TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 9 Washburn women's tennis plays the first two thirds of its trip to the Sunshine State on Monday and Tuesday next week against Florida Southern and Rollins both at 3 p.m. EST.
FIRST SERVE
- No. 9 Washburn women's tennis begins a weeklong trip to the Sunshine State with early week matches against Florida Southern College and Rollins College on Monday and Tuesday Respectively.
- Both matches are at 3 p.m. EST.
- The Ichabods are 4-0 on the year after a 6-1 win at home over MSU Denver on Saturday, Feb. 17.
- The Moccasins enter the week with a 1-3 record but will face Bates Colege and the University at Buffalo leading up to the match against Washburn.
- The Tars will enter the match with a 2-2 record after defeating Bates College 7-0 on Feb. 21.
- Monday will be the third match all-time between WU and FSC with Florida Southern leading the series 2-0.
- Tuesday will be the third meeting all-time between the Ichabods and Rollins with the series tied 1-1.
- 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. She was named the MIAA Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week on Wednesday afternoon.
- For the season the Ichabods are 53-28 (65.4%) in singles matches and are 16-6 in duals.
- Maja Jung leads the team with an 11-3 record, she has a 4-0 record from No. 1.
- Maddie Shelley is 8-1 on the year, winning her last six matches, she is 2-0 at No. 6.
- Renske Ubachs is 6-5 in singles competition and has gone 2-1 from No. 2.
- Martine Carroll is 6-4 in singles matches this season.
- Isabella Martensson is 3-1 overall with 1-0 records at No. 5 and No. 6.
- Issabella Pensavalle and Daphney Koutsofta have both gone 4-1 on the year.
- Lara Schmid and Cadence Lynn both have 4-4 record this year.
DOUBLES DOWNLOAD
- The Ichabods have one doubles duo in the ITA Doubles rankings with Maja Jung and Lara Schmid ranked No. 8.
- On the year the Ichabods have gone 34-13 (72.3%) on the year with a 10-2 record in duals.
- Jung and Schmid have the most wins together with an 12-3 record as a duo and they have gone 4-0 together at No. 1.
- Maddie Shelley and Renske Ubachs have a 6-1 record together and have gone 4-0 from No. 3.
- Peyton Koper and Isabella Martensson have gone 2-2 together at No. 2 this season.
- Koper and Cadence Lynn have gone 5-1 together in doubles.
- Jung and Schmid both lead the team with 12 overall wins in doubles this season.
- Ubachs has an 9-2 record and Shelley is 8-2 on the year.
LAST TIME OUT
Washburn 4, MSU Denver1 (Feb. 17, 2024)
TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 9 Washburn women's tennis worked a 6-1 win over MSU Denver at home on Saturday to stay undefeated on the season. The Ichabods are back in action next in Florida on Feb. 26 against Florida Southern College.
Doubles play got started on the top court with No. 8 Maja Jung and Lara Schmid winning 6-1 to get things started against the Roadrunners (1-6). Renske Ubachs and Maddie Shelley followed suit with a 6-1 win of their own at No. 3 to give Washburn (4-0) the doubles point. Peyton Koper and Isabella Martensson completed the sweep with a 6-3 win at No. 2.
Just like in doubles No. 3 Jung got singles started with a two-set win by scores of 6-2 and 6-1 over No. 8 Emily Hafner from No. 1. Schmid set up match point with 6-3 and 7-5 set victories at No. 3. Cadence Lynn clinched the match from No. 4 winning 6-3 in the first set and breezing to a 6-1 win in the second.
At No. 2 Ubachs lost a tiebreaker 7-4 in the first set but rallied to win 7-5 in the second. MSU Denver was able to get on the board with a 6-2 win in the third set. Shelley won 6-4 and 6-2 sets from court five and Martine Carroll made her spring debut at No. 6, winning in two sets, 6-3 and 7-5 to finish off 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 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 #5
ABOUT THE FLORIDA SOUTHERN MOCCASINS
- Florida Southern is 1-3 on the year after a 6-1 loss to Embry-Riddle University on Wednesday, they will play matches against Bates College and the University of Buffalo before facing WU.
