TOPEKA, Kan. -- The No. 9 ranked Ichabod men's tennis squad plays its final match of the regular season and hosts senior day on Saturday, April 26 at 1 p.m. against Arkansas-Fort Smith. 

First Serve

• No. 9 Washburn men's tennis plays its final match of the regular season as they face new conference foe Arkansas-Fort Smith. 
• The Ichabods will host the Lions at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 26 at the Washburn Tennis Complex for senior day. 
• Senior day presentations are set to begin at 10:30 a.m. on the Washburn Tennis Courts for both the men's and women's teams. 
• Washburn is 15-3 on the year and 5-0 inside the MIAA/GAC North after defeating Newman 7-0 on Tuesday. 
• Arkansas-Fort Smith is 6-10 overall and 1-3 in the MIAA/GAC South division after a 5-2 win over Southeastern Oklahoma State at home on April 18. They will face Emporia State before taking on the Ichabods. 

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

• Before the match on Saturday the Ichabods will recognize its four seniors: Tim Hammes, Matthew Earle, Daniel Harkin and Matthew Earle. 
• The four have combined to spend 12 seasons with Washburn. 
• Tim Hammes nears the tops of the program charts in both singles and doubles. he has a 78-29 career record in singles while posting a 71-25 mark in doubles. He is a three time All-American, the 2022 MIAA/GAC Freshman of the Year and a two-time ITA National Champion. 
• Matthew Earle has spent four seasons in the Ichabod program where he has a 54-28 career record in doubles and 28-24 in singles. He is a one-time All-American in doubles and an ITA National Champion in doubles. 
• Daniel Harkin has been with Washburn for three seasons where he has a 20-14 career mark in singles and a 12-8 mark in doubles. 
• Vasek Schneider is in his first season with the Ichabods and has gone 24-7 in singles and 21-7 in doubles. 

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. 9 in the latest ITA rankings. 
• Washburn was picked to finish first in the MIAA/GAC Preseason Coaches Poll. 
• The Ichabods are ranked No. 1 in the latest NCAA Central Region rankings released on April 23. 
• So far this year Washburn is 4-0 inside Topeka while going 6-2 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 nine victories over ranked opponents on the year. They are 9-2 overall in those matches. 

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. 58. 
• On the doubles side Tim Hammes and Matthew Earle are ranked No. 2 in the nation. 
• Tommy Cecchetti and Vasek Schneider move up one spot to No. 17.

SINGLES SETUP

• On the year Washburn has gone 151-67 (69.3%) in singles overall and 75-23 in duals. 
• Vasek Schneider is the team leader with 24 victories, he has gone 13-3 in duals, winning his last seven times out. He is 13-2 playing from No. 2 and is 4-0 playing against ranked opponents.
• Tim Hammes has a 23-6 overall record going 12-5 in duals. He is 11-5 when playing at No. 1 and is 4-4 against ranked opponents. 
• Tommy Cecchetti has a 19-7 record on the year with a team-high 14 victories in duals. He is 14-2 in duals with a 8-1 mark at No. 4. 
• Pavlos Parson is 18-7 on the year in singles, going 11-3 in duals overall and 8-3 from No. 3. 
• Matthew Earle is 13-12 on the year in singles competition and has gone 9-6 in duals from No. 3-6.
• Zino Nahirniak is 11-1 on the year, all coming in duals and has won his last four times out. He is 7-1 playing at No. 6. 
• Moritz Pieper has gone 7-6 in singles play on the year with a 2-0 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 68-38 (64.2%) across their doubles matches this season and are 36-13 in duals. 
• Tim Hammes and Matthew Earle have a 21-5 record together, going 11-4 in duals all at No. 1. They are 2-1 against ranked opponents. 
• Tommy Cecchetti and Vasek Schneider are also tied for the most victories together of any duo, going 21-7 overall with an 14-3 mark in duals from No. 2. 
• Zino Nahirniak and Moritz Pieper have posted a 6-3 record together all coming at No. 3. 
• Graham Faris and Yoshinobu Nakatsuji have gone 4-0 together this season with a 1-0 record in duals at No. 3. 
• Matthew Earle leads the team with 23 doubles victories on the year, he is 23-8 overall. 
• Tommy Cecchetti is second on the team with 22 victories and a 22-9 overall record. 

