TOPEKA, Kan. -- Newly No. 4 ranked Washburn men's tennis plays host to No. 18 Midwestern State for a Sunday dual inside Genesis Tennis Center beginning at 12 p.m. on Feb. 22. 
 

First Serve

• No. 4 Washburn returns to Topeka to take on No. 18 Midwestern State in a fourth straight ranked match.
• The Ichabods will take on the Mustangs beginning at 12 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 22 inside the Genesis Tennis Center in Topeka, Kan.
• Washburn fell to 3-2 on the year and 1-0 in MIAA/GAC play after losing 4-1 to No. 3 Flagler last time out in the ITA Indoor Championships.
• Midwestern State started the spring 1-0 with a 5-2 win over Northwest Missouri State last time out.

BODS AND BITS 

• Washburn's 2025-26 roster returns seven players from last season while adding four freshmen to complete the roster.
• The Ichabods are ranked No. 4 in the latest ITA national rankings.
• Washburn was picked to finish first in the MIAA/GAC Preseason Coaches Poll. 
• The Ichabods are coming off a historic 2024-25 season where they went 23-4 and 5-0 in the MIAA/GAC North. They won a third straight MIAA/GAC Tournament Championship and advanced to the NCAA National Championship for the first time in program history.
• On the year Washburn is 2-0 in home matches, 1-2 in neutral court meetings and have not played in a true road match.
• After going 14-4 against ranked opponents last season the Ichabods are 1-2 against ranked competition this season.

AROUND THE RANKINGS

• Three players for the Ichabods rank in the first ITA singles ranking of the season. 
• Pavlos Parson leads the group with a No. 8 national ranking. Benjamin Fock is slotted at No. 36 while Yuto Miyagawa rounds out the group at No. 40.

SINGLES SETUP

• For the season Washburn has gone 87-48 (64.4%) in singles competition. 
• After winning the ITA Central Region Championship Pavlos Parson has a 13-7 record on the year and is 1-4 playing at No. 1. 
• Benjamin Fock has posted a 14-4 mark during his freshman season. He has gone 2-3 in duals and is 1-3 from No. 4. 
• Yuto Miyagawa has a team-high 15 victories going 15-2 on the year. He is 3-0 on the year in duals all at No. 6.
• Zino Nahirniak has gone 10-4 on the year in singles action and is 3-0 in duals playing at No. 4 and No. 5.
• Tommy Cecchetti is 6-6 so far on the new year while going 3-2 playing in duals atat No. 2.
• Kilian Martinez is 5-0 on the year in singles play, all in duals at No. 3. He is 2-0 against ranked opponents.
• Moritz Pieper has gone 10-5 so far in singles competition. 
• Graham Faris has played in two tournaments going an even 3-3 on the year. 
• Yoshinobu Nakatsuji is 4-6 so far in singles. 
• Mason Fair has gone 3-6 on the year and 3-2 in the last five duals. 
• Petr Leipner has started his freshman season 4-5. 

DOUBLES DOWNLOAD

• On the year Washburn has gone 28-27 (50.9%) in doubles matches. 
• Yuto Miyagawa and Pavlos Parson have gone 6-2 together in doubles. They have the most victories of any duo this season.
• Tommy Cecchetti and Kilian Martinez are 2-3 playing together at No. 1. 
• Pavlos Parson and Benjamin Fock are 2-2 together overall playing from No. 2 and No. 3 positions. 
• Yuto Miyagawa and Yoshinobu Nakatsuji are 2-2 together playing at No. 2 and No. 3. 
• Yuto Miyagawa has a team-high nine doubles victories while Pavlos Parson and Benjamin Fock are second on the squad with eight wins each.

LAST TIME OUT

Flagler 4, Washburn 1 (February 15, 2026)

INDIANAPOLIS, In. -- No. 6 Washburn battled in singles play but fell short in the final game of the ITA National Indoor Championships 4-1 to No. 3 Flagler on Sunday morning. The Ichabods are back in action at home hosting Midwestern State on Sunday, Feb. 23.  

