TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 4 Washburn begins a four-match trip to Florida on Monday, March 2 taking on No. 9 Embry-Riddle at 1 p.m. CST in Daytona Beach, Fla.
 

First Serve

• No. 4 Washburn heads into a fifth straight ranked match as they face No. 9 Embry-Riddle University.
• The Ichabods will take on the Eagles at 1 p.m. CST in Daytona Beach, Fla. as they begin a four-match road swing in Florida.
• Washburn improved to 4-2 on the year with a 4-0 win over No. 18 Midwestern State last time out on Feb. 22.
• Embry-Riddle improved to 5-2 on the year with a 4-1 win over Auburn Montgomery last time out on Feb. 23.

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 3-0 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 2-2 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 90-48 (65.2%) 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 16 victories going 16-2 on the year. He is 4-0 on the year in duals all at No. 6.
• Zino Nahirniak has gone 11-4 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 at No. 2.
• Kilian Martinez is 6-0 on the year in singles play, all in duals at No. 3. He is 3-0 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 30-28 (51.7%) 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 3-3 playing together at No. 1. 
• Pavlos Parson and Benjamin Fock are 3-2 together overall playing from No. 2 and No. 3 positions. 
• Yuto Miyagawa and Yoshinobu Nakatsuji are 2-3 together playing at No. 2 and No. 3. 
• Yuto Miyagawa, Benjamin Fock and Pavlos Parson are all tied for a team-high nine doubles victories.

LAST TIME OUT

Washburn 4, Midwestern State 0 (February 22, 2026)

TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 4 Washburn snapped a two-match losing streak with a home sweep over No. 18 Midwestern State on Sunday afternoon. The Ichabods are back in action on Friday, Feb. 27 against Pratt CC at 9 a.m.  

Doubles competition started quickly on court three for Washburn (4-2) as Benjamin Fock and Pavlos Parson worked a quick 6-0 win to gain the advantage. On court two Yuto Miyagawa and Yoshinobu Nakatsuji fell 6-3 to No. 16 Germano Setti and Matthew Earle, making his return to Topeka for the Mustangs (2-2). Playing at No. 1, Tommy Cecchetti and Kilian Martinez pulled away late to clinch doubles for the Ichabods with a 6-3 win over No. 11 Juan Duque and Bruno Sanchez.  

No. 40 Yuto Miyagawa led off singles play from No. 6, cleaning up his match in less than an hour with 6-2 and 6-1 victories. Kilian Martinez won his opening set 6-3 over No. 33 Juan Duque on court three. He followed with a 6-2 win to set up match point. Zino Nahirniak also wrapped up in two sets, winning 6-4 in his first at No. 4 and 6-2 to provide the clincher in the second. 

No. 8 Pavlos Parson led 3-0 in the second over No. 7 Germano Setti after winning in the first set at No. 1. Tommy Cecchetti trailed 1-3 in the third set on court two and No. 36 Benjamin Fock led 3-2 in the second up 1-0 in sets at No. 5 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 183-66 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 EMBRY-RIDDLE EAGLES

• Embry-Riddle moved to 5-2 on the year after defeating Auburn Montgomery 5-2 last time out on Feb. 23.
• They are 2-1 playing at home in Daytona Beach, 2-1 on the road and 1-0 in neutral court matches.
• They are ranked No. 9 in the latest ITA rankings.
• Last season the Eagles went 14-8 overall nad 4-3 in the SSC.
• Two players are ranked in the singles side of the ITA rankings with Enrico Rosellini at No. 15 and Marc Mail at No. 25.
• Embry-Riddle is 69-39 (63.9%) on the year in singles play on the year.
• In doubles Enrico Rosellini and Marc Mail are ranked No. 18 in the nation by the ITA.
• The Saints have gone 41-21 (66.1%) in doubles matches on the year.

EAGLES COACHING STAFF

• David Paschal is in his 22nd season as the head men's tennis coach at Embry-Riddle University. 
• Paschal was named The Sun Conference (formerly the Florida Sun Conference) Coach of the Year 11 times on the men's side and five times for the women
• Paschal's coaching background includes stints as the head men's tennis coach at NCAA Division I Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (1995-96) and as assistant men's and women's tennis coach at NCAA Division III power Washington College (Md.) (1994-95).
• Juan Ortiz Couder and graduate assistants Pol Fontdegloria and Alvaro Diaz Rodrigo round out the coaching staff.

HISTORY WITH EMBRY-RIDDLE

• Monday's match will be the first ever meeting between the two teams.

MILESTONE MARKERS

• Tommy Cecchetti needs two 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 in the trip across Florida the Ichabods will face the University of Charleston on Wednesday, March 4 in Lakeland, Fla.
• 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.