TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn wil stay away from home for another week as the head south to face No. 9 Harding, No. 50 Ouachita Baptist and Cameron in consecutive days at 10 a.m. beginning on Saturday in Edmond, Okla. 

First Serve

• No. 5 Washburn men's tennis heads south for a busy weekend with matches against No. 9 Harding, No. 50 Ouachita Baptist and Cameron. 
• The Ichabods will face the Bisons at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 15. They take on the Tigers at the same time on Sunday and will wrap up the time away at Cameron on Monday at 10 a.m. 
• Washburn is 8-2 on the year and 1-0 inside the MIAA/GAC after defeating Hawaii Pacific last time out on March 6. 
• Both Harding and Ouachita Baptist enter the weekend with 7-3 record. Cameron will enter with a 3-5 record. 

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 are ranked No. 5 in the latest ITA rankings. 
• 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 4-1 in road matches and 3-1 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. 

AROUND THE RANKINGS

• In the ITA singles rankings Tim Hammes ranks No. 5. Vasek Schneider moves to No. 15. 
• Pavlos Parson moves up to No. 51 while Tommy Cecchetti enters the rankings for the first time at No. 71. 
• On the doubles side Tim Hammes and Matthew Earle are ranked No. 2 in the nation. 
• Tommy Cecchetti and Vasek Schneider continue to climb up to No. 9. 

SINGLES SETUP

• On the year Washburn has gone 115-55 (67.6%) in singles overall and 39-11 in duals. 
• Tim Hammes  leads the team with 18 singles victories. He has a 18-3 record while going 7-2 in duals at No. 1 and No. 2. 
• Vasek Schneider is second on the team with 17 wins. He is 17-7 on the year with a 6-3 record in duals, he is 6-2 at No. 2. 
• Tommy Cecchetti has a 13-5 record and has won a team-high eight matches in a row. He is 8-0 on the year in duals from three different positions. 
• Pavlos Parson is 11-6 on the year in singles, going 3-2 at No. 3 in duals. 
• Matthew Earle is 9-9 on the year in singles competition and has gone 5-3 in duals from No. 3-5.
• Zino Nahirniak is 5-0 since joining the team for the spring, all coming at No. 5 and No. 6. 
• Moritz Pieper has gone 6-6 in singles play on the year with a 1-0 mark at No. 6.
• Tobias Berning has gone 3-1 in singles this year, all in duals going 2-0 from No. 5. 
• 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. 

DOUBLES DOWNLOAD

• The Ichabods have gone 49-34 (59.0%) across their doubles matches this season and are 17-9 in duals. 
• Tim Hammes and Matthew Earle are tied for the most doubles wins of any duo with a 15-4 record together. They are 5-3 in duals at No. 1. 
• Tommy Cecchetti and Vasek Schneider have posted a 15-6 mark in doubles action together. They have gone 8-2 at No. 2. 
• Zino Nahirniak and Pavlos Parson are 3-3 together in doubles play, all coming at No. 3. 
• Graham Faris and Daniel Harkin went 4-2 playing together at fall tournaments. 
• Matthew Earle leads the way with 17 doubles victories as he carries a 17-7 record into the spring. 
• Tommy Cecchetti is second on the team with 16 doubles victories, he is 16-8 overall. 

Last Time Out

Washburn 4, Hawaii Pacific 1 (March 6, 2025)

AZUSA, Cali. -- No. 3 Washburn finishes out its west coast road trip with a 4-1 win over Hawaii Pacific on Thursday afternoon. The Ichabods return to action in nine days taking on Harding in Edmond, Okla.  

Vasek Schneider and Tommy Cecchetti began the match from No. 2 working quickly to a 6-1 win. Pavlos Parson and Zino Nahirniak closed out the doubles point winning 6-3 on court three to give Washburn (8-2) a 1-0 lead. Tim Hammes and Matthew Earle led 5-4 over the Sharks No. 1 team when the point was decided.  

In singles action, Hammes worked quickly in the first set, winning 6-1. He followed with a 7-6(4) tiebreaker win to wrap up the action on court one. Hawaii Pacific got its first point of the day as Matthew Earle came up just short in a tiebreaker 7-6(7) first set and 6-2 in the second set from No. 3. Tommy Cecchetti brought up match point, winning 6-4 in the second set after pulling away for a 7-6(6) victory in the first set.  

Pavlos Parson dropped just one point in his first set, but went to a third set after falling 6-3 at No. 2. He bounced back, reversing a score to win 6-3 in the third and clinch the match. 

Tobias Berning led 5-2 in his first set at No. 5 when the match was decided.  

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 151-55 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 HARDING BISONS

• Harding improved to 7-3 on the year with a 7-0 sweep of Delta State on March 7 in Searcy, Ar. 
• Last season the Bisons went 15-9 overall with a 3-1 record in the MIAA/GAC South. They fell in the Championship of the MIAA/GAC Tournament and the first round of the NCAA Central Region Tournament, both times to Washburn. 
• On the year Hrding is 65-41 (61.3%) in singles play while going 32-22 in duals. 
• Cas de Ruiter checks in at No. 8 in the ITA rankings for singles while Adrian Solorzano is ranked No. 26. 
• Cas de Ruiter is tied for a team-high 11 victories going 11-8 overall with a 5-5 record at No. 1. 
• Cian Mikkelsen is 10-5 on the year with a 5-3 record at No. 3 in duals. 
• In doubles competition the Bisons have gone 29-20 (59.2%) overall and 18-9 in duals. 
• Cas de Ruiter and Adrian Solorzano are ranked No. 16 nationally in doubles. 
• Florian Gayme and Cian Mikkelsen are tabbed at No. 34. 
• Gayme and Mikkelsen are 9-4 together this season with a 5-2 mark at No. 2. 

