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Washburn tennis vs Pratt CC - Feb. 28, 2025.
Kyle Manthe/Assistant Director Athletic Communications

No. 8 Washburn returns home hosting Jets and Muleriders

3/26/2025 4:03:00 PM

TOPEKA, Kan. -- After a week away Washburn men's tennis returns home to face Newman and Southern Arkansas over the weekend. 
 

First Serve

  • No. 8 Washburn men's tennis heads returns home for two matches on the week as they face Newman and Southern Arkansas. 
  • The Ichabods will face the Jets at 1 p.m. on Thursday before facing the Muleriders at 2 p.m. on Saturday. 
  • Washburn is 10-3 on the year and 1-0 inside the MIAA/GAC after falling 4-3 to Cameron on March 17 last time out. 
  • Newman enters the match with a 6-5 record and a 1-0 mark in conference play. Southern Arkansas is 8-6 and also 1-0 in MIAA play. 

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. 8 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 4-2 in road matches and 5-1 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. 3 while Vasek Schneider is ranked No. 8. Pavlos Parson moves to No. 57. 
  • 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. 7. 
  • SINGLES SETUP
  • On the year Washburn has gone 128-60 (68.1%) in singles overall and 52-16 in duals. 
  • Tim Hammes is tied for the team lead with 20 singles victories. He has a 20-4 record while going 9-3 in duals at No. 1 and No. 2. 
  • Vasek Schneider also has 20 victories. He is 20-7 on the year with a 9-3 record in duals, he is 9-2 at No. 2. 
  • Tommy Cecchetti has a 15-6 record on the year with a team-high 10 victories in duals. He is 10-1 in duals with a 5-0 mark at No. 4. 
  • Pavlos Parson is 14-6 on the year in singles, going 5-2 at No. 3 in duals. He has won his last four times out.
  • Matthew Earle is 10-11 on the year in singles competition and has gone 6-5 in duals from No. 3-5.
  • Zino Nahirniak is 7-1 on the year, all coming in duals. He is 6-1 playing at 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 57-35 (62.0%) across their doubles matches this season and are 25-10 in duals. 
  • Tim Hammes and Matthew Earle have a 17-5 record together, going 7-4 in duals all at No. 1. They are 1-1 against ranked opponents. 
  • Tommy Cecchetti and Vasek Schneider have the most victories together of any duo, going 18-6 overall with an 11-2 mark in duals from No. 2. 
  • Zino Nahirniak and Moritz Pieper have posted a 4-1 record together all coming at No. 3. 
  • Graham Faris and Daniel Harkin went 4-2 playing together at fall tournaments. 
  • Matthew Earle and Tommy Cecchetti each have the most wins in doubles with 19, both are 19-8 on the year. 
  • Vasek Schneider is just behind them with 18 victories, he is 18-6. 

Last Time Out

Cameron 4, Washburn 3 (March 17, 2025)

LAWTON, Okla. -- No. 5 Washburn came up just short Monday afternoon, losing 4-3 on the road to Cameron in the final game of its road swing. The Ichabods will return to play on March 27, when they host Newman.  

The Aggies (4-5) got off to a quick start in doubles, defeating Matthew Earle and Tim Hammes 6-2 at No. 1. Zino Nahirniak and Moritz Pieper evened things up with a swift 6-1 win from No. 3. On court two, Tommy Cecchetti and Vasek Schneider battled for a 6-4 win, claiming the first point of the match for Washburn (10-3).  

The Ichabods added another point to begin singles play with Vasek Schneider working a two-set win at No. 2, 6-2 and 6-4. Pavlos Parson followed with a two set win of his own on court three, winning 6-2 in the first and 6-1 in the second. Tim Hammes split each of his first two sets against No. 32 Louis Boilevin, both 7-5. In the third he fell 6-3 as Cameron got on the board.  

Matthew Earle lost a pair of sets at No. 4, 6-2, 6-4, followed by Zino Nahirniak also falling at No. 6, 6-3, 6-4 to tie the match. Tommy Cecchetti worked quickly in his first set at No. 5, winning 6-1. The next two sets both went to the Aggies 6-3 as they completed the comeback victory.    

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 155-56 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 NEWMAN JETS

  • Newman is 6-5 on the year and 1-0 inside the MIAA after defeating William Jewell 5-2 last time out. 
  • Last season they went 10-12 overall and 2-7 inside the MIAA, missing out on the MIAA Tournament. 

HEAD COACH BRADY MATTHEWS

  • Is in his 1st season as the head men's and women's tennis coach at Newman. 
  • Spent one season as an assistant coach at Cowley County CC. 
  • Before joining Cowley College, Brady Matthews was an assistant men's and women's tennis coach at Southeastern Oklahoma State University.

HISTORY WITH NEWMAN

  • Washburn leads the all-time series over Newman 15-1. 
  • The Ichabods are 12-0 against the Jets in Topeka. 
  • The series began on April 19, 1976 with a 8-1 win for Washburn at home. 
  • Last season the Ichabods swept the only meeting, winning 7-0 in Wichita on April 4. 

ABOUT THE SOUTHERN ARKANSAS MULERIDERS

  • Southern Arkansas is 8-6 on the year and 1-0 inside the conference after defeating Southwest Baptist 4-0 last time out. 
  • Last season the Muleriders went 14-8 overall and 2-2 inside the MIAA. They advanced to the NCAA Round of 16. 
  • On the singles side of the ITA rankings Tim Fischer is ranked No. 47 and Mathys Pinoit is slotted No. 72. 
  • Southern Arkansas is 18-22 overall in singles play. 
  • Jinsei Tajima is 4-3 overall and 3-1 at No. 5 singles. 
  • Mathys Pinoit and Niklas Muller are ranked No. 46 nationally in doubles. They are 3-1 together this season. 

HEAD COACH GREG OWEN

  • Is in his eighth season as the head coach for the men's and women's tennis programs at Southern Arkansas.
  • Owen comes to SAU from Seward County Community College (Liberal, Kan.) where he was into his third season as head men's and women's tennis coach.
  • A native of Henryetta, Okla., Owen played collegiately for a season at Seminole State College (Seminole, Okla.) and then his final three seasons at GAC-rival Southeastern Oklahoma State University (Durant, Okla.).

HISTORY WITH SOUTHERN ARKANSAS

  • Southern Arkansas leads the all-time series over Washburn 4-2.
  • The Ichabods are 0-1 against the Muleriders in Topeka. 
  • The series began on February 15, 2019 with a 4-3 win for Southern Arkansas in Midlothian, Texas.
  • Last season the Muleriders won 4-3 in Edmond, Okla. on April 21. 

MILESTONE MARKERS

  • Tim Hammes is three doubles wins away from reaching 70 career victories. 
  • With three more singles victories Tommy Cecchetti will reach 40 for his career. 
  • Pavlos Parson needs six victories to reach 40 career singles wins with Washburn. 

SCHEDULE SPRING FORWARD

  • Washburn heads on the road to face Nebraska Kearney on Saturday, April 5 at 10 a.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.  
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