TOPEKA, Kan. -- The top seed from the MIAA/GAC North Division, Washburn men's tennis begins its quest for a third straight conference tournament title taking on No. 4 Arkansas-Fort Smith on Wednesday, April 30 at 9 a.m. from the Cooper Tennis Complex.
First Serve
- No. 9 Washburn men's tennis begins the MIAA/GAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed in the north division where they will face the No. 4 seed from the south Arkansas-Fort Smith for a second straight match.
- The Ichabods will take on the Lions on Wednesday, April 30 in Springfield, Mo. at the Cooper Tennis Complex beginning at 9 a.m.
- Washburn is 16-3 on the year and 5-0 inside the MIAA/GAC North after defeating the Lions in the regular season finale.
- Arkansas-Fort Smith is 6-12 overall entering the tournament with a 1-3 record inside the MIAA/GAC South Division after losing to Washburn last time out.
TOURNAMENT TIME
- Washburn begins a quest for a third straight MIAA/GAC Tournament Championship this time in Springfield, Mo.
- The eight-team field is comprised of four teams each from the MIAA/GAC North and South divisions.
- The Ichabods are the top seed from the north, followed by Northwest Missouri, Nebraska Kearney and Emporia State in order. From the south, Ouachita Baptist is the top seed, with Harding at No. 2, Southern Arkansas in the three spot and Arkansas-Fort Smith at No. 4.
- With a win Washburn would face the winner between Harding and Nebraska Kearney at 2 p.m. on Thursday. The Championship match is set for 9 a.m. on Friday.
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
- Washburn had six players earn All-MIAA/GAC honors that were released on Tuesday afternoon with a pair of individual honors as well.
- Kirby Ronning was named MIAA/GAC Coach of the Year for a second time in his career and a second straight season.
- Tim Hammes was named the MIAA/GAC Player of the Year as well as being named a first team selection in singles.
- Vasek Schneider also earned first team honors in singles.
- Tim Hammes got a clean sweep of first team recognition as he and Matthew Earle landed on the first team in doubles.
- Vasek Schneider and Tommy Cecchetti were also members of the first team for doubles.
- Pavlos Parson earned a second team nod in singles while Matthew Earle, Tommy Cecchetti and Zino Nahirniak were all honorable mentions in singles.
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 5-0 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
SINGLES SETUP
- On the year Washburn has gone 157-67 (70.1%) in singles overall and 81-23 in duals.
- Vasek Schneider is the team leader with 25 victories, he has gone 14-3 in duals, winning his last eight times out. He is 14-2 playing from No. 2 and is 4-0 playing against ranked opponents.
- Tim Hammes has a 24-6 overall record going 13-5 in duals. He is 12-5 when playing at No. 1 and is 5-4 against ranked opponents.
- Tommy Cecchetti has a 19-7 record on the year and is tied for a team-high 14 victories in duals. He is 14-2 in duals with a 8-1 mark at No. 4.
- Pavlos Parson is 19-7 on the year in singles, going 12-3 in duals overall and 9-3 from No. 3.
- Matthew Earle is 14-12 on the year in singles competition and has gone 10-6 in duals from No. 3-6.
- Zino Nahirniak is 12-1 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 71-38 (65.1%) across their doubles matches this season and are 39-13 in duals.
- Tim Hammes and Matthew Earle have a 22-5 record together, going 12-4 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 22-7 overall with an 15-3 mark in duals from No. 2.
- Zino Nahirniak and Moritz Pieper have posted a 7-3 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 24 doubles victories on the year, he is 24-8 overall.
- Tommy Cecchetti is second on the team with 23 victories and a 23-9 overall record.
Last Time Out
Washburn 7, Arkansas-Fort Smith 0 (April 26, 2025)
TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 9 Washburn finished out the regular season with a second straight sweep on Saturday afternoon defeating Arkansas-Fort Smith 7-0. The Ichabods will enter the MIAA/GAC Tournament next Wednesday, April 30 as the No. 1 seed on the North side and will square off with the Lions once again in the first round.
Moritz Pieper and Pavlos Parson worked quickly, beginning the match with a 6-0 win at No. 3. Tommy Cecchetti and Vasek Schneider clinched the point for Washburn (16-3) with a 6-3 win at No. 2. Matthew Earle and Tim Hammes made it a sweep of Arkansas-Fort Smith (6-12) in doubles, winning 6-3 as well on the top court.
After winning his first set 6-3, Vasek Schneider cruised to a 6-0 win at No. 2 to begin singles play. Tim Hammes worked a 6-3 win in the first set at No. 1 and played an extra game in the second, but came out on top 7-5 over No. 49 Eduardo Bribliesca to bring up match point. Pavlos Parson clinched the match with a pair of 6-4 sets at No. 3.
Zino Nahirniak led off the second round of singles with a pair of 6-4 wins at No. 4 to add another point. In his first set at No. 5, Matthew Earle fell 6-1. He bounced back quickly, winning 6-0 in the second and carried the momentum into a 10-4 10-point tiebreaker win. Daniel Harkin worked a 6-4 win in his first set from court six and pulled away in the second, winning 6-1 to close out the regular season finale sweep.
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 169-57 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 fell to 6-12 overall and 1-3 inside the MIAA/GAC South after losing 7-0 to Washburn in the regular season finale on April 26.
- 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, 2-7 on the road and 0-2 in neutral court matches.
- In singles action Arkansas-Fort Smith has a 40-58 (40.8%) record overall.
- Eduardo Bribliesca is ranked No. 49 nationally in singles. He leads the team with a 12-4 singles record all coming at No. 1.
- Juan Rosello is 10-6 on the year with an 8-6 mark at No. 2.
- The Lions are 18-34 (35.8%) 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 3-0.
- The Ichabods are 1-0 against the Lions in the neutral court location of Springfield, winning a 8-1 match on February 2, 2013.
- The series began on February 24, 2012 with a 8-1 win for Washburn in Fort Smith, Ar.
- Last time out the Ichabods swept Arkansas-Fort Smith in April 26.
MILESTONE MARKERS
- Tim Hammes is one singles victory away from reaching 80 in his career.
- Pavlos Parson needs one victory to reach 40 career singles wins with Washburn.
SCHEDULE SPRING FORWARD
- With a win, Washburn would face the winner of the match between Harding and Nebraska Kearney at 2 p.m. on Thursday.
- The NCAA Central Region Championships will be held between May 9-11.