Doubles play began with a win for the Saints on court three with Yuto Miyagawa and Yoshinobu Nakatsuji falling 6-3. Both other courts went deep into the sets, at No. 1, Kilian Martinez and Tommy Cecchett went into a tiebreaker before falling 7-6(3) as Flagler took the first point. Pavlos Parson and Benjamin Fock led 6-5 at No. 2 for Washburn (3-2) when the point was decided.  

The Saints put another point on the board to lead off singles play with Tommy Cecchetti falling 6-4 and 6-2 in two sets at No. 2. No. 8 Pavlos Parson dropped his first set on the top court 6-3. In the second he fought back late to force an extra game but fell short losing 7-5. 

Kilian Martinez worked a 6-3 win in his opening set at No. 3. In the second he fell behind early but rallied late to win 7-5 and put a point on the board for the Ichabods. On court four No. 36 Benjamin Fock took a 6-2 win to open his dual in the first set. He fell in each of the next two, 6-4 in the second and 6-3 in the third for Flagler to take the match.  

Zino Nahirniak led 4-1 in his first set at No. 5 and Yuto Miyagawa trailed 2-4 in his set at No. 6 when the match was decided.  

HEAD COACH KIRBY RONNING

• Ronning is in year six 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 181-66 combined record with Washburn.
• Has been named the ITA Central Region Coach of the Year four times and the MIAA Coach of the Year twice. 
• 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 seven 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. 
• Graduate assistant Santiago Renton is entering his 2nd season as part of the Washburn coaching staff.  
• He moved 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. 
• Vasek Schneider joins the Washburn coaching staff as a graduate assistant for 2025-26 after finishing his playing career with the Ichabods in 2024-25. 
• Schneider was an All-American in singles and set a program record with 32 singles victories in his lone season in Topeka going 32-7 overall. 

OPPONENT QUICK SCOUT 

ABOUT THE MIDWESTERN STATE MUSTANGS

• Midwestern State is 1-0 on the year starting the spring with a 5-2 win over Northwest Missouri. They will face Nebraska Kearney and Rockhurst before taking on the Ichabods.
• They are 1-0 in neutral court battles while not playing a home or away match yet on the year.
• They are ranked No. 18 in the latest ITA rankings.
• Last season the Mustangs went 15-7 overall and 5-3 inside the LSC. They advanced to the NCAA Round of 32.
• Two players are ranked in the singles side of the ITA rankings with Germano Setti ranked No. 7 and Juan David Duque at No. 33.
• Midwestern State is 4-2 (66.7%) on the year in singles play on the year.
• In doubles Juan David Duque and Bruno Sanchez are ranked No. 11 in the nation by the ITA. Former Ichabod Matthew Earle and Germano Setti are slotted No. 16 in the ITA doubles rankings. 
• The Mustangs are 2-1 (66.7%) on the year in doubles play.

MUSTANGS COACHING STAFF

• Luis Diaz is in his first season as the head coach at Midwestern State leading both the men's and women's programs.
• Diaz is a 2024 graduate of MSU and one of the most decorated players in recent program history
• He has helped develop junior talent at the Midlothian Tennis Association, Tompkins Tennis Academy in San Francisco, and the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy in Spain.
• Graduate assistant coaches Edu Couto and Anda Ghinga round out the coaching staff. 

HISTORY WITH MIDWESTERN STATE

• Midwestern State leads the all-time series between the two teams 7-5.
• The Ichabods are 2-3 against the Mustangs at home in Topeka.
• The series began on March 23, 2001 with a 8-1 win for Midwestern State in Wichita, Falls, Tex.
• The most recent meeting was a 7-0 win for Washburn last season on Feb. 8 in Topeka.

MILESTONE MARKERS

• Tommy Cecchetti needs three doubles victories to reach 40 for his career.
• Yoshinobu Nakatsuji is one doubles victory away from reaching 30 career doubles victories.

SCHEDULE SPRING FORWARD

• Next up Washburn plays an exhbition at home against Pratt CC on Feb. 27 before heading to Florida to play four matches.
• Senior day for Washburn takes plan on April 18 with a 10:30 a.m. match against Northwest Missouri. 
• The MIAA/GAC Championship Tournament takes place in Springfield, Mo. at the Cooper Tennis Complex from April 29-May 1.