TOPEKA, Kan. -- Tournament play continues for Washburn men's tennis as they head to the Midwestern State Invitational in Wichita Falls, Texas beginning Friday, Oct. 9.
 

First Serve

• Washburn men's tennis is back on the road for the final tournament of the fall season before ITA play at the Midwestern State Invitational.
• The Ichabods will take the court in Wichita Falls, Texas on Friday, Oct. 9 and conclude on Saturday.
• Washburn is 1-0 on the year in duals with a win over Creighton in the only dual this fall.
• The Ichabods are coming off a 20-6 season overall in 2025-26 while going 5-0 in the MIAA/GAC North Division. They won a fourth straight MIAA/GAC Tournament Championship and advanced to the NCAA National Quarterfinals.
• Washburn's 2026-27 roster features eight players with one senior, four sophomores and three freshman.
• All eight Ichabods will participate in singles and doubles competition in the tournament.

ABOUT THE MIDWESTERN STATE INVITATIONAL

• The tournament field is made up of Washburn, Midwestern State, Cameron and St. Mary's University.
• All matches will take place at the MSU Tennis Center and the Weeks Park Tennis Center.
• Matches played at the MSU Tennis Center will be livestreamed on PlaySight.
• Both sites will begin play at 8:00 a.m. each day.

SINGLES SITUATION

• Washburn has a 39-14 (73.6%) mark in singles play so far this season.
• Both Nicolas Hurtado and Keita Kuroda are 8-0 this season to begin the year. 
• Benjamin Fock is 7-1 in singles action this season.
• Petr Leiper and Kilian Martinez are both 4-1 in singles competition, playing in two tournaments.
• Yuto Miyagawa has gone 3-1 in singles competition with a 3-0 record in tournaments.
• Gael Mourmant is 4-4 this season in singles action.
• Graham Faris has posted a 1-6 record to begin the season.

DOUBLES DOWNLOAD

• The Ichabods have posted a 14-7 (66.7%) record in doubles action to begin the season.
• Benjamin Fock and Nicolas Hurtado-Novoa have posted a 6-2 record in doubles action this season.
• Kilian Martinez and Gael Mourmant are 3-0 together this season in doubles play.
• Keita Kuroda and Gael Mourmant have posted a 2-1 doubles record.
• Yuto Miyagawa and Kilian Martinez are 2-0 in doubles play this season.
• Benjamin Fock and Nicolas Hurtado-Novoa are tied for the team-high with six doubles victories.

LAST TIME OUT 

WASHBURN INVITATIONAL - OCTOBER 3, 2026

TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn wrapped up fall action at home on Saturday in the final day of the Washburn Invite with a second straight strong showing. Next weekend the Ichabods will be on the road at the Midwestern State Invitational in Wichita Falls, Texas beginning Oct. 9. 

Singles play began the day with Nicolas Hurtado-Novoa competing in the finals of the red flight where he made quick work in the final round winning 6-1 and 6-4 sets. After Benjamin Fock and Keita Kuroda were set to meat in the blue flight finals their match was abandoned. Each played an extra replacement match and came away victorious, Fock in three sets and Kuroda in two.  

In doubles action Benjamin Fock and Nicolas Hurtado-Novoa claimed a 6-3 semifinal round win over a duo from Southwest Baptist. On the other side of the bracket Keita Kuroda and Gael Mourmant fell 6-2 to Northwest Missouri. Fock and Hurtado-Novoa got revenge, defeating the Bearcat duo 6-4 in the finals.  

Head Coach Kirby Ronning

• Ronning is in year seven 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 217-71 combined record with Washburn.
• Has been named the ITA Central Region Coach of the Year six times, MIAA Coach of the Year four times and was the ITA/Dunlop Women's Coach of the Year once in 2026. 
• 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

• Kurt Reid enters year eight as a volunteer assistant coach for the Ichabods. 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. 
• Assistant coach Santiago Rendon begins year three as a coach with the Ichabods and his first as a full-time assistant after being elevated from a graduate assistant before the 2026-27 season.
• He moved from playing to the sidelines after wrapping up a three season career with the Ichabods headlined by an ITA Cup Doubles National Championship in fall of 2023. 

MILESTONE MARKERS

• Yuto Miyagawa is two singles victories away from reaching 30 in his career.
• Benjamin Fock needs to win six more singles matches to reach 40 career singles victories.

FALLING FORWARD

• Washburn will turn to ITA play next time out as they head to the ITA Central Region Tournament in Edmond, Okla. beginning Friday, Oct. 23 at Edmond Center Court. 
• The ITA DII Singles and Doubles Championships take place in Tuscaloosa, Ala. on Nov. 4-8.