TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 10 Washburn women's tennis continues its road swing taking on Ouachita Baptist at 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 19 and Southern Arkansas on Friday, March 20 at 10 a.m. both in Arkansas. 

FIRST SERVE

• No. 10 Washburn women's tennis is back on the road heading to Arkansas to face Ouachita Baptist and Southern Arkansas. 
• The Ichabods will face the Tigers at 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 19 in Arkadelphia before taking on the Muleriders at 10 a.m. on Friday.
• Washburn won a third straight match moving to 7-2 on the season defeating Harding 5-2 last time out on March 14.

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 fell to No. 10 in the latest ITA rankings after going 2-0 last week. 
• 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 3-1 in neutral court matches.
• The Ichabods are 3-2 against ranked opponents this season.

AROUND THE RANKINGS

• Washburn has three players ranked in the ITA singles rankings. 
• Renske Ubachs leads the team with a No. 14 ranking. Riko Konno is slotted at No. 47 while Jasel Bailey is ranked No. 68.
• On the doubles side Renske Ubachs and Daniela Tijaro are ranked No. 12 in the nation. 
• Saajida Razick and Riko Konno move to No. 47 after playing together in the fall.

SINGLES SETUP

• So far on the season Washburn has gone 90-29 (75.7%) 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 15-3 on the year to begin her freshman season. She is 6-21 in duals and is 5-1 at No. 2 with a 2-1 record against ranked opponents.
• Daniela Tijaro has compiled a 11-7 record in singles play to begin the year and has gone 4-3 playing at No. 3.  
• Saajida Razick has a 12-3 mark in singles play overall while going 5-1 in duals. She is 3-1 playing at No. 5.
• Jasel Bailey is 13-3 overall in singles with a 7-2 mark in duals. She has gone 4-2 playing at No. 4 and 3-0 on court five.
• Charlotte Bair is 11-3 on the year in singles play and has gone 4-1 at the six spot in singles. 
• Maddie Shelley has a 6-1 record in singles play and has gone 1-1 in duals.
• Peyton Koper is 3-4 on the singles side to open the season.
• Mariana Silva Balsa is 2-1 on the year in singles play all in duals.

DOUBLES DOWNLOAD

• The Ichabods have gone 38-16 (70.4%) 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 6-3 together this season, all in duals. They are 3-2 together at No. 2. 
• Peyton Koper and Maddie Shelley are 3-1 playing together with a 1-1 mark at No. 3. 
• Jasel Bailey has a team-high 13 doubles victories. Saajida Razick, and Daniela Tijaro each have 12 wins.

LAST TIME OUT

Washburn 5, Harding 2 (March 14, 2026)

EDMOND, Okla. -- No. 5 Washburn picked up its third win in a row Saturday afternoon defeating Harding 5-2 to wrap up its weekend in Oklahoma. The Ichabods are back in action on Thursday, March 19 taking on Ouachita Baptist in Arkadelphia, Ark. 

Peyton Koper and Maddie Shelley got doubles play started for Washburn (7-2) winning in a clean 6-0 sweep at No. 3. Daniela Tijaro and Mariana Silva Balsa followed just behind, winning 6-1 on court two, clinching the first point of the match. Jasel Bailey and Saajida Razick battled at No. 1, but fell just short, 7-5 to No. 4 nationally ranked Karli Roux and Brooke Coffman of the Bisons (2-7). 

Maddie Shelley continued her day into singles play without dropping a game, sweeping two sets at No. 5 to put up another point. No. 62 Jasel Bailey did the same on court four, brining up match point. Charlotte Bair took a 6-2 victory in her first set and cruised to a 6-1 win in the second on court six to clinch the match.  

