TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 5 Washburn men's tennis plays a pair of MIAA/GAC matches this week traveling to Wichita to take on Newman on Thursday at 2 p.m. and hosting No. 21 Ouachita Baptist on Saturday at 2 p.m. 

FIRST SERVE

• No. 5 Washburn men's tennis stays on the road Thursday against Newman at 2 p.m. before returning home to take on No. 21 Ouachita Baptist at 2 p.m. on Saturday. 
• The Ichabods are 12-3 on the year and 2-0 in the MIAA/GAC after a 7-0 win over No. 38 Northwest Missouri State on Saturday, March 30.
• The Jets enter the match 9-8 on the year after falling 4-3 to Nebraska-Kearney in its last match while Ouachita Baptist is 10-4 with a 4-3 home win over No. 29 Southern Arkansas last time out. 
• The Ichabods moved up to No. 5 in the latest ITA rankings, the highest ranking in program history. 
• 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. 10, Sebastian Pjontek checking in at No. 17, Santiago Rendon ranked 35 and Pavlos Parson rounding out the group at No. 75. 
• For the season the Ichabods are 113-51 (68.9%) in singles matches and are 58-27 in duals. 
• Santiago Rendon leads the team with 18 wins and has a 18-6 overall record this season. he is 10-3 at No. 3.
• Tim Hammes is 13-5 overall with a 6-3 record after moving to No. 1.  
• Tommy Cecchetti has gone 5-0 from the No. 5 spot and is 16-4 overall. He has won his six 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 13-6 mark in singles play from four different positions with a 4-0 mark at No. 4. 
• 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 10-6 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. 8, Daniel Bird and Sebastian Pjontek moving into the rankings at No. 28, Hammes and Sebastian Pjontek moving to No. 37 and Hammes and Matthew Earle rounding out the group at No. 39. 
• On the year the Ichabods have gone 47-27 (63.5%) on the year with a 24-14 record in duals. 
• Daniel Bird and Sebastian Pjontek have the most wins together of any Ichabod pair with an 9-1 mark together. They are 4-0 at No. 2. 
• Rendon and Pavlos Parson are 7-1 together, winning their last six matches. 
• Matthew Earle and Tim Hammes are 4-0 together this season all coming from No. 1. 
• Hammes leads all Ichabods with an 18-10 doubles record, he is 8-6 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 13 each this year. 

LAST TIME OUT

Washburn 7, Northwest Missouri 0 (March 30, 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 118-47 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 #16

ABOUT THE NEWMAN JETS

• Newman is 9-8 on the year and 1-4 in the MIAA/GAC after a 4-3 road loss to Nebraska-Kearney on March 28.
• The Jets are 4-1 when playing at Riverside Tennis Courts this season. 
• Last season Newman went 10-10 overall and 2-3 inside the MIAA, falling in the first round of the MIAA/GAC Tournament. 

JETS STAFF 

• Shella Augspurger is entering her 20th year with the Newman tennis program.
• she took over as Director of Tennis prior to the 2007-08 season.
• Augspurger has been teaching tennis for over 20 years, beginning at multiple clubs in the St. Louis, Missouri area, when she also achieved her U.S. Professional Tennis Association teaching certification
• graduated and played three sports at Kentucky
• Graduate assistant Romina Cutipa completes the coaching staff 

HISTORY WITH NEWMAN

• Thursday will be the 15 meeting between Washburn and Newman all-time with the Ichabods leading the series 14-1. 
• The first match was on April 19, 1976 and was a 8-1 win for the Ichabods in Topeka. 
• Washburn is 2-1 against the Jets in Wichita. 
• Last season the Ichabods won a 7-0 match against Newman in Topeka. 

OPPONENT QUICK SCOUT - MATCH #17

ABOUT THE OUACHITA BAPTIST TIGERS

• Ouachita Baptist is 10-4 on the year coming off a 4-3 win at home over No. 29 Southern Arkansas on March 26. 
• The Tigers are 2-3 in true road matches this season. 
• Last season Ouachita Baptist went 12-11 overall and 2-1 in the MIAA/GAC South, advancing to the semifinals of the MIAA/GAC Tournament and to the NCAA Central Region Championship. 
• In the latest ITA rankings the Tigers are ranked No. 21. 
• Ouachita Baptist has three players ranked on the singles side with Alex Blanchar at No. 18, Phil Exner at No. 29 and Fernando Docters slotting in at No. 73. 
• Phil Exner leads Ouachita Baptist in singles victories with a 18-7 record, he is 7-2 from No. 2. 
• Alex Blanchar has a 17-5 record on the year and has gone 7-2 at No. 1. 
• In doubles Alex Blanchar and Phil Exner are ranked No. 6 while Ramon Strassmann and Fernando Docters are just behind them at No. 7. 
• Blanchar and Exner have a 22-5 record together this season while going 9-2 at No. 1. 
• Strassmann and Docters are 14-9 overall and have a 3-4 record at No. 2. 

TIGERS STAFF 

• Craig Ward is in his 34th season as the head men's tennis coach at Ouachita Baptist. 
• he has more than 300 victories to his coaching credit and has led the program to 18 national tournament apperances
• He was named the 2022 ITA Central Region Coach of the Year, was named the Coach of the Decade in the Gulf South Conference and is in the Arkansas Tennis Hall of Fame. 

HISTORY WITH OUACHITA BAPTIST

• Saturday will be the ninth meeting between Washburn and Ouachita Baptist all-time with the Ichabods leading the series 5-3.
• The first match was on March 17, 2022 and was a 7-1 win for the Tigers in Arkadelphia, Ar. 
• Washburn is 2-0 against OBU in Topeka. 
• Last season the Ichabods won both matches against Ouachita Baptist, 4-0 in the regular season and 4-1 in the NCAA Central Region Championships. 

MILESTONE MARKERS

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

SCHEDULE SPRING FORWARD 

• The Ichabods have 10 days between matches before returning to MIAA play to face Emporia State on Tuesday, April 16 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.