TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 13 Washburn women's tennis welcomes No. 17 Nebraska-Kearney to Genesis Tennis Center at 1:30 p.m. on Friday playing to secure a share of the MIAA Regular Season Championship. The Ichabods host Fort Hays State on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Topeka Country Club with senior day recognition at 9 a.m. that morning.

FIRST SERVE

• No. 13 Washburn women's tennis plays its final two regular season matches beginning with No. 17 Nebraska-Kearney at 1:30 p.m. on Friday at Genesis Tennis Center. On Saturday they will take on Fort Hays State at 11 a.m. for senior day. 
• The Ichabods are 17-3 on the year and 5-1 in the MIAA after a 4-3 neutral court victory over No. 12 Southern Arkansas on April 21. 
• The Lopers are 17-4 on the year overall and 6-1 in the MIAA after a 5-2 road win over Northwest Missouri State. 
• The Tigers are 6-13 on the year and 0-6 in the MIAA. They will take on Northwest Missouri State on Friday before facing the Ichabods. 
• The Ichabods moved up to No. 13 in the latest ITA rankings after going 3-0 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. 

TOURNAMENT IMPLICATIONS

• Washburn can clinch a share of its first MIAA Regular Season Championship since 2019 with a win over Nebraska-Kearney. 
• If the Ichabods go 2-0 in the weekend they will have sole possession of first place and will be the No. 1 seed in the MIAA Tournament. 
• If the Ichabods defeat the Lopers and fall to Fort Hays State there has the potential to be a four-way tie for the Championship with Northwest Missouri and Missouri Western. 

THANK YOU SENIORS!

• Before the match on Saturday the three Ichabod seniors, Maja Jung, Lara Schmid and Cady Lynn will be recognized. 
• Maja Jung has been with Washburn for five seasons and has a career singles record of 83-25, putting her second in program history in total victories. In doubles she is 72-22, good for a tie for 6th place on the program charts. 
• Lara Schmid is in her third season with the Ichabods and has a 24-22 mark in singles while going 45-14 in doubles.
• Cady Lynn has been a member of the Ichabods for five seasons and has a 34-30 record in singles play during that time. She is 12-10 in doubles action in her career. 

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 105-68 (60.7%) in singles matches and are 68-46 in duals. 
• Maja Jung leads the team with an 23-6 record, she has a 16-3 record from No. 1. 
• Renske Ubachs is 16-11 in singles competition and has gone 11-7 from No. 2. 
• Peyton Koper is 10-9 on the year playing between two and four and has gone 3-2 at No. 3. 
• Isabella Martensson is 11-8 overall and has gone 4-0 when playing at No. 6.  
• Martine Carroll is 11-9 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 9-10 overall in singles with a 4-0 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 moving up to No. 4. 
• On the year the Ichabods have gone 68-24 (73.9%) on the year with a 44-13 record in duals. 
• Jung and Schmid are tied for the most wins together with an 20-6 record as a duo and they have gone 12-3 together at No. 1. 
• Maddie Shelley and Renske Ubachs have a 19-4 record together and have gone 14-3 from No. 3. They have won their last five matches together. 
• Peyton Koper and Isabella Martensson have gone 11-6 together overall this season at 10-6 from No. 2. 
• Ubachs and Jung are tied for a team-high 22 doubles victories this season followed by Shelley with 21 and Schmid with 20. 

LAST TIME OUT

Washburn 4, Southern Arkansas 3 (April 21, 2024) 

EDMOND, Okla. -- No. 15 Washburn won its second ranked match in as many days taking down No. 12 Southern Arkansas 4-3 in a neutral court battle. The Ichabods return to action on Friday in Topeka at 1 p.m. against Nebraska-Kearney.  

The Muleriders (19-3) struck first in doubles after Maddie Shelley and Renske Ubachs fell 6-3 from No. 3. On the top court No. 7 Maja Jung and Lara Schmid evened the match winning 6-4 over No. 8 Greta Wallin and Annika Berrendorf. Washburn (17-3) went down 0-1 with Peyton Koper and Isabella Martensson falling 7-5 late from No. 2.  

Playing at No. 4. Martensson fell 6-2 in the first set and took her second set to an extra point but came up short, falling 7-5, to make it a 2-0 lead for Southern Arkansas. Schmid cruised to a 6-1 opening set win at No. 6 and prevailed with a 7-5 win in the second to put the Ichabods on the board. Koper tied the match winning 7-5 in her first set and grinding out a 6-4 victory in the second from No. 5.  

