TOPEKA, Kan. -- Fresh off a trip to the ITA National Indoor Championship, No. 4 Washburn men's tennis will face Augustana in its first MIAA/GAC North Division match of the season on Sunday at 8:45 a.m. 

First Serve

• No. 4 Washburn men's tennis begins conference play against Augustana. 
• The Ichabods will face the Vikings at 8:45 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 23 in Sioux Falls, S.D. 
• Washburn is 5-1 on the year after falling for the first time 4-0 to No. 6 West Florida in the ITA National Indoor Championship match on Feb. 16. 
• The Vikings are 3-2 on the year and 1-1 in the MIAA/GAC after falling 4-3 to Northwest Missouri State on Thursday. 

BODS AND BITS 

• Washburn's 2024-25 roster features ten returners from a season ago with four new additions to round out the roster.  
• The Ichabods moved up to No. 4 in the latest ITA poll, the highest ranking in program history. 
• Washburn was picked to finish first in the MIAA/GAC Preseason Coaches Poll. 
• So far this year Washburn is 1-0 inside Topeka while going 2-0 in road matches and 2-1 in neutral court contests. 
• Washburn is coming off a 20-5 season where they went 4-0 in the MIAA/GAC North, won the MIAA/GAC Tournament Championship and advanced to the NCAA Round of 16. 
• Sunday's match will be the sixth meeting between the Ichabods and Augustana. 

AROUND THE RANKINGS

• In the ITA singles rankings Tim Hammes begins the spring ranked No. 5. 
• Vasek Schneider is tabbed at No. 15 and Pavlos Parson is ranked No. 33 nationally. 
• On the doubles side Tim Hammes and Matthew Earle have the No. 1 national ranking after winning the ITA Cup.
• Tommy Cecchetti and Vasek Schneider are just outside the top-10 at No. 11. 

SINGLES SETUP

• On the year Washburn has gone 100-50 (66.7%) in singles overall and 24-6 in duals. 
• Vasek Schneider leads the team with 16 wins. He is 16-5 on the year with a 5-1 record in duals, all coming at No. 2. 
• Tim Hammes  is second on the team with 15 victories. He has a 15-2 record while going 4-1 in duals at No. 1. 
• Tommy Cecchetti has a 10-5 record and has won a team-high five matches in a row. He is 5-0 on the year in duals from No. 4 and No. 5. 
• Pavlos Parson is 9-5 on the year in singles, going 2-1 at No. 3 in duals. 
• Matthew Earle is 7-8 on the year in singles competition and has gone 3-2 in duals from No. 3 and No. 4. 
• Zino Nahirniak is 4-0 since joining the team for the spring, all coming at No. 6. 
• Marco Romano is 10-4 on the year in singles, all coming in the fall. 
• Yoshinobu Nakatsuji compiled a 7-1 mark in singles action during the fall. 
• Ivan Ivanov is 6-2 in singles play, winning his last three matches. 
• Moritz Pieper has gone 5-6 in singles play on the year. 
• Tobias Berning has played in both dual matches, going 1-1. 

DOUBLES DOWNLOAD

• The Ichabods have gone 42-30 (58.3%) across their doubles matches this season and are 10-5 in duals. 
• After winning the ITA Cup Doubles National Championship, Tim Hammes and Matthew Earle are 14-2 together on the year and 4-1 from No. 1. 
• Tommy Cecchetti and Vasek Schneider have posted a 11-6 mark in doubles action together. They have gone 4-2 at No. 2. 
• Zino Nahirniak and Pavlos Parson are 1-2 together in doubles play, both coming at No. 3. 
• Graham Faris and Daniel Harkin went 4-2 playing together at fall tournaments. 
• Matthew Earle leads the way with 16 doubles victories as he carries a 16-5 record into the spring. 
• Tim Hammes is second on the team with a 14-2 doubles mark for the year. 

Last Time Out

West Florida 4, Washburn 0 (February 16, 2025)

INDIANAPOLIS, In. -- No. 8 Washburn's first ever run in the DII ITA National Indoor Championships came to an end Sunday afternoon with a 4-0 loss to No. 6 West Florida in the championship match.  

