TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 9 Washburn men's tennis continues its NCAA National Championships run as the No. 7 seed where they will face No. 3 ranked and the No. 2 seed Barry in the National Quarterfinals on Wednesday, May 21 at 2 p.m. CST in Altamonte Springs, Fla.  

First Serve 

• For the second time in program history No. 9 Washburn men's tennis is in the National Quarterfinals taking on No. 3 Barry.  

• The No. 7 seeded Ichabods will face the No. 2 seed Bucs at 2 p.m. CST on Wednesday, May 21 in Altamonte Springs, Fla. from Sanlando Park.  

• Washburn is 21-3 on the year after defeating No. 13 Concordia University Irvine in the first round of the NCAA National Championships on Tuesday afternoon.  

• Barry moved to 21-3 on the year after a 4-1 win over Ouachita Baptist in the Round of 16 on Tuesday.  

TOURNAMENT TIME 

• Washburn is making a 19th appearances in the NCAA Tournament.  

• The Ichabods are 16-18 all-time in the tournament. In the NCAA National National Quarterfinals they are 0-1 with a 5-1 loss to UIndy.  

• The only team to advance into the national quarterfinals was the 2017-18 squad after defeating No. 3 Lander University 5-3 in the first round.  

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.  

• So far this year Washburn is 6-0 inside Topeka while going 6-2 in road matches and 9-1 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 twelve victories over ranked opponents on the year. They are 12-2 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 ranked No. 1 in the nation.  

• Tommy Cecchetti and Vasek Schneider move to No. 23.  

SINGLES SETUP 

• On the year Washburn has gone 173-69 (71.5%) in singles overall and 97-25 in duals.  

• Vasek Schneider is the team leader with 29 victories, he has gone 18-3 in duals, winning his last twelve times out. He is 18-2 playing from No. 2 and is 6-0 playing against ranked opponents. 

• Tim Hammes has a 27-7 overall record going 16-6 in duals. He is 15-6 when playing at No. 1 and is 7-5 against ranked opponents.  

• Tommy Cecchetti has a 21-7 record on the year with 16 victories in duals. He is 16-2 in duals with a 10-1 mark at No. 4.  

• Pavlos Parson is 22-8 on the year in singles, going 15-4 in duals overall and 12-4 from No. 3.  

• Matthew Earle is 17-12 on the year in singles competition and has gone 13-6 in duals from No. 3-6 including a 4-1 record at No. 6.  

• Zino Nahirniak is 13-1 on the year, all coming in duals and has won his last five 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 80-43 (65.0%) across their doubles matches this season and are 48-18 in duals.  

• Tim Hammes and Matthew Earle have a 23-8 record together, going 13-7 in duals all at No. 1. They are 3-3 against ranked opponents.  

• Tommy Cecchetti and Vasek Schneider have the most victories together of any duo, going 27-7 overall with an 20-3 mark in duals from No. 2.  

• Pavlos Parson and Moritz Pieper are 6-5 together on the year with a 4-2 record at No. 3.  

• Zino Nahirniak and Moritz Pieper have posted a 6-3 record together all coming at No. 3.  

• Tommy Cecchetti leads the team in doubles victories with a 28-9 record on the year.  

• Vasek Schneider is just behind him at 27 doubles victories and a 27-7 record.  

Last Time Out 

Washburn 4, Concordia University Irvine 0 (May 20, 2025) 

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. -- No. 9 Washburn men's tennis is advancing to its second ever NCAA National Quarterfinals after defeating No. 13 Concordia University Irvine 4-2 in the opening round of the NCAA National Championships on Tuesday afternoon. The Ichabods will take on the No. 2 seed and No. 3 nationally ranked Barry at 2 p.m. CST on Wednesday.   

It was the Golden Eagles (20-4) who led off the match with the No. 7 ranked duo of Max Mueller and Felix Veyhle winning 6-2 over Tim Hammes and Matthew Earle on the top court in doubles. Tommy Cecchetti and Vasek Schneider evened doubles up for Washburn (21-3), winning 6-4 at No. 2. The first point was closed out from No. 3 for Concordia University Irvine with Moritz Pieper and Pavlos Parson falling 6-3.   