No. 5 Jung won her opening set 6-4 at No. 1 and went into a third set after falling 7-5 in the second. She came back from down 0-3 in the third to win it 6-4, taking the duel and giving Washburn a 3-2 advantage. On court two Ubachs won a swift 6-2 first set before falling 7-6(4) in a second-set tiebreaker. She rallied for a 6-4 win in the third over No. 73 Berrendorf to clinch the match for the Ichabods. Martine Carroll fell in her opening set 6-4 but forced a third set with a 7-5 win in the second. The third set went 6-4 in favor of Southern Arkansas to complete the match 4-3. 

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 129-48 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 #21

ABOUT THE NEBRASKA AT KEARNEY LOPERS

• Nebraska-Kearney is 17-4 on the year and 6-1 in the MIAA after a 5-2 road win over Northwest Missouri State on Wednesday. 
• The Lopers are ranked No. 17 in the latest ITA rankings. 
• UNK is 6-2 in true road matches this year. 
• Last season Nebraska-Kearney went 14-11 overall and 4-4 inside the MIAA, losing in the first round of the conference tournament. 
• The Lopers have two singles players ranked by the ITA with Jazmin Zamorano at No. 28 and Fabiana Gamboa at No. 44. 
• In singles Nebraska-Kearney has gone 83-32 (72.2%) on the year. 
• Alexis Bernthal and Narindra Ranalvo lead the team with 16 victories each. Bernthal is 9-1 from No. 5 while Ranalvo is 10-1 at No. 3. 
• Melissa Becerra and Narindra Ranaivo are ranked No. 39 in doubles by the ITA. 
• In doubles the Lopers have gone 40-17 (70.2%) on the year. 
• Becerra and Ranalvo are 19-2 together with a 17-1 record at No. 2. 
• Alexis Bernthal and Tanya Midzl are 5-8 at No. 1 together and 6-9 overall. 

LOPERS STAFF 

• Scott Shafer is in his fifth season as the head coach of the Nebraska-Kearney tennis program.
• joined the UNK tennis program in the summer of 2013. He served as the top assistant to head coach Jake Saulsbury for six years before being elevated to head coach
• also spent time in Madison, Wisc., where he worked at Cherokee Country Club
• Assistant coach Caleb Diller and student assistant Mia Sherikulova round out the staff

HISTORY WITH NEBRASKA-KEARNEY

• Friday will be the 25th meeting all-time between Washburn and Nebraska-Kearney with the Ichabods leading the series 18-6.
• The first match was on March 7, 1997 and was a 5-4 win for Washburn in Topeka. 
• The Ichabods are 13-3 at home against the Lopers. 
• Last season Washburn won 4-3 over UNK on the road. 

OPPONENT QUICK SCOUT - MATCH #22

ABOUT THE FORT HAYS STATE TIGERS

• Fort Hays State is 6-13 on the year and 0-6 in the MIAA after a 4-1 loss on the road against Henderson State. They will face Northwest Missouri State on Friday before taking on the Ichabods. 
• The Tigers are 5-7 in true road contests this season. 
• Last season Fort Hays State went 8-15 overall and 0-8 in the MIAA, missing out on the conference tournament. 
• In singles the Tigers have gone 62-88 (41.3%) this season with a 40-72 record in duals. 
• Grace Unruh leads Fort Hays State with a 13-9 singles record, she is 7-5 from No. 6. 
• Irina Alfonso is 12-10 overall and 6-1 when playing from No. 1. 
• In doubles Fort Hays State is 28-42 (40.0%) with a 20-36 mark in duals. 
• Florella Mendez and Irina Alfonso are 5-1 together with a 2-0 record at No. 1. 
• Grace Unruh and Bethan Gill are 6-3 together and have gone 3-3 at No. 3. 

TIGERS STAFF 

• Head coach Brian Flax is in his 28th year as the head tennis coach at Fort Hays State University in 2023-24
• ranks as the all-time leader in coaching victories at FHSU with 213
• taught at Thomas More Prep-Marian High School in Hays for two years before guiding the FHSU tennis program
• Assistant coach Kaio Sacchi completes the coaching staff 

HISTORY WITH FORT HAYS STATE

• Saturday will be the 36th match all-time between Washburn and Fort Hays State with the Ichabods leading the series 26-9. 
• The first match was on October 24, 1974 and was a 5-4 win for the Tigers in Topeka. 
• Washburn is 14-4 against FHSU in Topeka. They are on a 24 match winning streak overall. 
• Last season the Ichabods swept Fort Hays State 7-0 in Kearney, Neb. 

MILESTONE MARKERS

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

SCHEDULE SPRING FORWARD 

• The women's MIAA Tournament will take place in Edmond, Okla. from May 3 to May 5.