kurt Reid enters his fifth 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.
- Reid, a Topeka-native, played tennis at Topeka West High School and was elected to the Topeka West Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.
- Zeiders enters his second season with Washburn and his first as a volunteer assistant after serving as a graduate assistant in 2022-23.
- Zeiders joins the Ichabods after a four-year career at Washburn from 2018-22 where he went 11-3 in singles and 9-6 in doubles.
- Former All-American Sofia Smagina joins the coaching staff after wrapping up one of the best seasons in Ichabod tennis history in 2022-23.
- Finished as the runner-up at the ITA Cup in singles and was named the MIAA Player of the Year while going 30-3 in singles and 26-5 in doubles in her one season at Washburn. Joined the Ichabods as a transfer from Kansas.
- Casie Curry rounds out the coaching staff as a graduate assistant after spending one season with Washburn in 2022-23.
- Curry received All-MIAA recognition in both singles and doubles while going 16-11 and 22-6 respectively. She joined the Ichabods after transferring from Midwestern State.
OPPONENT QUICK SCOUT - MATCH #4
ABOUT THE MSU DENVER ROADRUNNERS
- MSU Denver is 1-4 on the year after a 5-2 neutral court loss to Newman on Feb. 3.
- The Roadrunners have only played neutral court matches so far this season.
- Last season the Roadrunners went 14-10 overall and were fifth in the Pacific West Conference.
- MSU Denver has one player ranked on the singles side with Emily Hafner checking in at No. 8 in the nation.
- The Roadrunners have gone 29-46 in singles matches this season (38.7%), they are 8-16 in duals.
- Hafner leads MSU Denver with an 11-7 singles record and she has gone 1-2 from the No. 1 spot.
- Lilly Stlenemeier is 6-7 on the year with a 2-2 record from No. 3.
- In doubles the Roadrunners have gone 13-24 overall (35.1%) with a 4-10 record in duals.
- Hafner and Stlenemeier are 5-4 together in doubles this season with a 2-1 record at No. 1.
- Three players are tied with three wins on the season for MSU Denver (Mikayla McKenzie, Courtney Leonard and Kambra Roles).
ROADRUNNERS STAFF
- Bruno Campos is in his first season as MSU Denver's head coach for men's and women's tennis after being hired in August, 2023.
- had been the head coach at Midland (Neb.) of the NAIA since the 2018-19 season was named the GPA women's coach of the year in 2022 and 2023
- As a player, Campos led Bethany (Kan.) to the NAIA National Tournament in 2015 and 2016
- Assistant coaches David Kijak and former Ichabod Kinsey Fields round out the Roadrunners coaching staff.
- Fields played for Washburn between 2018-22 where she compiled a career record of 46-22 in doubles and 21-11 in singles.
HISTORY WITH MSU-DENVER
- Washburn and MSU-Denver have faced off nine times with the Ichabods leading the series 7-2.
- The first match was on April 2, 1998 and was an 8-1 win for Washburn in Topeka.
- The Ichabods are 6-2 against the Roadrunners in Topeka.
- The last match between the two came on March 3, 2007 and was an 8-0 win for WU in Topeka.
MILESTONE MARKERS
SCHEDULE SPRING FORWARD
- Washburn takes a weeklong trip to Florida beginning Monday, Feb. 26 against Florida Southern College at 2 p.m. CST.
- The Ichabods begin MIAA play on March 30 against Northwest Missouri State in Maryville, Mo.
- Senior day for Washburn will take place on April 27 against Fort Hays State.
- The women's MIAA Tournament will take place in Edmond, Okla. from May 3 to May 5.