HEAD COACH DAVID REDDING

• Is in his 10th season as the head coach at Harding for the men's and women's tennis programs. 
• Redding returned to Harding from Dallas, where he was the director of tennis at the Northwood Club beginning in 1989. 
• Redding was a member of the Harding tennis team from 1979-83. He earned multiple all-district and all-conference honors, was two-time NAIA All-Academic, and earned the 1983 NAIA Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship. Redding was inducted into the Harding Athletics Hall of Fame in 1990.

HISTORY WITH HARDING

• Washburn leads the all-time series over Harding 7-2. 
• The Ichabods are 4-1 against the Bisons in neutral court matches. 
• The series began on April 4, 2015 with a 5-4 win for Washburn in Springfield, Mo. 
• Last season the Ichabods faced Harding three times, winning all three. They have won five straight matches in the series. 

ABOUT THE OUACHITA BAPTIST TIGERS

• Ouachita Baptist has a 7-3 record overall with a 1-0 mark inside the MIAA/GAC. They will face No. 12 UT-Tyler before taking on the Ichabods. 
• Last season the Tigers went 13-8 on the year and 3-1 in conference play. They lost to Washburn in the semifinals of the MIAA/GAC Tournament and fell to Southern Arkansas in the first round of NCAA Regional action.
• On the singles side of the ITA rankings Phil Exner is slotted No. 2. 
• Exner leads Ouachita Baptist in singles with a 22-2 record and has gone 6-0 at No. 1 in duals. 
• Aaron Osmond is 10-3 on the year in singles, going 3-0 at No. 5. 
• In doubles, Phil Exner and Ramon Strassmann are ranked No. 6 in the nation while Yarin Aebi and Elias Lagger are ranked No. 21. 
• Phil Exner and Ramon Strassmann are 21-4 together overall with a 5-2 record at No. 1 in duals. 

HEAD COACH JAKE SHOEMAKE

• Is in his first season as the head coach of the Ouachita Baptist men's tennis program. 
• Shoemake lettered for the Tiger tennis team while earning a bachelor's degree in business administration. During his time as an undergraduate, he and the Tigers won three consecutive AIC championships in 1992, 1993, and 1994.
• Most recently, from 2018 until his hire as head coach at Ouachita, Shoemake was the head tennis pro and manager at the Bella Vista (Arkansas) Property Owners Association, where he oversaw the entire tennis program at the Kingsdale Tennis Center.

HISTORY WITH OUACHITA BAPTIST

• Washburn leads the all-time series over Ouachita Baptist 7-3. 
• The Ichabods are 3-1 against the Tigers in neutral court locations. 
• The series began on March 17, 2002 with a 7-1 win for Ouachita Baptist in Arkadelphia, Ark. 
• Last season Washburn faced the Tigers twice, winning both matches. 

ABOUT THE CAMERON AGGIES

• Cameron is 3-5 on the year after falling 4-3 to Southwest Baptist on March 12. 
• Last season the Aggies went 7-10 overall and 5-3 inside the Lone Star Conference, falling in the first round of the LSC Tournament. 
• On the year Cameron is 26-22 (54.2%) in singles duals. 
• In the latest ITA rankings Louis Boilevin ranks No. 32 while Noe Milliard ranks No. 39. 
• Vicente Preto leads the team with a 6-1 singles record, he has gone 3-1 from No. 5. 
• Pavel Kelo is 4-0 on the year in duals with a 3-0 record at No. 3. 
• The Aggies have gone 13-9 (59.1%) in doubles action. 
• Lachlan Setino and Kristian Kubik are 6-1 together overall going 5-1 at No. 2. 

HEAD COACH JOSH COBBLE

• Is in his eighth season as the head men's and women's tennis coach at Cameron. 
• Spent seven years as the head coach at Cowley College where he led the Tigers men's and women's tennis teams to region titles in 2011 and 2012
• Cobble spent two seasons playing for the Tigers, where he advanced to the finals of the national tournament as a freshman, and reached the semifinals in doubles as a sophomore. He then went on to play for James Helvey at Cameron for two seasons.

HISTORY WITH CAMERON

• Cameron leads the all-time series with Washburn 12-2. 
• The Aggies are 0-2 against the Aggies in Lawton, Okla. 
• The series began on March 25, 1995 with a 4-3 win for Cameron in Topeka. 
• The last meeting came last season with a 4-2 win for the Ichabods in Wichita Falls, Tex. on March 8.

MILESTONE MARKERS

• Matthew Earle needs two more doubles victories to reach 50 in his career. 
• Tim Hammes is five doubles wins away from reaching 70 career victories. 
• With five more singles victories Tommy Cecchetti will reach 40 for his career. 

SCHEDULE SPRING FORWARD

• Washburn returns to conference play taking on Newman on Thursday, March 27 at 1 p.m. 
• 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.