TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 7 Washburn men's tennis will face off with the lone other undefeated MIAA/GAC North foe on Saturday as the travel to face No. 49 Northwest Missouri State at 10:30 a.m. 

First Serve

• No. 7 Washburn men's tennis heads on the road to face No. 49 Northwest Missouri State. 
• The Ichabods will take on the Bearcats on the Frank Grube Courts at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 19. 
• Washburn is 13-3 on the year and 3-0 inside the MIAA/GAC after defeating Emporia State 6-1 at home on April 9.
• Northwest Missouri State moved to 11-7 overall and 6-1 against the MIAA/GAC with a 4-3 win over Newman last time out. They will face Emporia State on Friday before taking on the Ichabods. 

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. 7 in the latest ITA rankings. 
• Washburn was picked to finish first in the MIAA/GAC Preseason Coaches Poll. 
• So far this year Washburn is 3-0 inside Topeka while going 5-2 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. 
• The Ichabods have eight victories over ranked opponents on the year. They are 8-2 overall in those matches. 

AROUND THE RANKINGS

• In the ITA singles rankings Tim Hammes ranks No. 5 while Vasek Schneider is ranked No. 8. Pavlos Parson moves to No. 52. 
• On the doubles side Tim Hammes and Matthew Earle are back in the top spot at No. 1 in the nation. 
• Tommy Cecchetti and Vasek Schneider move to the No. 18 spot. 

SINGLES SETUP

• On the year Washburn has gone 141-65 (68.4%) in singles overall and 65-21 in duals. 
• Vasek Schneider is the team leader with 23 victories, he has gone 12-3 in duals, winning his last five times out. He is 12-2 playing from No. 2 and is 4-0 playing against ranked opponents.
• Tim Hammes has a 21-6 overall record going 10-5 in duals. He is 9-5 when playing at No. 1 and is 3-4 against ranked opponents. 
• Tommy Cecchetti has a 18-6 record on the year with a team-high 13 victories in duals. He is 13-1 in duals with a 8-0 mark at No. 4. 
• Pavlos Parson is 17-6 on the year in singles, going 8-2 at No. 3 in duals. He has won his last seven times out.
• Matthew Earle is 11-12 on the year in singles competition and has gone 7-6 in duals from No. 3-6.
• Zino Nahirniak is 9-1 on the year, all coming in duals. He is 7-1 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 3-3 in singles this year, all in duals going 2-1 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 63-37 (63.0%) across their doubles matches this season and are 31-12 in duals. 
• Tim Hammes and Matthew Earle have a 19-5 record together, going 9-4 in duals all at No. 1. They are 2-1 against ranked opponents. 
• Tommy Cecchetti and Vasek Schneider have the most victories together of any duo, going 20-7 overall with an 13-3 mark in duals from No. 2. 
• Zino Nahirniak and Moritz Pieper have posted a 6-2 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 are tied for the team-lead with 21 doubles victories.
• Vasek Schneider follows just behind with 20 on the year. 

Last Time Out

Washburn 6, Emporia State 1 (April 9, 2025)

TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 7 Washburn rolled to a second straight ranked victory taking down No. 40 Emporia State 6-1 on Wednesday afternoon. The Ichabods are in action next on Sunday, April 13 facing Southeastern Oklahoma State at 10 a.m.  

Doubles play began on court two with Tommy Cecchetti and Vasek Schneider working a 6-2 win. Matthew Earle and Tim Hammes followed just behind, cruising to a 6-1 win over No. 45 Aleix Mattenberger and Gwendal Mazuay to clinch the point. Tommy Cecchetti and Vasek Schneider followed just behind with a 6-2 win at No. 2 to clinch the point. Zino Nahirniak and Moritz Pieper made it a double sweep for Washburn (13-3, 3-0 MIAA/GAC), winning 6-3 on court three.  

Tommy Cecchetti led off singles play, working quickly for a 6-4 win in the first set at No. 4 and carrying the momentum into a 6-2 win in the second. Pavlos Parson played a quick three-set match at No. 3, winning 6-1 in the first before falling 6-4 in the second. He bounced back with a quick 6-1 win in the third to add another point. The Hornets (9-5, 1-2 MIAA/GAC) got on the board as Matthew Earle fell in two sets from No. 6, 6-3, 6-4.  

Zino Nahirniak got out to an early lead in both sets and didn't let up, winning 6-3 in the first and 6-2 in the second at No. 5 to clinch the match. After splitting the first two sets 6-2 one going each way, Vasek Schneider came out on top of a third 6-2 set at No. 2. Tim Hammes won 6-4 in the first before falling 6-3 in the second set at the top court. He bounced back to knock off No. 17 Anton Sarunic 6-2 in the third set to finish out the match.  

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 163-56 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 NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE BEARCATS

• Northwest Missouri State moved to 11-7 on the year and 6-1 in conference play after defeating Newman 4-3 last time out. They will face Emporia State on Friday before taking on the Ichabods.
• They are ranked No. 49 nationally in the latest ITA rankings.  
• Last season the Bearcats went 13-7 overall and 5-3 in the MIAA/GAC, falling in the first round of the MIAA/GAC Tournament. 
• This year they are 3-2 when playing at the Frank Gaube Courts, 7-4 on the road and 1-1 in neutral court matches. 
• Dominik Wijntjes is ranked No. 21 nationally in singles while Antonin LeBorne is ranked No. 75. 
• The Bearcats are 70-55 (56.0%) overall in singles play overall with a 59-47 record in duals. 
• Dominik Wijntjes is 17-4 on the year with a 7-0 record at No. 2 and is 5-1 against ranked opponents. 
• Antonin Leborne has a 15-4 overall record playing at four spots and is 7-1 from No. 4. 
• Northwest Missouri has gone 23-36 (39.0%) in doubles play this season with a 21-31 record in duals. 
• Dominik Wijntjes and Antonin Leborne are 12-3 together playing at No. 2 and No. 3. 

HEAD COACH MARK ROSEWELL

• Mark Rosewell is in his 41st season as the head coach at Northwest Missouri State for the men's and women's tennis programs. 
• Has 1,239 victories at Northwest, most of any coach at Northwest, and 29 MIAA Regular Season Championships and 10 MIAA Tournament Championships with 41 NCAA Tournament Appeareances.
• Roswell served as head tennis coach for both the Mules and Jennies of Central Missouri while working on his master's degree. He was 22-27 at UCM as head coach in two seasons

HISTORY WITH NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE

• Northwest Missouri State leads the all-time series with Washburn 50-17. 
• The Ichabods are 5-21 against the Bearcats in Maryville. 
• The series began on April 6, 1968 with a 5-4 win for Northwest Missouri State at home. 
• Washburn has won the last two meetings including a 7-0 win on the road last season. 

MILESTONE MARKERS

• Tim Hammes is one doubles win away from reaching 70 career victories. 
• Pavlos Parson needs three victories to reach 40 career singles wins with Washburn. 
• Vasek Schneider is two singles victories away from reaching 25 in his first season in Topeka. 

SCHEDULE SPRING FORWARD

• Washburn returns home for a midweek match against Newman on Tuesday, April 22. 
• 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.