TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 6 Washburn women's tennis goes back on the road heading south to take on Southeastern Oklahoma State and Harding in a pair of 10 a.m. matches on Friday and Saturday. 
 

FIRST SERVE

• No. 6 Washburn is back on the road for two more matches taking on Southeastern Oklahoma State and Harding in a pair of neutral court matches.
• The Ichabods will face the Savage Storm at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 13 before taking on the Bisons at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Both matches in Edmond, Okla.
• Washburn improved to 5-2 on the year defeating No. 33 Flagler 4-1 last time out on March 7.

BODS AND BITS 

• Washburn's 2025-26 roster features six returners from a season ago with three new incoming freshmen to round out the roster.  
• The Ichabods moved up to No. 6 in the latest ITA rankings.
• Washburn was picked to finish first in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll. 
• The Ichabods are is coming off a 17-4 season where they went 8-1 in the MIAA to win a share of the MIAA Regular Season Championship. They qualified for the NCAA Tournament for a 21st time in program history.
• So far on the year Washburn is 3-0 when playing at home 1-1 on the road and 1-1 in neutral court matches.
• The Ichabods are 3-2 against ranked opponents this season.

AROUND THE RANKINGS

• Washburn has four players ranked in the ITA singles rankings. 
• Renske Ubachs leads the team with a No. 7 ranking and Riko Konno jumped up to to No. 25.
• Saajida Razick enters the rankings for the first time at No. 64 while Jasel Bailey sits one spot behind her at No. 65.
• On the doubles side Renske Ubachs and Daniela Tijaro are ranked No. 9 in the nation. 
• Saajida Razick and Riko Konno enter at No. 42 after playing together in the fall.

SINGLES SETUP

• So far on the season Washburn has gone 82-25 (76.6%) in singles matches.
• After winning the ITA Central Region Championship, Renske Ubachs leads the team with a 16-4 singles record and is 4-2 playing at No. 1. 
• Riko Konno has gone 14-2 on the year to begin her freshman season and is 5-1 at No. 2.She is 2-0 against ranked opponents.
• Daniela Tijaro has compiled a 11-6 record in singles play to begin the year and has gone 4-3 playing at No. 3.  
• Saajida Razick is off to a 10-3 start in singles competition and is 3-1 at No. 5.
• Jasel Bailey has picked up where she left off last season to begin the season 11-3 overall and 3-2 playing at No. 4 and 2-0 at No. 5.
• Charlotte Bair is 10-3 on the year in singles play and has gone 3-1 at the six spot in singles. 
• Maddie Shelley has began the season 5-0 playing in tournaments. 
• Peyton Koper is 3-4 on the singles side to open the season.
• Mariana Silva Balsa is 1-0 on the year in singles play at No. 6.

DOUBLES DOWNLOAD

• The Ichabods have gone 34-14 (70.8%) on the year in doubles matches this season. 
• Renske Ubachs and Daniela Tijaro have the most victories of any doubles duo on the team going 11-4 to begin the season and 3-2 at No. 1. 
• Jasel Bailey and Saajida Razick have gone 5-2 together this season on courts two and three. 
• Riko Konno Peyton Koper are 1-3 playing together in duals at No. 2 and No. 3.
• Jasel Bailey has a team-high 12 doubles victories. Saajida Razick, Daniela Tijaro and Renske Ubachs each have 11.

LAST TIME OUT

Washburn 4, Flagler 1 (March 7, 2026)

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- No. 6 Washburn wrapped up its trip to Florida with a 4-1 win over No. 33 Flagler on Saturday morning. The Ichabods return to action with three matches in Oklahoma next weekend, first against Southeastern Oklahoma State.  

Jasel Bailey and Saajida Razick led off doubles play with a 6-2 win for Washburn (5-2) on court two. Because the Saints (2-6) were playing with five players they were forced to forefit on court three, giving Daniela Tijaro and Mariana Silva Balsa a victory and the Ichabods the first point. Renske Ubachs and Riko Konno trailed 2-4 at No. 1 when the point was decided. 