Tim Hammes led off singles play tying the match up with 6-1 and 6-2 set victories at No. 1 in under an hour. After pulling away late in the first set, Tommy Cecchetti won 6-3 at No. 4. He carried the momentum into a 5-0 lead in the second set before his opponent retired, giving the Ichabods a lead. Matthew Earle was steady throughout his dual on court six, winning a pair of 6-3 sets to bring up match point.   

Pavlos Parson took his first set into an extra game but came up just short, falling 7-5 at No. 3. He lost 6-0 in the second set as the Golden Eagles got on the board in singles action. Vasek Schneider played the longest first set of all six duals, coming away with a 7-6(6) tiebreaking win at No. 2. He started out the second set with a 3-0 lead before closing out the set and match with a 6-2 win, sending the Ichabods into the National Semifinals. Zino Nahirniak was tied 2-2 in his third set at No. 5 after splitting the first two sets 6-3 each way.  

Washburn will make its first appearance in the NCAA National Quarterfinals since the 2017-18 squad finished its season in the final eight. 

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 174-59 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 BARRY BUCS 

• No. 2 seeded Barry enters the National Semifinals on a five-match winning streak after knocking off No. 36 Ouachita Baptist in the Round of 16 on Tuesday. They are 21-3 on the year.  

• Last season the Bucs went 17-5 overall, winning the Sunshine State Conference Tournament before falling 4-0 to Valdosta State in the NCAA South Region Championship.  

• They are ranked No. 3 in the latest ITA rankings from April 30.  

• This year they are 7-1 playing at the Buccaneer Tennis Center with an 8-1 record on the road and a 6-1 mark in neutral court matches.  

• Barry is 88-29 (75.2%) overall in singles play with a 13-7 record against nationally ranked opponents.  

• Yan Kodjoed is ranked No. 33 in the nation while Riccardo Trione is just behind at No. 38 in singles.  

• Gabriele Felline is tied for the team lead going 11-5 in singles on the year at No. 1 and No. 2. He is 7-4 playing on court two.  

• Adam Lynch is 11-0 on the year in singles going 6-0 at No. 5.  

• Tim Riedel and Gabriele Felline are ranked No. 36 in doubles by the ITA. Adam Lynch and Leo Caill are just behind at No. 38.  

• In doubles competition the Buccaneers have gone 42-23 (64.6%) in duals with a 1-8 record against ranked opponents.  

• Tim Riedel and Gabriele Felline are 16-5 together this season all coming at No. 2.  

• Leo Caill and Adam Lynch are 6-3 this season as a duo all on court one.  

HEAD COACH AVI KIGEL 

• Avi Kigel took over the reins of the Buccaneer women's tennis program for the 2009 season 

• Entering the 2024 dual season, Kigel owns a 358-24 overall record with a school and NCAA-record eight NCAA Division II Championships. including the last six in a row on the women's side, breaking the Division II record previously held by Southern Illinois-Edwardsville 

• Kigel received a bachelor of science degree in 1999 from Norfolk State in health and fitness and a master's degree in exercise science from Barry in 2004. 

HISTORY WITH BARRY 

• Barry leads the all-time series with Washburn 1-0.  

• The one meeting came in the Round of 16 with a 5-1 loss for the Ichabods on May 14, 2008 in Houston, Texas.  

MILESTONE MARKERS 

• Tommy Cecchetti is seven singles wins away from reaching 50 in his career.  

• To reach 50 career singles victories at Washburn, Pavlos Parson needs eight more wins.  

• Tim Hammes needs is two doubles victories away from 75 in his career.  

SCHEDULE SPRING FORWARD 

• With a win, Washburn would advance into the NCAA National Semifinals where they would face the winner of Azusa Pacific and UT Tyler on Friday, May 23 at 8 a.m. CST.