Doubles competition began on the top court with a rematch of the ITA Cup Doubles National Championship. This time Tim Hammes and Matthew Earle fell short, 6-2 to open the match. The doubles point went to the Agronauts (4-0) after Vasek Schneider and Tommy Cecchetti fell late, losing 6-3 at No. 2. Zino Nahirniak and Pavlos Parson were tied 4-4 at No. 3 for the Ichabods (5-1) when the point was decided.  

In singles play West Florida got the first point as Matthew Earle fell 6-3, 6-4 in two sets at No. 5. On the second court Vasek Schneider fell short in his first set 6-3 but bounced back with a swift 6-0 victory in the second set. He was unable to continue to momentum into the third as the Agronauts won a third point with a 6-2 win. The match was clinched at No. 3 with Pavlos Parson falling in two sets by 6-4 and 6-1 scores.  

Tim Hammes led in his second set at No. 1 after falling in the first set. Tommy Cecchetti was squared away at two in the second set after he won a tiebreaker to take the first set at No. 4. Zino Nahirniak lost a tiebreaker in his first set at No. 6 and was tied 1-1 in the second when the match was decided.  

The Ichabods return to the court on Sunday, Feb. 23 in Sioux Falls, S.D. against Augustana as they begin conference play.

Head Coach Kirby Ronning

• Ronning is in year five 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 144-54 combined record with Washburn.
• Has been named the ITA Central Region Coach of the Year three times. He earned the award on both the men's and women's side in the 2022-23 season and repeated as the men's winner after 2023-24.
• 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 Maja Jung and Santiago Rendon begin their first season on the Ichabod coaching staff while Kurt Reid enters his sixth season with both programs as a volunteer assistant.
• Reid started his collegiate tennis career at Tulsa (1977-78) before transferring to Washburn for the 1978-79 season.
• A Topeka-native, Reid played tennis at Topeka West High School and was elected to the Topeka West Sports Hall of Fame in 2015. 
• Maja Jung joins the coaching staff after finishing her four-year playing career at Washburn with the second most total victories of any player in women's program history. 
• Santiago Rendon also moves from playing to the sidelines after wrapping up three seasons with the Ichabods headlined by an ITA Cup Doubles National Championship in fall of 2023. 

OPPONENT QUICK SCOUT 

ABOUT THE AUGUSTANA VIKINGS

• Augustana enters the match 3-2 on the year overall and 1-1 in the MIAA/GAC North Division after falling 4-3 to Northwest Missouri at home on Thursday. 
• Last season the Vikings went 6-10 overall and 0-4 in conference play, missing out on the MIAA Tournament. 
• On the year Augustana is 15-13 (53.6%) in singles play.
• Henry Dornbusch is 4-1 on the year all coming at No. 1. 
• Thomas Kano is also 4-1 on the year, coming at three different spots. 
• In doubles play the Vikings are 9-5 (64.3%). 
• Henry DOrnbusch and Conrad Koch are 5-0 together this season, all coming at No. 1. 

HEAD COACH MARC KURTZ

• Is in his 21st season as the Augustana head coach for the men's and women's tennis programs. 
• In addition to coaching at Augustana, Kurtz is the tennis director at GreatLife Fitness Center in Sioux Falls, where he is a certified tennis professional with the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA).
• He earned his BA at Montana State with majors in business management and marketing.

HISTORY WITH AUGUSTANA

• Washburn leads the all-time series over Augustana 5-0.
• The Ichabods are 2-0 against the Vikings in Sioux Falls, S.D. 
• The series began on March 31, 2006 with a 5-0 win for Washburn. 
• Last season the Ichabods defeated Augustana 6-1 in Topeka on March 27. 

MILESTONE MARKERS

• Pavlos Parson needs one more win in singles to reach 30 career victories. 
• Matthew Earle needs three more doubles victories to reach 50 in his career. 
• Tim Hammes is six doubles wins away from reaching 70 career victories. 

SCHEDULE SPRING FORWARD

• Washburn will play its final tune-up of the season on Feb. 28 in Topeka against Pratt Community College in an exhibition. 
• The regular season concludes with senior day for Washburn hosting Arkansas-Fort Smith on April 26 at 1 p.m.
• The MIAA Tournament will be held in Springfield, Mo. from April 30 through May 2.