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Men's tennis vs Missouri - St. Louis Feb. 3, 2024
Kyle Manthe/Assistant Director Athletic Communications

No. 15 Ichabods begin three match swing in Florida against Moccasins on Monday

2/22/2024 11:13:00 AM

TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 15 Washburn men's tennis plays its first of three matches in the Sunshine State next Monday at 3 p.m. EST against Florida Southern College. 
 

FIRST SERVE

  • No. 15 Washburn men's tennis begins a three match swing in Florida on Monday against Florida Southern College at 3 p.m. EST. 
  • The Ichabods are 2-2 on the year after a 6-1 win at home over MSU Denver on Saturday, Feb. 17. 
  • The Moccasins enter the week with a 1-2 record but will face Bates College and the University of Findlay before taking on Washburn on Monday.
  • Monday will be the 4th all-time meeting between the Ichabods and the Moccasins with FSC leading the series 2-1.
  • The Ichabods are ranked No. 15 in the lates ITA rankings. 
  • Washburn went 17-8 in 2022-23 with a 3-1 record in the MIAA during the regular season. They won the MIAA Championship Tournament and advanced to the NCAA National Championships. 
  • The Ichabods return eight players from last season's roster while adding four freshmen and one transfer to complete the roster. 

SINGLES SITUATION 

  • Washburn has three players ranked in the latest ITA singles rankings with Sebastian Pjontek at No. 10, Santiago Rendon just behind at No. 11 and Pavlos Parson checking in at No. 30. 
  • For the season the Ichabods are 70-31 (69.3%) in singles matches and are 15-7 in duals. 
  • Rendon leads the team with 10 wins and has a 10-3 overall record this season. he is 2-0 at No. 3 and 1-1 at No. 4. 
  • Pjontek has an 9-3 record on the year with an 1-2 record at No. 1. 
  • Parson carries an 8-3 mark in singles play with a 1-2 record at No. 2. 
  • Moritz Pieper has a 8-1 record on the singles side and is 1-0 at No. 6.
  • Tim Hammes is 6-2 on the year and is 1-0 at both No. 1 and No. 3. 
  • Daniel Bird has posted a 5-2 record this season with a 1-0 record at No. 4. 
  • Matthew Earle is 6-2 on the year and has gone 1-0 at No. 4. 
  • Tommy Cecchetti has gone 2-0 from the No. 5 spot and is 8-3 overall. 

DOUBLES DOWNLOAD

  • Washburn has one doubles duo ranked in the latest ITA doubles ranking with ITA Cup champions Tim Hammes and Santiago Rendon ranked No. 1 in the nation. 
  • On the year the Ichabods have gone 28-20 (58.3%) on the year with a 5-7 record in duals. 
  • Hammes and Rendon have the most wins of any Ichabod pair with a 7-6 record together, they have gone 1-2 at No. 1. 
  • Daniel Bird and Matthew Earle are 2-2 together from No. 2 and No. 3. 
  • Hammes leads all Ichabods with an 11-7 doubles record, he is 1-3 at No. 1. 
  • Rendon has the second most wins with a 8-6 record, also going 1-2 at No. 1. 
  • Sebastian Pjontek and Tommy Cecchetti are 1-2 together on the year with a 1-1 record at No. 2. 
  • Ivan Ivanov and Daniel Harkin are both 4-1 on the year in doubles, all in tournaments. 

LAST TIME OUT

Washburn 6, MSU Denver 1 (Feb. 17, 2024) 

TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 15 Washburn men's tennis snapped a two match losing skid with a 6-1 win over MSU Denver on Saturday afternoon at home. The Ichabods head to Florida next and will take on Florida Southern on Feb. 26.  

Washburn (2-2) moved quickly in doubles, Santiago Rendon and Pavlos Parson worked a flawless set at No. 3, winning 6-0. Matthew Earle and Daniel Bird worked their way to a 6-4 win on court two to earn the doubles point for the Ichabods. Tim Hammes and Sebastian Pjontek went to tiebreakers at No. 1 but came up short of the doubles sweep, falling 7-2 in the tiebreaker.  

In singles action the Roadrunners (3-3) tied the match with No. 46 Juno Kantola defeating No. 30 Parsons 6-3, 6-3 in two sets. No. 11 Rendon gave the advantage back to Washburn with a pair of 6-4 set victories from the No. 3 position. Earle swept his first set 6-0 from No. 4 and won 6-2 in the second to set up match point.  

After falling 7-3 in a first set tiebreaker No. 10 Pjontek rallied to win 6-4 in each of the next two sets to clinch the match for the Ichabods from No. 1. Tommy Cecchetti added an extra point winning 6-2 and 7-5 sets from No. 5 and Moritz Pieper made his spring debut with 6-2 and 6-1 wins at No. 6 to complete the match. 

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 102-43 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 Raul-Alin Dicu 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. 
  • Dicu enters his second season with Washburn and his first as a volunteer assistant after serving as a graduate assistant in 2022-23. 
  • Dicu finished his five-year career with Washburn in 2022 with a 56-45 singles record and 53-41 doubles mark. He is in the top-20 in singles and doubles wins in program history
  • 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 #5

ABOUT THE FLORIDA SOUTHERN MOCCASINS

  • Florida Southern is 1-2 on the year but will play matches against Bates College and the University of Findlay before taking on the Ichabods on Monday. 
  • The Moccasins have not played a home match yet this season. 
  • Last season Florida Southern went 15-9 overall and were 2-5 inside the SSC.
  • The Moccasins have gone 9-9 in singles matches this season (50.0%) and are also 9-9 in duals. 
  • Mario Garoz, Chris Fok Kow and Inaki Braun Simo all have 2-1 records and a tied for the team lead in victories. 
  • In doubles Florida Southern has gone 2-5 overall (28.6%) and 2-5 in duals as well.  
  • Matteo Feggl and Chris Fok Kow are 1-0 together this season, coming at No. 1. 
  • No player has more than one doubles victory on the year in duals. 

MOCCASINS STAFF 

  • Rhett Rollyson is in his second season as the head men's coach at Florida Southern. 
  • spent the last three years as an assistant tennis coach at the University of South Florida
  • as a player, qualified for the USTA Open Tennis League National Championships five times
  • obtained his bachelor's degree in telecommunications at the University of Florida
  • Assistant coaches Cliff Coleman, Alberto Bonfil, Isaac Galindo, Stephen Madonia and Christopher Hagman complete the staff. 


HISTORY WITH FLORIDA SOUTHERN

  • Washburn and Florida Southern have faced off three times in program history with the Moccasins leading the series 2-1.
  • The first match came on March 18, 2008 and was a 7-2 win for FSC in Lakeland, Fla. 
  • All matches have been played on the road for the Ichabods. 
  • Last season Washburn won a 5-2 match over Florida Southern on March 20, 2023. 


MILESTONE MARKERS

  • Daniel Bird is five singles victories away from 50 in his career
  • Tim Hammes is one doubles victory away from 40 in his career and eight singles wins away from 50. 
  • Santiago Rendon needs two singles wins to reach 40 in his career. 

SCHEDULE SPRING FORWARD 

  • Washburn finishes its trip to Florida with matches at Flagler College on Wednesday and Saint Leo on Thursday. 
  • The Ichabods begin MIAA play on March 28 against Augustana in Topeka. 
  • Senior day for Washburn will take place on April 26 against Nebraska-Kearney. 
  • The men's MIAA Tournament will take place in Edmond, Okla. from May 1 to May 3.
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