After losing 3-6 in the first set, Saajida Razick bounced back to sweep the second 6-0 at No. 2. She took the 10-point tiebreaker 10-4 to add another point. No. 31 Riko Konno lost her opening set 6-4 to No. 44 Karli Roux on the top court. She took the second into a tiebreaker but came up just short, losing 7-6(4). Playing on court three, Mariana Silva Balsa lost her opening set 4-6 but recovered to win 6-0 in the second. She fell behind early in the 10-point third set tiebreaker, losing 10-6 to wrap up the match. 

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 191-67 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 OUACHITA BAPTIST TIGERS

• Ouachita Baptist is 2-9 on the season after falling 4-3 to Emporia State last time out on March 14.
• Last season the Tigers went 11-11 overall and 2-3 in the GAC. They fell in the semifinal round of the GAC Tournament.
• This year they are 2-3 playing at home in Arkadelphia, 0-4 on the road and 0-2 in neutral court matches. 
• Ouachita Baptist is 20-43 (31.7%) in singles competition on the year. 
• Four players have a team-high three victories. 
• The Tigers are 12-21 (36.4%) in doubles duals. 
• Alice Kubler has a team-best 5-5 record overall in doubles. 

TIGERS COACHING STAFF

• Shelly Davilus is in her 1st season as the head coach at Ouachita Baptist of the women's tennis program.
• Davilus lettered four seasons for the Tigers from 2020-2024 and most recently served as a graduate assistant coach at neighboring Henderson State University.
• After graduating from Ouachita in May of 2024 with a bachelor's degree in kinesiology, Davilus became a tennis pro at the John Newcombe Country Club in New Braunfels, Texas
• She is currently pursuing a master's degree in business administration from Henderson State

HISTORY WITH OUACHITA BAPTIST

• Washburn leads the all-time series 1-0 with the only meeting coming on the road in Arkadelphia, Ark. 
• The series began on April 14, 2023 with a 7-0 win for the Ichabods on the road.

ABOUT THE SOUTHERN ARKANSAS MULERIDERS

• Southern Arkansas is 5-7 on the year after losing 4-0 to Missouri Western last time out on March 17. 
• Last season the Muleriders went 18-7 overall and 5-0 inside the GAC. They advanced into the NCAA Central Regional before falling 4-0 to Northwest Missouri State. 
• This year they are 2-3 on the year at home, 2-1 on the road and 1-3 in neutral court matches. 
• Southern Arkansas is 23-36 (41.9%) on the year in singles play. 
• Taylor Conway is 8-3 on the year in singles competition, a team-high in victories. 
• In doubles competition Roksana Kokocha and Taylor Conway are ranked No. 48 in the nation by the ITA. 
• The Muleriders have gone 15-19 (44.1%) on the year in doubles competition. 
• Taylor Conway and Roksana Kokocha are 6-4 together in doubles all at No. 1 in duals. 

MULERIDERS COACHING STAFF

• Greg Owen is in his 9th season as the head men's and women's tennis coach at Southern Arkansas.
• Owen comes to SAU from Seward County Community College (Liberal, Kan.) where he was into his third season as head men's and women's tennis coach before being hired at Southern Arkansas.
• Prior to his time at Seward, Owen was the head tennis coach at Midlothian High School (Midlothian, Texas) for six years from 2009-2015.
• Assistant coach Aleksa Bucan rounds out the coaching staff.

HISTORY WITH SOUTHERN ARKANSAS

• Washburn leads the all-time seires 5-0. 
• The Ichabods are 1-0 against the Muleriders on the road. 
• The series began on February 15, 2019 with a 5-2 win for Washburn in Midlothian, Texas.
• The last meeting came on April 21, 2024 with a 4-3 win for the Ichabods in Edmond, Okla.

MILESTONE MARKERS

• Daniela Tijaro and Peyton Koper both sit at 39 career doubles victories, one away from reaching 40.
• Maddie Shelley is three career singles victories away from reaching 40.

SCHEDULE SPRING FORWARD

• Washburn finally begins conference play next time out facing Newman on Friday, March 27 in Wichita beginning at 1 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.