TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 15 Washburn women's tennis heads to Indiana for a Friday match against No. 12 Indianapolis at 6:30 p.m. and a duel with Wayne State at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
FIRST SERVE
- No. 15 Washburn will play a pair of ranked matches this week beginning with No. 12 Indianapolis on Friday, Feb. 9 at 6:30 p.m. on the road.
- They will finish the week against No. 8 Wayne State University on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 4 p.m. also in Indianapolis.
- The Ichabods are 1-0 on the year after a 6-1 win over Missouri - St. Louis on Saturday in the season-opener.
- Both the Greyhounds and the Warriors enter the weekend with 2-0 records.
- Friday will be the sixth meeting all-time between the Ichabods and UIndy, Washburn leads the all-time series 3-2.
- Saturday's match with Wayne State will be the first between the Warriors and Washburn.
- The Ichabods are ranked No. 15 in the ITA Preseason 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 42-23 (64.6%) in singles matches and are 5-1 in duals.
- Maja Jung leads the team with an 8-3 record, she has a 1-0 record from No. 1.
- Maddie Shelley is 6-1 on the year, winning her last four matches, she is 1-0 at No. 6.
- Renske Ubachs is 5-3 in singles competition and has gone 1-0 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.
- Payton Koper is 3-2 and is 1-0 from No. 3.
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 27-11 (71.1%) on the year with a 3-0 record in duals.
- Jung and Schmid have the most wins together with an 8-3 record as a due and they have gone 1-0 together at No. 1.
- Peyton Koper and Cadence Lynn have gone 5-1 together in doubles.
- Maddie Shelley and Renske Ubachs have a 3-1 record together.
- Jung and Schmid lead the team with nine singles victories on the year.
- Peyton Koper is 6-1 in doubles matches this year.
- Renske Ubachs has a 6-1 doubles record this season with a 1-0 record at No. 3.
LAST TIME OUT
Washburn 6, Missouri - St. Louis 1 (Feb. 3, 2024)
TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 15 Washburn women's tennis began its slate of non-exhibition matches with a 6-1 win over the University of Missouri – St. Louis inside of the Topeka Country Club on Saturday morning. The Ichabods head on the road to face the University of Indianapolis on Friday, Feb. 9.
There was no slow start early in the morning for Washburn in doubles, with Isabella Martensson and Peyton Koper taking a 6-0 win at No. 2 to begin the match. Maddie Shelley and Renske Ubachs secured the doubles point for the Ichabods with a 6-3 win on court three. Maja Jung and Lara Schimid completed the sweep at No. 1, winning 6-2.
No. 3 Jung worked quickly in singles notching 6-1 and 6-2 victories from No. 1 to begin singles competition. Ubachs followed just behind with a two-set victory of her own, winning 6-1 and 6-3 from No. 2. Washburn clinched the match with Koper winning two sets at No. 3 7-5 and 6-1.
Martensson kept the run of two-set victories going with 6-2 and 6-1 set victories at No. 5. Shelley won 6-2 in the first set and 6-3 to close out her match from No. 6. At No. 4 Schmid fell in the first set 6-3 but won the second set 6-2. She came up short in the super-tiebreaker, 10-7, giving the Tritons their first point of 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 98-41 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 #2
ABOUT THE INDIANAPOLIS GREYHOUNDS
- Indianapolis is 2-0 on the year after a 7-0 win over Ferris State on Sunday.
- The Greyhounds are 2-0 inside of the UIndy Tennis Center.
- Indianapolis is ranked No. 12 in the latest ITA Rankings.
- Last season the Greyhounds went 17-6 overall and were 6-0 inside of the GLVC.
- UIndy has a quartet of players in the ITA singles rankings with Tyffaine Pais at No. 7, Sensi Benedetta at No. 19, Ana Hollweg, and Diane Flament checking in at No. 45.
- UIndy has gone 35-4 in singles matches this season (89.7%).
- Tyffaine Pais has a 9-1 record in singles to lead the Greyhounds in wins, she is 2-0 at No. 3.
- Benedetta Sensi is a perfect 7-0 in singles competition on the year.
- Diane Flament is 5-1 on the year but has gone 2-0 at the No. 1 spot.
- In doubles Indianapolis has gone 7-5 overall (58.3%).
- Diane Flament and Benedetta Sensi are 4-2 in doubles together to lead UIndy in wins, they are 1-1 at No. 1. They are ranked No. 19 in the nation.
- Ana Hollweg and Maria Fiacan are 2-0 together this season all at No. 3.
GREYHOUNDS STAFF
- Malik Tabet is in his 12th season as the head coach of the men's and women's tennis teams at UIndy.
- Tabet made the transition to Indianapolis from Austin Peay State University where he served as the head men's and women's coach. Prior to that, Tabet had a six-year stint at Indiana State.
- Was named the National ITA Women's Coach of the Yearin 2020-21.
- A 1999 magna cum laude graduate of the University of Mobile, Tabet earned a bachelor's degree in foreign languages and holds a master's in applied linguistics from the University of New Orleans
- Graduate assistant's Nastassia Chamoun, Carlos Thireau Cuco and Milan Jankovic round out the staff.
HISTORY WITH INDIANAPOLIS
- Washburn and Indianapolis have faced off five times with the Ichabods leading the series 3-2.
- The first match was on April 9, 1992 and was a 5-2 Washburn win in Lawrence, Kan.
- Last season Indianapolis won 5-2 over Washburn on Feb. 10, 2023 in St. Louis, Mo.
- Friday will be the first match that is not a neutral court match.
OPPONENT QUICK SCOUT - MATCH 3
ABOUT THE WAYNE STATE WARRIORS
- Wayne State is 2-0 to begin the year after a 6-1 win over Walsh on Tuesday, Feb. 6.
- The Warriors have not played a neutral court match this season.
- Last season Wayne State went 24-4 and 6-1 inside the GLIAC.
- The Warriors are ranked No. 8 in the latest ITA Rankings.
- WSU has gone 52-13 in singles matches this season (80.0%).
- Two players rank in the latest ITA Rankings with Malak Arafat at No. 31 and Anais Ruyssen at No. 48 in singles.
- Malak Arafat leads Wayne State with a 12-1 record in singles, she is 2-0 from No. 3.
- Justine Beaulleu has gone 10-1 in singles with a 2-0 mark from No. 5.
- Anals Ruyssen has a 6-1 record and has gone 2-0 from the top court.
- In doubles the Warriors have gone 32-16 overall (66.7%).
- Anais Ruyssen and Marta Komar are ranked No. 3 in the ITA doubles rankings. The pair leads the Warriors with a 13-3 record overall together and are 2-0 at No. 1.
- Malak Arafat and Dea Gorgldze are 4-1 together in doubles on the year.
WARRIORS STAFF
- Sheila Snyder enters her 35th season as the head women's tennis coach at Wayne State.
- Three-time GLIAC Coach of the Year (1994, 2014, 2019)
- Currently ninth in NCAA D2 Women's Tennis history with 434 coaching victories
- Played basketball and tennis at Wayne State. Began her career as a graduate assistant with the Warriors in 1987.
HISTORY WITH WAYNE STATE
- Saturday's match will be the first match between Washburn and Wayne State.
MILESTONE MARKERS
SCHEDULE SPRING FORWARD
- Washburn returns back to Topeka its next time on the court to face MSU - Denver at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 17.
- 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.