Last Time Out

Washburn 7, Newman 0 (April 12, 2025)

TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 7 Washburn worked its fifth straight victory and stayed undefeated in conference play Tuesday afternoon, sweeping Newman 7-0. The Ichabods wrap up the regular season hosting Arkansas-Fort Smith on Saturday at 1 p.m.  

Tim Hammes and Matthew Earle led off the match on the top court, winning 6-2. Graham Faris and Yoshinobu Nakatsuji teamed up for the first time in the spring to secure the doubles point for the Ichabods (15-3, 5-0), coming back from an early deficit to win 6-3 at No. 3. Pavlos Parson and Moritz Pieper completed the sweep of the Jets (6-11, 1-6) in doubles with a 6-4 win at No. 2.  

Tommy Cecchetti made quick work in his singles match, winning 6-2 and 6-1 sets in just over an hour of action on court three. Tim Hammes battled for a 6-4 win in his opening set on the first court before completing his match with a 6-3 win in the second to bring up match point. Pavlos Parson followed, winning 6-3 in the first and 6-4 in the second set at No. 2 to deliver the clinching point.  

Zino Nahirniak delivered a nearly clean first set, winning 6-1 before following with a 6-3 victory in set two, adding another point from No. 4. Moritz Pieper dropped three combined games in a two-set victory on court six, winning 6-2 and 6-1. Matthew Earle made it a clean sweep of all 12 singles sets, winning 6-4 in the first at 6-1 in the second at No. 5 to finish 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 166-57 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 ARKANSAS-FORT SMITH LIONS

• Arkansas-Fort Smith improved to 6-10 overall and 1-3 inside the MIAA/GAC South after defeating Southeastern Oklahoma State 5-2 in April 18 last time out. They will face Emporia State on Friday before taking on the Ichabods.
• Last season they went 3-13 overall, losing in the first round of the LSC Conference Tournament. 
• This year they are 4-3 playing in Fort Smith, 2-5 on the road and 0-2 in neutral court matches. 
• In singles action Arkansas-Fort Smith has a 40-49 (44.9%) record overall. 
• Eduardo Bribliesca is ranked No. 49 nationally in singles. He leads the team with a 12-3 singles record all coming at No. 1. 
• Juan Rosello is 10-5 on the year with an 8-5 mark at No. 2. 
• The Lions are 18-29 (38.3%) on the year in doubles. 
• Ania Ramchane and Juan Rosello are 7-5 together with a 5-5 record from No. 1. 

HEAD COACH MIKE PHILLIPS

• Is in his 1st season as the head men's and women's tennis coach at Arkansas-Fort Smith. 
• Phillips comes to UAFS after coaching at the Walton Family Whole Health and Fitness Center in Bentonville and Kingsdale Tennis Center in Bella Vista, Arkansas. 
• Mike previously coached at the NCAA level for the Brooklyn College men's and women's tennis teams in 2015-2016.

HISTORY WITH ARKANSAS-FORT SMITH

• Washburn leads the all-time series over Arkansas-Fort Smith 2-0. 
• The Ichabods have not faced the Lions in Topeka. 
• The series began on February 24, 2012 with a 8-1 win for Washburn in Fort Smith, Ar. 
• The most recent meeting came on February 2, 2013 with an 8-1 win for the Ichabods in Springfield, Mo. 

MILESTONE MARKERS

• Tim Hammes is two singles victories away from reaching 80 in his career. 
• Pavlos Parson needs two victories to reach 40 career singles wins with Washburn. 
• Vasek Schneider is one singles victory away from reaching 25 in his first season in Topeka. 

SCHEDULE SPRING FORWARD

• Washburn will enter the MIAA/GAC Tournament in Springfield, Mo. at the Cooper Tennis Complex beginning on Wednesday, April 30. 
• The NCAA Central Region Championships will be held between May 9-11.