- The Moccasins are 0-2 at the Wynee Warden Tennis Center this season.
- Last season Florida Southern went 13-6 overall and 4-5 inside the SSC.
- Florida Southern has two players ranked on the singles side with Laia Pasini checking in at No. 41 and Olivia Bryant ranked No. 44.
- The Moccasins have gone 10-14 in singles matches this season (41.7%), they are 10-14 in duals as well.
- Olivia Bryant leads FSC in singles victories with a 3-1 record all at No. 3.
- Laia Pasini is 2-2 on the year in duals from No. 1.
- In doubles the Moccasins have gone 3-9 overall (25.0%) with a 3-9 record in duals as well.
- Jolie Miller leads the team in victories with a 2-2 record at No. 2 and No. 3.
- Bryant and Miller are 1-0 together at No. 1 on the year.
MOCCASINS STAFF
- Trish Riddell is in her 19th season as the head women's tennis coach at Florida Southern.
- she's taken the Moccasins to 11 NCAA Tournaments, had them nationally ranked every year, produced five different individual All-Americans, and the school's only SSC Player-of-the-Year
- previously spent six years (2000-05) as an assistant coach at Rollins College
- a 1993 graduate of the University of Houston where she was a four-year letter winner for the Cougars
- Assistant coach Paul Walker rounds out the coaching staff
HISTORY WITH FLORIDA SOUTHERN
- Washburn and FSC have faced off twice times with the Mocs leading the series 2-0.
- The series began on March 18, 2008 and was a 7-2 win for Florida Southern in Lakeland, Fla.
- The Ichabods are 0-2 against the Mocs in Lakeland.
- The last match between the two came on March 21, 2014.
OPPONENT QUICK SCOUT - MATCH #6
ABOUT THE ROLLINS TARS
- Rollins College is 2-2 on the year after a 7-0 win over Bates College on Feb. 21.
- The Tars are 2-1 inside of Copeland Stadium at home this season.
- Last season Rollins went 6-11 overall with a 2-7 record in the SSC.
- The Tars have gone 13-11 in singles matches this season (54.2%), they are 13-11 in duals.
- Six players are tied for the team lead with six singles victories this season.
- Nancy Liu is 2-1 on the year with a 1-1 record at No. 1.
- Milla Falster is also 2-1 on the year and has gone 2-0 from No. 3.
- In doubles the Tars have gone 5-6 overall (45.5%) with a 5-6 record in duals as well.
- No doubles duo has more than one win together this season.
- Milla Falster, Katie Groves and Erin Yaroshuk are all 2-2 overall on the year to lead the team.
TARS STAFF
- Beverly Buckley is in her 38th season as the head coach at Rollins College.
- currently ranks seventh on the Division II all-time wins list. By the end of the 2013-14 season, Rollins had made the NCAA Tournament for 20 consecutive years.
- In December 2020, Buckley was honored with the ITA Meritorious Service Award
- A 1975 Rollins graduate, Buckley was a standout performer for the Tars and is a member of the Rollins College Athletics Hall of Fame.
- Associate head coach Tasi Purcell Batista rounds out the coaching staff
HISTORY WITH ROLLINS
- Washburn and Rollins have faced off twice with the series tied at 1-1.
- The first match was on March 19, 2008 in Orlando, Fla. and was a 9-0 win for the Tars.
- Both matches have been played in Orlando.
- Last season the Ichabods won 4-3 against Rollins on March 15, 2023.
MILESTONE MARKERS
SCHEDULE SPRING FORWARD
- Washburn wraps up the trip to florida against Saint Leo on Thursday, Feb. 29 at 3 p.m. EST.
- 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.
