TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 13 Washburn heads to Emporia one day later after a weather postponement to face Emporia State at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 11. 

First Serve

• No. 13 Washburn men's tennis heads on the road for the turnpike tussle taking on Emporia State.
• After forecasted rain the match was moved to Saturday, April 11 beginning at 10 a.m. in Emporia, Kan.
• Washburn extended its winning streak to seven matches defeating No. 21 Nebraska Kearney 5-2 last time out on April 7 to move to 12-5 overall and 3-0 in MIAA/GAC north play.

BODS AND BITS 

• Washburn's 2025-26 roster returns seven players from last season while adding four freshmen to complete the roster.
• The Ichabods moved to No. 13 in the latest ITA 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 4-0 in home matches, 5-2 in neutral court meetings and 3-3 on the road. 
• After going 14-4 against ranked opponents last season the Ichabods are 7-4 against ranked competition this season.

AROUND THE RANKINGS

• Four players are ranked by the ITA in singles for the Ichabods in the most recent rankings. 
• Tommy Cecchetti leads the quartet at No. 33 spot in singles while Pavlos Parson moves to No. 38 nationally.
• Kilian Martinez slots in at No. 46 while Yuto Miyagawa moves to No. 66. 
• In doubles, Zino Nahirniak and Benjamin Fock continue to rise, moving to No. 10. Tommy Cecchetti and Pavlos Parson are ranked No. 50 together. 

SINGLES SETUP

• For the season Washburn has gone 129-68 (65.5%) in singles competition. 
• After winning the ITA Central Region Championship Pavlos Parson has a 18-12 record on the year and is 6-9 in duals playing at No. 1 and No. 2. 
• Kilian Martinez is 11-1 on the year in singles play all in duals. He is 10-1 at No. 3 and is 4-1 against ranked opponents.
• Yuto Miyagawa has a team-high 22 victories going 22-6 on the year. He is 10-4 on the year in duals with a 4-0 mark at No. 6.
• Benjamin Fock has posted a 20-7 mark during his freshman season. He has gone 8-6 in duals overall and is 4-3 from No. 6. 
• Zino Nahirniak has gone 19-4 on the year in singles action and is 12-0 in duals playing at No. 3-5.
• Tommy Cecchetti is 12-11 so far on the new year while going 9-7 in duals on the top-three courts. He is 6-5 at No. 2 and is 2-4 against ranked opponents.
• Moritz Pieper has gone 13-7 so far in singles competition with a 3-2 record in duals going 2-1 at No. 6.
• 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 48-40 (54.5%) in doubles matches. 
• Benjamin Fock and Zino Nahirniak have ten victories together this season, the most for any duo. They are 10-5 together with a 5-2 mark in duals, all at No. 1. They are 2-2 against ranked duos.
• Yuto Miyagawa and Yoshinobu Nakatsuji are 7-6 together playing at No. 2 and No. 3. 
• Tommy Cecchetti and Pavlos Parson are 5-2 together playing at No. 2 in duals and are 1-1 against ranked opponents.
• Kilian Martinez and Yuto Miyagawa are 1-1 together playing only at No. 3 doubles. 
• Benjamin Fock, Pavlos Parson and Yuto Miyagawa are all tied for a team-high with 15 doubles victories.

LAST TIME OUT

Washburn 5, Nebraska Kearney 2 (April 7, 2026)

TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 10 Washburn rolled to a seventh straight win in its first match outdoors at the newly named Castillo Family Tennis Complex defeating No. 21 Nebraska Kearney 5-2. The Ichabods will head on the road to face Emporia State at 2 p.m. on Friday next time out.  

Doubles play began with the Lopers (11-6, 2-2 MIAA/GAC) No. 19 ranked duo of Ivan Melnik and Andy Brisdon winning 6-2 on the top court over No. 11 Zino Nahirniak and Benjamin Fock. After trailing late No. 45 Tommy Cecchetti and Pavlos Parson rallied to force a tiebreaker and win 7-6(3) at No. 2. Yuto Miyagawa and Kilian Martinez did the same on court three, also coming away with a 7-6(3) tiebreaker win to clinch the doubles point for Washburn (12-5, 3-0 MIAA/GAC).  

Another point was added to the Ichabod tally to begin singles with Zino Nahirniak winning a pair of 6-1 sets at No. 4. No. 34 Pavlos Parson battled in two sets on the top court with No. 58 Ivan Melnik and came away with wins in both, 7-5 in the first and 7-6(5) in the second to bring up match point. Playing on court two No. 40 Kilian Martinez fought for a 6-4 opening set win and won a 7-6(5) tiebreaker in the second set to defeat No. 75 Andy Brisdon and clinch the match.  

No. 64 Yuto Miyagawa played an extra game but won 7-5 in his first set on No. 5. He also won a big tiebreaker, coming away with a 7-6(5) win in the second set to add another point. The Lopers got on the board in the match as No. 32 Tommy Cecchetti fell 1-6 and 6(5)-7 in the final two sets on court three after winning 6-2 in the first set. Benjamin Fock dropped a 7-6(2) opening set at No. 6 but bounced back to win 6-2 in the second. He fell just short in the third, losing a second tiebreaker 7-6(3) as the match was closed.  

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 201-68 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 EMPORIA STATE HORNETS.

• Emporia State is 8-6 on the year and 2-0 inside the MIAA/GAC after defeating Nebraska Kearney 6-1 on April 6 at home.
• Last season the Hornets went 11-8 overall and 2-3 in conference play, falling in the first round of the MIAA/GAC Tournament.
• On the year they are 2-1 playing at home in Emporia, 5-4 on the road and 1-1 in neutral court meetings.
• Emporia State has gone 51-29 (63.8%) in singles play during duals.
• Diego Calvo has gone 11-3 this season with a 6-0 mark at No. 3 singles.
• Anton Sarunic and Luke West are ranked No. 33 in the nation in doubles.
• The Hornets have a 21-20 (51.2%) mark in doubles play during duals.
• Luke West and Duvan Santiago are 5-0 together in doubles going 4-0 at No. 3.

HORNETS COACHING STAFF

• John Blackburn is in his 3rd season as the head men's tennis coach at Emporia State. 
• Blackburn just finished his eighth season as the head coach at NCAA Division III Methodist University in Fayetteville, N.C.
• Prior to his time at Methodist, Blackburn was the head women's coach at Eastern Illinois University from 2005 to 2015.
• Graduate assistants Phatismo Ruele and Hachem Fahem along with assistants Harrison Brown and Luke Broxterman round out the coaching staff.

HISTORY WITH EMPORIA STATE

• Washburn leads the all-time series with Emporia State 77-29 with wins in the last nine matches.
• The Ichabods are 32-17 against the Hornets in Emporia.
• The series began on April 10, 1948 with a 6-0 win for Washburn in locations unknown.
• Last season Washburn won 6-1 in the only meeting between the two teams at home on April.

MILESTONE MARKERS

• Moritz Pieper needs two singles victories to reach 40 for his career.
• Tommy Cecchetti is six victories away from reaching 50 career doubles wins in his career. 
• Pavlos Parson needs seven doubles victories to reach 50 in his career at Washburn.

SCHEDULE SPRING FORWARD

• The Ichabods will return back home next taking on Northwest Missouri State at the Castillo Family Tennis Complex on Saturday, April 18 beginning at 10:30 a.m.
• 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.