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WTEn Notes 4-16
Kyle Manthe/Assistant Director Athletic Communications

No. 14 Washburn faces No. 33 Missouri Western on the road Wednesday

4/16/2024 11:47:00 AM

TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 14 Washburn women's tennis heads on the road in conference play to take on No. 33 Missouri Western State in St. Joseph, Mo. at 2 p.m. on Wednesday. 
 

FIRST SERVE

  • No. 14 Washburn women's tennis heads on the road to take on No. 33 Missouri Western State on Wednesday at 2 p.m. 
  • The Ichabods are 14-3 on the year and 4-1 in the MIAA after a 4-3 home win over Northeastern State on Saturday. 
  • The Griffons are 12-2 overall on the year and 3-1 in the MIAA coming off a 4-3 home loss to Nebraska at Kearney on the road on April 14. 
  • The Ichabods moved to No. 14 in the latest ITA rankings after going 2-0 last week.
  • 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 on the singles side of the latest ITA rankings with Maja Jung at No. 5 .
  • For the season the Ichabods are 94-61 (60.6%) in singles matches and are 57-39 in duals. 
  • Maja Jung leads the team with an 20-6 record, she has a 13-3 record from No. 1. 
  • Renske Ubachs is 13-11 in singles competition and has gone 8-7 from No. 2. 
  • Peyton Koper is 9-7 on the year playing between two and four and has gone 3-2 at No. 3. 
  • Isabella Martensson is 10-6 overall and has gone 4-0 when playing at No. 6.  
  • Martine Carroll is 11-7 in singles matches this season with a 2-0 record at No. 4. 
  • Maddie Shelley is 10-3 on the year, with a 2-0 record at No. 2. 
  • Issabella Pensavalle has gone 4-2 this year while Daphney Koutsofta has gone 4-1.

DOUBLES DOWNLOAD

  • The Ichabods have one doubles duo in the ITA Doubles rankings with Maja Jung and Lara Schmid remaining ranked No. 7. 
  • On the year the Ichabods have gone 62-21 (74.7%) on the year with a 38-10 record in duals. 
  • Jung and Schmid are tied for the most wins together with an 17-6 record as a duo and they have gone 9-3 together at No. 1. 
  • Maddie Shelley and Renske Ubachs have a 17-3 record together and have gone 12-2 from No. 3. They have won their last four matches together. 
  • Peyton Koper and Isabella Martensson have gone 10-4 together overall this season at 9-4 from No. 2. 
  • Ubachs has a team-high 20 doubles victories this season with Jung and Shelley just behind at 19.

LAST TIME OUT

Washburn 4, Northeastern State 3 (April 13, 2024) 

TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 14 Washburn clinched the match early and finished off a fourth straight victory, winning 4-3 over Northeastern State on Saturday morning into the afternoon. The Ichabods head on the road to take on Missouri Western on April 17 at 2 p.m. 

Doubles play began with Maddie Shelley and Renske Ubachs giving Washburn (14-3, 4-1 MIAA) an early advantage, winning 6-1 at No. 3. No. 7 Lara Schmid and Maja Jung snagged the first point of the match with a 6-2 win on the top court. At No. 2, Isabella Martensson and Peyton Koper trailed 4-0 but won the next six points to win 6-4 and complete a doubles sweep over the RiverHawks (7-6, 2-3 MIAA).  

Ubachs continued the momentum in singles play, winning in two sets at No. 2 while dropping only one set point in the duel. Martine Carroll played an extra point in the first set but was able to work a 7-5 win at No. 3. She rolled right into a 6-2 win in the second to set up match point for the Ichabods. Martensson took the first set into a tiebreaker but fell short, losing 7-5 in the extra set point. Northeastern State got on the board as she lost 6-4 in the second set from No. 4.  

Playing on the top court No. 5 Jung lost 6-4 in the first set but was able to force a third set with a 6-3 win in the second. She carried the strong finish into the third set, winning 6-2 to clinch the match for a second straight day. After falling 7-5 in a tiebreaker in the first set Schmid responded with a 6-1 win in the second at No. 5. She trailed 4-2 when she was forced to retire, giving the RiverHawks a second point. At No. 6, Shelley fell 6-1 in the first set but responded with a 7-6(2) tiebreaking win in the second before coming up just short 7-5 in the third.  

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 123-47 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 #18

ABOUT THE MISSOURI WESTERN STATE GRIFFONS

  • Missouri Western is 12-2 on the year and 3-1 in the MIAA after a 4-3 road loss to Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday. 
  • The Griffons are 6-0 at the Noyes Tennis Courts. 
  • Last season Missouri Western went 15-7 overall and 5-3 in the MIAA advancing to the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament and to the NCAA National Championships. 
  • The Griffons have gone 62-20 (75.6%) in singles matches this season. 
  • Anya Chavez is ranked No. 49 in the national ITA singles rankings. 
  • Chavez is tied for the most singles victories on the Griffons with a 9-5 record, she is 8-5 from No. 1. 
  • Lucia Casas Blas is 9-0 on the year with a 7-0 record from No. 2. 
  • In doubles action Missouri Western has gone 26-14 (65.0%).
  • Casas Blas and Maria Saez are 9-1 together this season with a 7-0 record from No. 2. 

GRIFFONS STAFF 

  • Alejandro de la Torre is in his 3rd season as the head coach at Missouri Western 
  • comes to the Griffons afrer two seasons at NCAA Division II St. Mary's University in Texas where he served as a graduate assistant in 2020 before being elevated to an assistant coach.
  • In his first season MWSU reached its first ever MIAA Championship match, last year he helped MWSU reach the Sweet 16

HISTORY WITH MISSOURI WESTERN STATE

  • Wednesday will be the 36th match between Washburn and Missouri Western with the Ichabods leading the all-time series 32-3.
  • The series began on April 15, 1991 with a 9-0 win for Washburn in Topeka. 
  • Washburn is 16-1 against the Griffons in St. Joseph. 
  • Last season the Ichabods won both matches over MWSU with a 5-2 win at home and a 4-0 win during the MIAA Tournament. 


MILESTONE MARKERS

  • Maja Jung is four doubles victory away from reaching 75 with Washburn. 
  • Isabella Martensson is one doubles victory from totaling 50 with the Ichabods. 
  • Lara Schmid needs eight more doubles victories to reach 50 at Washburn. 

SCHEDULE SPRING FORWARD 

  • The Ichabods leave MIAA play to take on Southeastern Oklahoma State in a neutral court contest on Saturday, April 20. 
  • 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.
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