TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 1 seed Washburn men's tennis is set for a second-round meeting with the No. 2 seed from the MIAA/GAC South, Harding on Thursday, May 1 at 11 a.m. from the Cooper Tennis Complex.  
  

First Serve 

• No. 9 Washburn men's tennis matches up with the No. 2 seed from the MIAA/GAC South and No. 21 ranked team nationally in Harding.  

• The Ichabods will take on the Bisons on in the semifinal round of the MIAA/GAC Tournament on Thursday, May 1 at a new time, beginning at 11 a.m. from the Cooper Tennis Complex due to rain in the afternoon. 

• Washburn is 17-3 on the year after sweeping Arkansas-Fort Smith 4-0 in the quarterfinal round on Wednesday morning.  

• Harding improved to 15-5 on the year after a 4-0 sweep of its own over Nebraska Kearney on Wednesday afternoon.  

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 30.  

• So far this year Washburn is 5-0 inside Topeka while going 6-2 in road matches and 6-1 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. 4 while Vasek Schneider is ranked No. 8. Pavlos Parson moves to No. 65.  

• On the doubles side Tim Hammes and Matthew Earle are once again ranked No. 1 in the nation.  

• Tommy Cecchetti and Vasek Schneider move down to the No. 23 slot.  

SINGLES SETUP 

• On the year Washburn has gone 160-67 (70.5%) in singles overall and 84-23 in duals.  

• Vasek Schneider is the team leader with 26 victories, he has gone 15-3 in duals, winning his last nine times out. He is 15-2 playing from No. 2 and is 5-0 playing against ranked opponents. 

• Tim Hammes has a 25-6 overall record going 14-5 in duals. He is 13-5 when playing at No. 1 and is 6-4 against ranked opponents.  

• Tommy Cecchetti has a 19-7 record on the year and has 14 victories in duals. He is 14-2 in duals with a 8-1 mark at No. 4.  

• Pavlos Parson is 20-7 on the year in singles, going 13-3 in duals overall and 10-3 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. 

• 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 73-38 (65.8%) across their doubles matches this season and are 41-13 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 have the most victories together of any duo, going 23-7 overall with an 16-3 mark in duals from No. 2.  

• Zino Nahirniak and Moritz Pieper have posted a 7-3 record together all coming at No. 3.  

• Pavlos Parson and Moritz Pieper have won the last three times together for a 4-3 record as a duo, going 2-0 from No. 3.  

• Tommy Cecchetti and Matthew Earle are tied for a team-high 24 victories this season. Cecchetti is 24-9 while Earle is 24-8.  

• Vasek Schneider is just behind at 23 victories and a 23-9 mark.  

Last Time Out 

Washburn 4, Arkansas-Fort Smith 0 (April 30, 2025) 

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Top-seeded and No. 9 nationally ranked Washburn worked a swift 4-0 win over the No. 4 seed Arkansas-Fort Smith to advance into the semifinal round of the MIAA/GAC Tournament on Wednesday morning. The Ichabods will face the winner of Nebraska Kearney and Harding at 2 p.m. on Thursday.   

Moritz Pieper and Pavlos Parson led off the match working a quick 6-2 win on court three in doubles. Tommy Cecchetti and Vasek Schneider followed just behind, pulling away in the middle for a 6-3 win at No. 2, clinching the point for Washburn (17-3).   

Vasek Schneider led off singles play with a 6-1 win in his first set from No. 2 against No. 58 Juan Rosello of Arkansas-Fort Smith (6-13). He played an extra game in the second, overcoming an early deficit to win 7-5 and put another point on the board.   

On court three, Pavlos Parson needed an extra game in his third set but came away with a 7-5 win to take the advantage. He repeated the same process in the second, pulling away late to win 7-5 and set up match point.   

Tim Hammes went into a tiebreaker at No. 1 in his first set against No. 35 Eduardo Bribiesca, coming up just short 7-6(7). He bounced back with a 6-2 win in the second set and carried the momentum into a 6-2 third set, match-clinching victory. Tommy Cecchetti had begun his first set at No. 4, leading 3-2 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 170-57 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 HARDING BISONS 

• Harding improved to 15-5 on the year and won a third straight match with a 4-0 sweep over Nebraska Kearney in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.  

• 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 Harding is 103-60 (62.8%) in singles play while going 70-41 in duals.  

• Cas de Ruiter checks in at No. 10 in the ITA rankings for singles while Adrian Solorzano is ranked No. 22.  

• Adrian Solorzano has a team-high 19 victories with a 14-5 record in duals at No. 2.  

• Cas de Ruiter is 17-12 on the year going 11-9 from court one and is 5-4 against ranked opponents this season.  

• In doubles competition the Bisons have gone 50-29 (64.1%) overall and 39-18 in duals.  

• Cas de Ruiter and Adrian Solorzano are ranked No. 11 nationally in doubles. The duo has gone 15-9 on the year and 12-5 from the top spot in the lineup.  

• Florian Gayme and Cian Mikkelsen are 15-8 together with a 11-6 record from 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 8-2.  

• The Ichabods are 5-1 against the Bisons in neutral court matches.  

• The series began on April 4, 2015 with a 5-4 win for Washburn in Springfield, Mo.  

• In the only meeting this season the Ichabods won 6-1 in a top-10 neutral-court battle in Edmond, Okla. On March 15.  

SCHEDULE SPRING FORWARD 

• With a win, Washburn would face the winner of the match between Ouachita Baptist and Southern Arkansas at 9 a.m. on Friday for the Championship.  

• The NCAA Central Region Championships will be held between May 9-11.