TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 6 Washburn men's tennis returns to action after two weeks off and will head to Oklahoma for a pair of neutral court matches with Southeastern Oklahoma State and No. 40 Southern Arkansas. 
 

FIRST SERVE

• No. 6 Washburn men's tennis returns to action after a two week layoff for a pair of neutral court matches in Edmond, Okla. First, against Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday at 10 a.m. and finishing the week against No. 40 Southern Arkansas at 10 a.m. on Sunday. 
• The Ichabods are 14-3 on the year and 3-0 in the MIAA/GAC after a 4-3 home win over No. 21 Ouachita Baptist last time out on April 6.
• The Savage Storm enter the match 18-6 on the year and 2-2 in the MIAA/GAC North after losing 6-1 to No. 28 Ouachita Baptist on April 18. 
• The Muleriders enter the weekend with an 11-7 record on the year and a 2-2 mark inside the MIAA/GAC South Division after losing 4-3 to No. 50 Southeastern Oklahoma State on April 3. They will face Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday before taking on WU. 
• The Ichabods remain at No. 6 in the latest 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 four players ranked in the latest ITA singles rankings with Tim Hammes at No. 9, Sebastian Pjontek checking in at No. 21, Santiago Rendon ranked 37 and Pavlos Parson rounding out the group at No. 69. 
• For the season the Ichabods are 122-54 (69.3%) in singles matches and are 67-30 in duals. 
• Santiago Rendon leads the team with 19 wins and has a 19-7 overall record this season. he is 10-3 at No. 3.
• Tim Hammes is 13-6 overall with a 6-4 record after moving to No. 1.  
• Tommy Cecchetti has gone 5-0 from the No. 5 spot and is 18-4 overall. He has won his eight five matches.  
• Sebastian Pjontek has an overall record of 14-9 on the year with a 5-4 mark from No. 2. 
• Pavlos Parson carries an 15-6 mark in singles play from four different positions with a 4-0 mark at No. 4. 
• Moritz Pieper has a 10-1 record on the singles side and is 2-0 at No. 6.
• Daniel Bird has posted a 12-2 record this season with a 3-0 record at No. 6 with wins in his last seven matches. 
• Matthew Earle is 10-7 on the year and has gone 2-0 at No. 4. 

DOUBLES DOWNLOAD

• Washburn has four doubles duos ranked in the latest ITA doubles ranking with Tim Hammes and Santiago Rendon ranked No. 9, Matthew Earle and Tim Hammes at No. 25, Daniel Bird and Sebastian Pjontek moving up to No. 37 with Hammes and Pjontek rounding out the group at No. 43. 
• On the year the Ichabods have gone 51-27 (65.4%) on the year with a 28-14 record in duals. 
• Daniel Bird and Sebastian Pjontek have the most wins together of any Ichabod pair with an 10-1 mark together. They are 5-0 at No. 2. 
• Rendon and Pavlos Parson are 8-1 together, winning their last seven matches, and are 7-1 from No. 3.  
• Matthew Earle and Tim Hammes are 5-0 together this season all coming from No. 1. 
• Hammes leads all Ichabods with an 19-10 doubles record, he is 9-6 at No. 1. 
• Rendon and Bird are tied for the second most victories on the squad with 15 while Pjontek followed just behind at 14 on the year. 

LAST TIME OUT

Washburn 4, Ouachita Baptist 3 (April 6, 2024) 

MARYVILLE, Mo. -- No. 6 Washburn men's tennis got started in doubles play and kept on rolling to its eighth straight victory with a 7-0 sweep over No. 38 Northwest Missouri State on Saturday afternoon. The Ichabods stay in the conference facing Emporia State on Tuesday at 2 p.m. in Emporia.  

Doubles action started on the top court with Matthew Earle and Tim Hammes working a 6-2 win to give Washburn (12-3, 2-0 MIAA) the advantage early. Sebastian Pjontek and Daniel Bird finished off doubles play winning 6-3 at No. 2. Santiago Rendon and Pavlos Parson were not far behind as their match was left unfinished with a 5-3 score.  

No. 12 Hammes got singles started as well, winning a 7-6(5) tiebreaker in the first set. He finished out the duel with a 6-3 win in the second over No. 28 Andrea Zamurri to put the Ichabods up 2-0 over the Bearcats (9-5). No. 13 Pjontek won his opening set 6-2 and fell in a close second-set tiebreaker, 7-3. He rebounded for a swift 6-2 victory at No. 2in the third set to set up match point. 

