TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 6 Washburn men's tennis continues conference play as they take on No. 38 Northwest Missouri State on the road on Saturday at 1 p.m. 
 

FIRST SERVE

• No. 6 Washburn men's tennis plays its first ranked conference opponent on Saturday taking on No. 38 Northwest Missouri State on the road at 1 p.m.
• The Ichabods are 11-3 on the year after a 6-1 win at home over Augustana on Wednesday morning in the conference opener. 
• The Bearcats are 8-4 on the year and 1-2 in the MIAA/GAC North. They will face Rockhurst on Friday before taking on Washburn. 
• The Ichabods remain at No. 6 in the latest ITA ranking for a third straight week, tying a program high mark. 
• 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 five players ranked in the latest ITA singles rankings with Tim Hammes at No. 12, Sebastian Pjontek checking in at No. 13, Santiago Rendon ranked 38, Tommy Cecchetti at No. 62 and Pavlos Parson rounding out the group at No. 63. 
• For the season the Ichabods are 107-51 (67.7%) in singles matches and are 52-27 in duals. 
• Santiago Rendon leads the team with 17 wins and has a 17-6 overall record this season. he is 9-3 at No. 3.
• Tim Hammes is 12-5 overall with a 5-3 record after moving to No. 1.  
• Tommy Cecchetti has gone 4-0 from the No. 5 spot and is 15-4 overall. He has won his last five matches.  
• Sebastian Pjontek has an overall record of 13-9 on the year with a 4-4 mark from No. 2. 
• Pavlos Parson carries an 12-6 mark in singles play from four different positions. 
• Moritz Pieper has a 9-1 record on the singles side and is 2-0 at No. 6.
• Daniel Bird has posted a 10-2 record this season with a 3-0 record at No. 6 with wins in his last five matches. 
• Matthew Earle is 9-6 on the year and has gone 2-0 at No. 4. 

DOUBLES DOWNLOAD

• Washburn has two doubles duos ranked in the latest ITA doubles ranking with Tim Hammes and Santiago Rendon ranked No. 6 and Hammes and Sebastian Pjontek moving to No. 33. 
• On the year the Ichabods have gone 45-27 (62.5%) on the year with a 22-14 record in duals. 
• Daniel Bird and Sebastian Pjontek have the most wins together of any Ichabod pair with an 8-1 mark together. They are 3-0 at No. 2. 
• Rendon and Pavlos Parson are 7-1 together, winning their last six matches. 
• Matthew Earle and Tim Hammes are 3-0 together this season all coming from No. 1. 
• Hammes leads all Ichabods with an 17-10 doubles record, he is 7-6 at No. 1. 
• Rendon has the second most wins with a 14-7 record, going 7-1 at No. 3. 
• Bird and Pjontek are tied for third most wins on the squad with 12 each this year. 

LAST TIME OUT

Washburn 6, Augustana 1 (March 27, 2024) 

TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 6 Washburn started conference play in the win column with an early morning victory over Augustana, 6-1. The Ichabods will stay in the MIAA and head on the road to Northwest Missouri on Saturday at 1 p.m.  

Washburn got off to a fast start in doubles play with Sebastian Pjontek and Daniel Bird sweeping a 6-0 match at No. 2 to take the advantage. Matthew Earle and Tim Hammes finished off the doubles point picking up a 6-3 win at No. 1. On court three Pavlos Parson and Santiago Rendon were tied 4-4 when the point was decided.  

No. 38 Rendon picked up his point to kick off singles action with a 6-0 set to open his match and he finished it off winning 6-2 in the second from No. 3. No. 13 Pjontek made it match point winning in two sets from No. 2, 6-3 and 6-4. The Vikings got on the board after No. 12 Hammes fell 6-4 in each of the final two sets at No. 1 after winning 6-0 in the opening set.  

Parson clinched the match at No. 4, winning 6-3 in the first set and finishing it off with a 6-2 second set victory. Earle added to the total with a two-set victory of his own, taking a close 6-4 first set and breezing through a 6-1 second set win at No. 5. Bird completed the match with two swift sets from No. 6, winning 6-2 and 6-1. 

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 117-46 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 #15

ABOUT THE NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE BEARCATS

• Northwest Missouri State is 8-4 on the year and 1-2 in the MIAA/GAC North. They will face Rockhurst on Friday before taking on the Ichabods. 
• The Bearcats are 4-0 from the Frank Grube Courts this season. 
• Last season they went 15-7 overall and 7-0 in the MIAA/GAC South, advancing to the MIAA Tournament semifinals and the NCAA Central Region second round. 
• Northwest Missouri is ranked No. 38 in the latest ITA rankings. 
• The Bearcats have one player ranked in the singles rankings with Andrea Zamurri coming in at No. 28.
• NWMSU has gone 54-45 in singles matches this season (54.5%) and 33-29 in duals. 
• Andrea Zamurri has a 15-4 record to lead Northwest Missouri, he has gone 9-3 at No. 1, winning his last four matches. 
• Fillippo Piranomonte is 8-4 on the year with a 4-2 mark at No. 5. 
• Zamurri and Vinicius Rodrigues are ranked No. 28 in the ITA doubles rankings. 
• In doubles the Bearcats have gone 31-14 overall (68.9%), and 22-9 in duals. 
• Mason Meier and Martin Sanchez have a 12-3 record together and are 10-1 from No. 3. 
• Zamurri and Rodrigues are 5-0 together this season all coming at No. 2. 

BEARCATS STAFF 

• Mark Rosewell is in his 40th season as the head coach of the Northwest Missouri State men's and women's tennis programs. 
• Has 1,204 victories at Northwest, most of any coach at Northwest, and 29 MIAA Regular Season Championships and 10 MIAA Tournament Championships with 41 NCAA Tournament Appeareances.
• Roswell served as head tennis coach for both the Mules and Jennies of Central Missouri while working on his master's degree. He was 22-27 at UCM as head coach in two seasons
• Graduate assistant Takalani Molaoa rounds out the coaching staff 

HISTORY WITH NORTHWEST MISSOURI

• Saturday will be the 67th all-time meeting between Washburn and Northwest Missouri State with the Bearcats leading the series 50-16. 
• Last season the Ichabods split the season series with Northwest Missouri, falling 4-3 at home and winning 4-0 in the MIAA Tournament. 
• Washburn is 4-21 against the Bearcats in Maryville. 
• The first match between the two teams came on April 6, 1968 and was a 5-4 win for NWMSU at home. 

MILESTONE MARKERS

• Daniel Bird is three doubles wins away from reaching 50 at Washburn.
• Tim Hammes needs two singles victories to reach 50 in his career and five away from reaching that mark in doubles. 
• Santiago Rendon is four doubles victories away from notching 50 at Washburn and five in singles. 

SCHEDULE SPRING FORWARD 

• The Ichabods stay inside the MIAA heading to Emporia to take on the Hornets on Tuesday, April 2, at 2 p.m.
• 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.