Singles play began with another point for Washburn, Charlotte Bair gets the win at No. 6 without taking the court. Playing at No. 3, Daniela Tijaro led early and went on to win 6-3 in her first set. She followed with a quick 6-0 sweep in the second to bring up match point. On the top court Renske Ubachs fell in two sets to Eryka Kruk, 6-0 and 6-3 as Flagler got on the board. 

No. 65 Jasel Bailey pulled out a pair of contested sets, winning 6-4 in both to clinch the match on court five. Riko Konno was tied at two in her third set from No. 2 when the point was decided. Mariana Silva Balsa won her opening set 6-3 at No. 4 and was tied 6-6 in the second.  

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 186-67 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. 
• Maja Jung also is entering year two on the coaching staff as a graduate assistant for the women's program. 
• Jung was an All-American in both singles and doubles and is 2nd in program history in career victories. 

OPPONENT QUICK SCOUT 

ABOUT THE SOUTHEASTERN OKAHOMA STATE SAVAGE STORM

• Southeastern Oklahoma State is 2-5 on the year after falling 4-3 to Emporia State last time out on March 3. 
• Last season the Savage Storm went 15-6 overall advancing to the championship round of the GAC Tournament Championship.
• This year they are 0-1 playing at home in Durant, 0-2 on the road and 2-2 in neutral court competition.

SAVAGE STORM COACHING STAFF

• Cari Groce is in her first season as the head tennis coach at Southeastern Oklahoma State.
• She returns to the collegiate sidelines after a stint at the high school level where she worked with Guthrie High School since August of 2022.
• She started her head coaching career at the University of Tulsa after a pair of assistant coaching stops at Texas Tech and Oklahoma State.
• She played her collegiate tennis at Nebraska where she was the program's first tennis All-American in 1986 before going on to play professionally on the European Circuit.

HISTORY WITH SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA STATE

• Washburn has a 5-2 edge in the all-time series between the two teams.
• The series began on March 7, 2002 with a 5-1 win for the Ichabods in Durant, Okla.
• The last meeting came on April 20, 2024 and was a 5-2 win for Washburn in Edmond.

ABOUT THE HARDING BISONS

• Harding is 2-4 on the year after falling to Northwest Missouri 7-0 last time out on march 2.
• Last season the Bisons went 10-12 overall, falling in the first round of the GAC Tournament.
• This year they are 0-1 this season at home in Searcy, Ark., 1-2 on the road and 1-1 in neutral court meetings.
• Karli Roux is ranked No. 38 in the nation in singles by the ITA.
• Harding is 25-35 (41.7%) on the year in singles play. 
• In doubles competition, Karli Roux and Brooke Coffman are ranked No. 5 nationally by the ITA.
• The Bisons have gone 17-18 (48.6%) in doubles play on the year.

BISONS COACHING STAFF

• Craig Kirchgessner is in his first season as the head men's and women's tennis coach at Harding.
• Kirchgessner came to Harding after serving as the Head Men's and Women's Tennis Coach at Hendrix College since August 2019
• Prior to his time at Hendrix, Kirchgessner served as the Assistant Men's and Women's Tennis Coach at Centre College from January 2016 to 2019
• Graduate assistants Amir Sanaei and Zach Fowler round out the coaching staff.

HISTORY WITH HARDING

• Washburn leads the all-time seires 2-1.
• The series began on March 15, 2019 with a 5-2 win for the Ichabods in Topeka.
• The last meeting came on March 15 last season and was a 5-2 win for Washburn in Edmond.

MILESTONE MARKERS

• Maddie Shelley is one doubles victory away from reaching 40 career doubles wins. 
• Daniela Tijaro and Peyton Koper both sit at 38 career doubles victories, two away from reaching 40.

SCHEDULE SPRING FORWARD

• Washburn heads down to Arkansas for a pair of matches beginning against Ouachita Baptist on Thursday, March 19 at 2 p.m.
• MIAA play for the Ichabods begins with a March 27 match against Newman in Wichita. 
• Senior day for Washburn takes plan on April 18 with a 2:30 p.m. match against Northwest Missouri. 
• The MIAA Championship Tournament takes place in Springfield, Mo. at the Cooper Tennis Complex from May 1-3.