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Kyle Manthe/Assistant Director Athletic Communications

No. 9 Washburn hosts No. 41 Harding in NCAA Central Regional on Monday

5/12/2024 12:18:00 PM

TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 9 Washburn men's tennis will look to secure its spot in the NCAA National Championships for a second year in a row on Monday against No. 41 Harding. The Ichabods and Bison will square off at 1 p.m. either outdoors at the Washburn Tennis Complex or indoors if weather demands it. 


FIRST SERVE

  • Washburn men's tennis will host an NCAA Tournament Central Region match for a second straight year after earning the No. 1 seed in the region.
  • They will host the No. 4 seed, Harding on Monday, May 13 at the Genesis Tennis Center beginning at 1 p.m. 
  • The Ichabods are 19-4 on the year after defeating the Bisons 4-0 in the MIAA/GAC Championship Tournament on May 3. 
  • No. 41 ranked Harding is 15-8 on the year after being swept by Washburn in the championship match. 
  • The Ichabods are No. 9 in the ITA rankings. 
  • With a win WU would move into the NCAA National Championships in Orlando, Fla. beginning on May 18. 
  • 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. 13, Sebastian Pjontek checking in at No. 34, Santiago Rendon ranked 42 and Pavlos Parson rounding out the group at No. 69. 
  • For the season the Ichabods are 145-62 (70.0%) in singles matches and are 90-38 in duals. 
  • Santiago Rendon leads the team with 24 wins and has a 24-7 overall record this season. he is 11-3 at No. 3.
  • Tim Hammes is 18-7 overall with a 10-5 record after moving to No. 1.  
  • Tommy Cecchetti has gone 6-2 from the No. 5 spot and is 20-6 overall. 
  • Sebastian Pjontek has an overall record of 15-13 on the year with a 6-7 mark from No. 2. 
  • Pavlos Parson carries an 19-7 mark in singles play from four different positions with a 5-0 record at No. 4. 
  • Daniel Bird has posted a 16-2 record this season with a 7-0 record at No. 6 and has won his last 11 matches overall. 
  • Matthew Earle is 11-7 on the year and has gone 2-0 at No. 4. 
  • Moritz Pieper has a 11-1 record on the singles side and is 3-0 at No. 6.

DOUBLES DOWNLOAD

  • Washburn has three doubles duos ranked in the latest ITA doubles ranking with Tim Hammes and Matthew Earle leading the group at No. 10. Hammes and Santiago Rendon are ranked No. 13 while Daniel Bird and Sebastian Pjontek are ranked No. 43. 
  • On the year the Ichabods have gone 62-30 (67.4%) on the year with a 39-17 record in duals. 
  • Daniel Bird and Sebastian Pjontek have the most wins together of any Ichabod pair with an 14-1 mark together. They are 9-0 at No. 2 and are on a 12 match winning streak. 
  • Santiago Rendon and Pavlos Parson are 11-3 together, with an 10-3 record from No. 3. 
  • Matthew Earle and Tim Hammes are 9-1 together this season all coming from No. 1. They are 5-1 against nationally ranked teams. 
  • Hammes leads all Ichabods with an 22-11 doubles record, he is 13-7 at No. 1. 
  • Rendon and Bird are tied for second on the team with 19 doubles victories. 

LAST TIME OUT

Washburn 4, Harding 0 (May 3, 2024) 

EDMOND, Okla. -- No. 9 Washburn men's tennis captured its second straight MIAA/GAC Tournament Championship on Friday afternoon with a 4-0 sweep over No. 41 Harding. The Ichabods clinch a spot in the NCAA Central Region Tournament which will be announced on May 6.  

No. 22 ranked Tim Hammes and Matthew Earle led off doubles at No. 1 winning a 6-4 duel over the No. 3 ranked duo Teodor Zlatar and Cas de Ruiter to give the Ichabods (19-4) the advantage. The Bisons (15-8) evened things up as Santiago Rendon and Pavlos Parson fell 6-3 at No. 3. After trailing early No. 39 Daniel Bird and Sebastian Pjontek rallied to win the final games at No. 2, taking the doubles point with a 7-5 victory.  

Just like in doubles No. 10 Hammes began singles, this time with a pair of 6-0 wins at No. 1 to make it 2-0. Bird grinded out a 6-4 first set win at No. 6 and carried the momentum into a 6-2 win in the second to set up match point. No. 43 Rendon took a first set victory 6-3 at No. 4 before sweeping the second set 6-0 to clinch the final point of the championship.  

Playing on court two No. 26 Pjontek won his opening set 6-4 over No. 40 Zlatar and trailed in the second. No. 69 Parson lost a first-set tiebreaker 8-6 to No. 59 de Ruiter and had taken an early lead in the second set at No. 3. Tommy Cecchetti won his opening set 6-2 and was leading 4-3 in the second when the match was decided.  

With the victory Washburn eclipsed last season's win total of 18 and completed an undefeated run through both the MIAA/GAC North Division regular season and postseason. 

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 135-50 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 #24

ABOUT THE HARDING BISON

  • Harding is 15-8 on the year after falling 4-0 to Washburn in the MIAA/GAC Championship on May 3. 
  • The Bison are 4-3 in road matches this season. 
  • Last season Harding went 11-9 overall, advancing to the first round of the MIAA/GAC Tournament where they lost to the Ichabods 4-0.   
  • In the latest ITA rankings the Bison are ranked No. 41.  
  • Harding has two players ranked in the ITA singles rankings with Teodor Zlatar at No. 40 and Cas de Ruiter checking in at No. 59.  
  • On the season the Bison are 100-66 (60.2%) in singles matches.  
  • Teodor Zlatar leads the team in singles victories with 15, he is 15-5 on the season and 5-1 at No. 1.  
  • Cas de Ruiter is 14-9 while going 7-2 from No. 3.  
  • In doubles Harding has gone 52-37 (58.4%) this season.  
  • The Bison have one doubles duo ranked with de Ruiter and Zlatar ranked No. 3 in the nation. They have gone 12-4 together this season with a 5-2 mark at No. 1.  
  • Caleb Foose and Jaydon van Vreden are 12-10 together this season while going 7-4 together at No. 3.  

GREYHOUNDS STAFF 

  • David Redding is in his ninth season has head men's and women's tennis coach in 2023-24
  • joined the Bison from Dallas, where he was the director of tennis at the Northwood Club beginning in 1989
  • was a member of the Harding tennis team from 1979-83. He earned multiple all-district and all-conference honors


HISTORY WITH HARDING

  • Washburn and Harding have faced off eight times in program history with the Ichabods leading the series 6-2.  
  • When playing in Topeka, Washburn is 1-1 against the Bison. 
  • The Ichabods have already won both matches against Harding this season, winning 4-3 in Searcy during the regular season and 4-0 in the MIAA/GAC Tournament Championship last weekend in Edmond, Okla. 


MILESTONE MARKERS

  • Daniel Bird is four singles victories and five doubles away from reaching 60 career in both. 
  • Sebastian Pjontek is four wins in singles away from reaching the 50-win mark. 

SCHEDULE SPRING FORWARD 

  • With a win Washburn would advance into the NCAA National Championships beginning on May 21 in Altamonte Springs, Fla. 
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