On court three, No. 38 Rendon fell 6-2 in the first set but rallied for a 6-2 win in the second won 6-3 in the third to clinch the match for the Ichabods. No. 62 Tommy Cecchetti added an extra point with a 6-3 win in the first set and swept his second set 6-0 from No. 5. On court four No. 63 Parson jumped out to a quick advantage winning 6-1 in the first set and worked a 6-4 victory in the second. Earle finished out the sweep winning 6-3 in the first and 10-6 in the third set tiebreaker after falling 6-2 in the second set.  

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 124-47 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 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 #18

ABOUT THE SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA STATE SAVAGE STORM

• Southeastern Oklahoma State is 18-6 on the year and 2-2 in the MIAA/GAC South Divison.
• The Savage Storm are 7-3 in neutral court matches. 
• Last season Southeastern Oklahoma went 11-10 overall and 1-2 in the conference, advancing to the first round of the MIAA/GAC Championship and falling in the first round of the NCAA Central Regional Tournament. 
• The Savage Storm have one player ranked on the singles side with Juan Maurici Gonzalez Paiva ranked No. 40 in the nation. 
• In doubles Juan Maurici Gonzalez Paivaand Marin Jurkovic are slotted No. 12 in the nation. 

SAVAGE STORM STAFF 

• Brian Nelson is in his fifth season as the head coach of the Southeastern Oklahoma State men's and women's tennis programs. 
• spent the 2018-19 season as the head coach of the Wisconsin-Green Bay men's and women's tennis programs
• Prior to UWGB, Nelson spent the 11 seasons at Seminole State College (SSC), a member of the NJCAA in Seminole, Okla.
• Graduate assistant Rachel Routledge and student assistant Guiherme Dos Santos complete the staff. 

HISTORY WITH SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA

• Saturday will be the 11th meeting between Washburn and Southeastern Oklahoma State all-time with the Ichabods leading the series 6-4. 
• The first match was on March 4, 2002 and was a 5-0 win for SEOSU in Oklahoma City, Okla. 
• Washburn is 2-2 against the Savage Storm in neutral court matches. 
• Last season the two teams split the season series with Southeastern Oklahoma winning 4-3 during the regular season and the Ichabods winning 4-2 in the MIAA Tournament. 

OPPONENT QUICK SCOUT - MATCH #19

ABOUT THE SOUTHERN ARKANSAS MULERIDERS

• Southern Arkansas is 11-7 on the year coming off a 4-3 road loss to No. 50 Southeastern Oklahoma State on April 3. They will face Nebraska Kearney on April 20 before taking on the Ichabods. 
• The Muleriders are 3-1 in matches at the Live Oak Tennis Courts this season. 
• Last season Southern Arkansas went 7-13 overall and 1-2 in the MIAA/GAC South, missing out on the conference tournament. 
• In the latest ITA rankings the Muleriders are ranked No. 40. 
• Southern Arkansas has one player ranked on the singles side of the ITA rankings with Ole Valkyser at No. 47. 
• In singles SAU has gone 66-32 (67.3%) this season. 
• Valkyser leads the team with an 11-7 record in singles action going 5-1 from No. 1. 
• Frode Neumann is 10-3 on the year with an 8-3 record at No. 4. 
• In doubles Southern Arkansas is 24-23 (51.1%) on the year. 
• Matthew Tennant and Ole Valkyser are 9-7 together and 3-0 from No. 2. 
• Adrian Gheorghe and Lluc Pasqual are 7-4 overall and 5-2 from No. 3. 

MULERIDERS STAFF 

• Greg Owen is in his 7th season as the head coach of the Southern Arkansas tennis programs. 
• comes to SAU from Seward County Community College (Liberal, Kan.) where he was into his third season as head men's and women's tennis coach
• Prior to his time at Seward, Owen was the head tennis coach at Midlothian High School (Midlothian, Texas) for six years from 2009-2015
• Graduate assistant Eduardo Couto completes the coaching staff 

HISTORY WITH SOUTHERN ARKANSAS

• Sunday will be the sixth meeting between Washburn and Southern Arkansas all-time with the MuleRiders leading the series 3-2. 
• The first match was on February 15, 2019 and was a 4-3 win for Southern Arkansas in Midlothian, Texas. 
• The Ichabods are 1-2 against SAU in neutral court matches. 
• Last season Washburn won the only match of the season 4-3 on the road during the regular season. 

MILESTONE MARKERS

• Tim Hammes needs one singles victory to reach 50 in his career and three away from reaching that mark in doubles. 
• Santiago Rendon is three victories away from reaching 50 in both singles and doubles at Washburn. 
• Matthew Earle is three doubles wins away from reaching 30 in his career. 

SCHEDULE SPRING FORWARD 

• The Ichabods return to MIAA action on April 24 against Emporia State on the road. 
• 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.