TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 15 Washburn women's tennis heads on the road for the final time in the regular season to take on No. 39 Southeastern Oklahoma State and No. 12 Southern Arkansas in a pair of neutral court matches in Edmond, Okla. this weekend.
 

FIRST SERVE

• No. 15 Washburn women's tennis heads out on its final road trip of the regular season for weekend matches against No. 39 Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday at 10 a.m. and No. 12 Southern Arkansas at 10 a.m. on Sunday. 
• The Ichabods are 15-3 on the year and 5-1 in the MIAA after a 4-3 road win over No. 41 Missouri Western on Wednesday. 
• The Savage Storm are 16-5 on the year after a 4-3 home loss to Henderson State on April 17. 
• The Muleriders are 19-2 on the year coming off a 5-2 road win over Ouachita Baptist on April 9. They will face Nebraska Kearney on April 20 before taking on the Ichabods. 
• The Ichabods moved to No. 15 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 97-64 (60.2%) in singles matches and are 60-42 in duals. 
• Maja Jung leads the team with an 21-6 record, she has a 14-3 record from No. 1. 
• Renske Ubachs is 14-11 in singles competition and has gone 9-7 from No. 2. 
• Peyton Koper is 9-8 on the year playing between two and four and has gone 3-2 at No. 3. 
• Isabella Martensson is 10-7 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 10-4 on the year, with a 2-1 record at No. 5. 
• Lara Schmid is 7-10 overall in singles with a 2-0 record at No. 6. 
• 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 65-21 (75.6%) on the year with a 41-10 record in duals. 
• Jung and Schmid are tied for the most wins together with an 18-6 record as a duo and they have gone 10-3 together at No. 1. 
• Maddie Shelley and Renske Ubachs have a 18-3 record together and have gone 13-2 from No. 3. They have won their last five matches together. 
• Peyton Koper and Isabella Martensson have gone 11-4 together overall this season at 10-4 from No. 2. 
• Ubachs has a team-high 21 doubles victories this season with Jung and Shelley just behind at 20.

LAST TIME OUT

Washburn 4, Missouri Western State 3 (April 17, 2024) 

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- No. 15 Washburn led early but needed a late comeback to secure the final point of a 4-3 road win over No. 41 Missouri Western on Wednesday afternoon. The Ichabods are back in action on Saturday against Southeastern Oklahoma State in Edmond, Okla.  

Washburn (15-3, 5-1 MIAA) got off to a quick start in doubles with Maddie Shelley and Renske Ubachs winning 6-2 at No. 3 to create an advantage. No. 7 Maja Jung and Lara Schmid winning 6-2 at No. 1 secured the first point with a 6-2 win on court one. Isabella Martensson and Peyton Koper made it a sweep over the Griffons (12-3, 3-2 MIAA) in doubles play, winning 6-3 at No. 2.   

Missouri Western was able to tie the match to begin singles with Martensson falling 6-2, 6-1 in her sets at No. 3. The Ichabods regained the advantage as No. 5 Jung won her first set 6-2 over No. 60 Anya Chavez on court one and worked a 6-4 victory in the second. Playing at No. 6 Schmid jumped ahead with a 6-3 first set victory and won 6-2 in the second to set up match point. 

Playing from No. 4 Koper lost 6-3 and 6-2 sets to No. 59 Christina Boj Granero. Shelley took her first set to an extra point but came up short 7-5. In the second she fell 6-2 and the match was evened at three.  At No. 2 Ubachs fell 6-3 in the first set of her duel. She trailed by three points in the second but was able to force a tiebreaker. The tiebreaker was knotted at six before Ubachs was able to take the final two points to win it 8-6 and force a third set. In the match deciding set she trailed 2-1 before rattling off the final five points in a 6-2 clinching victory.  

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 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 #19

ABOUT THE SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA STATE SAVAGE STORM

• Southeastern Oklahoma State is 16-5 on the year and 4-1 in the GAC after a 4-3 loss to Henderson State on April 17. 
• The Savage Storm are 4-1 in neutral court matches this season. 
• They are ranked No. 39 in the latest ITA rankings. 
• Last season Southeastern Oklahoma went 9-13 overall and 3-2 inside the GAC, winning the GAC Championship Tournament and losing in the first round of the NCAA Central Region Tournament. 

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 7th meeting between Washburn and Southeastern Oklahoma State all-time with the Ichabods leading the series 4-2.
• The first match was on March 7, 2002 and was a 5-1 win for Washburn in Durant, Okla. 
• Washburn is 1-1 against the Savage Storm in neutral court matches. 

OPPONENT QUICK SCOUT - MATCH #20

ABOUT THE SOUTHERN ARKANSAS MULERIDERS

• Southern Arkansas is 19-2 on the year coming off a 5-2 road win over Ouachita Baptist on April 9. They will face Nebraska Kearney on April 20 before taking on the Ichabods. 
• They are ranked No. 12 in the latest ITA rankings. 
• The Muleriders are 9-1 in neutral court matches this season. 
• Last season Southern Arkansas went 11-14 overall and 4-1 in the GAC, losing in the first round of the GAC Tournament. 
• Southern Arkansas has one player ranked on the singles side of the ITA rankings with Annika Berrendorf at No. 73. 
• In singles SAU has gone 75-28 (72.8%) this season. 
• Annika Berrendorf is tied for the team lead in victories with a 16-1 record while going 15-1 at No. 2. 
• Amelie Gindl is 16-2 on the year and has gone 13-1 at No. 3. 
• In doubles Southern Arkansas is 31-22 (58.5%) on the year. 
• Annika Berrendorf and Greta Wallin are ranked No. 7 in doubles this season. They are 14-4 this year all at No. 1. 
• Josie Holderbach and Amelie Gindl are 8-5 together this season with a 4-3 record at No. 2. 

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 fifth meeting between Washburn and Southern Arkansas all-time with the Ichabods leading the series 4-0.
• The first match was on February 15, 2019 and was a 5-2 win for the Ichabods in Midlothian, Texas. 
• The Ichabods are 2-0 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

• Maja Jung is three doubles victory away from reaching 75 with Washburn. 
• Lara Schmid needs seven more doubles victories to reach 50 at Washburn. 

SCHEDULE SPRING FORWARD 

• The Ichabods return home for the final week of the regular season beginning on April 26 against Nebraska Kearney. 
• 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.