TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 13 Washburn wraps up the regular season on Thursday, April 23 taking on Arkansas-Fort Smith in Fort Smith, Ark. beginning at 3 p.m. 
 

First Serve

• No. 13 Washburn men's tennis plays its final regular season match of the year taking on Arkansas-Fort Smith.
• The Ichabods will face the Lions at 3 p.m. on Thursday, April 3 in Fort Smith, Ark. 
• Washburn won a ninth straight match defeating No. 50 Northwest Missouri 6-1 at home on April 18, improving to 14-5 overall and 5-0 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.
• They are ranked No. 1 in the latest NCAA Central Region rankings released on April 22.
• 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 5-0 in home matches, 5-2 in neutral court meetings and 4-3 on the road. 
• After going 14-4 against ranked opponents last season the Ichabods are 8-4 against ranked competition this season.

AROUND THE RANKINGS

• Three players are ranked by the ITA in singles for the Ichabods in the most recent rankings. 
• Pavlos Parson leads the Ichabod squad at No. 42 in the nation. Tommy Cecchetti is just behind him at No. 43 with Kilian Martinez at No. 44.
• In doubles, Zino Nahirniak and Benjamin Fock remain inside the top-10 at No. 9 in the nation.

SINGLES SETUP

• For the season Washburn has gone 139-70 (66.5%) in singles competition. 
• After winning the ITA Central Region Championship Pavlos Parson has a 20-12 record on the year and is 8-9 in duals playing at No. 1 and No. 2. 
• Kilian Martinez is 12-2 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 23 victories going 23-7 on the year. He is 11-5 on the year in duals with a 4-0 mark at No. 6.
• Benjamin Fock has compiled a 22-7 mark during his freshman season. He has gone 10-6 in duals overall and is 5-0 from No. 5. 
• 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 14-11 so far on the year while going 11-7 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 15-7 so far in singles competition with a 5-2 record in duals going 4-1 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 53-41 (56.4%) in doubles matches. 
• Benjamin Fock and Zino Nahirniak have 12 victories together this season, the most for any duo. They are 12-5 together with a 7-2 mark in duals, all at No. 1. They are 3-2 against ranked duos.
• Tommy Cecchetti and Pavlos Parson are 7-2 together playing at No. 2 in duals and are 1-1 against ranked opponents.
• Kilian Martinez and Yuto Miyagawa are 2-2 together playing only at No. 3 doubles. 
• Yuto Miyagawa and Yoshinobu Nakatsuji are 7-6 together playing at No. 2 and No. 3. 
• Pavlos Parson and Benjamin Fock are tied for a team-high with 17 doubles victories each. Yuto Miyagawa is just behind with 16.

LAST TIME OUT

Washburn 6, Northwest Missouri 1 (April 18, 2026)

TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 9 Washburn capped off a third straight undefeated regular season at home with a 6-1 senior day win over No. 50 Northwest Missouri on Saturday afternoon. The Ichabods take the court next facing Arkansas-Fort Smith beginning at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 24 in Fort Smith, Ark.  

Prior to the match the five Washburn (14-5, 5-0 MIAA/GAC) seniors, Zino Nahirniak, Pavlos Parson, Mason Fair, Yoshinobu Nakatsuji and Moritz Pieper, were recognized on the court in the morning. When the match began the No. 50 ranked duo of Pavlos Parson and Tommy Cecchetti worked quickly sweeping a 6-0 win at No. 2 doubles. Kilian Martinez and Yuto Miyagawa were just behind them winning 6-1 at No. 3 to clinch doubles for the Ichabods. No. 8 Zino Nahirniak and Benjamin Fock completed a doubles sweep winning 6-4 on the top court. 

No. 40 Tommy Cecchetti worked a clean 6-0 in his opening set at No. 3, followed by a 6-4 win in the second. Benjamin Fock battled to win 6-3 and 6-4 sets on court five, keeping the Bearcats (10-8, 2-2 MIAA/GAC) off the board and bring up match point. Moritz Pieper provided the clinch on senior day from No. 6, winning a pair of 6-3 sets.  

No. 36 Pavlos Parson won 6-2 in his opening set on the top court before falling 3-6 in the second. He pulled away late to win 10-8 in the ten-point tiebreaker to add another point. No. 74 Yuto Miyagawa won 6-3 to begin his match on court four but lost 4-6 in the second and 8-10 in the third set as Northwest Missouri got on the board. No. 45 Kilian Martinez fought through a long first set to win 7-5 and worked quickly to win 6-3 in the second at No. 2 to finish off 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 205-68 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 ARKANSAS-FORT SMITH LIONS

• Arkansas-Fort Smith improved to 5-9 overall with an 0-5 record in conference play after defeating Newman 5-0 last time out on April 17.
• Last season the Lions went 6-13 overall with a 1-3 mark in MIAA/GAC play, falling in the first round of the MIAA/GAC Tournament.
• This year they are 0-6 record playing at home in Fort Smith, Ark., they are 5-2 on the road with a 0-1 neutral court record.
• Arkansas-Fort Smith is 34-44 (43.6%) on the year in singles duals.
• Eduardo Bribiesca is 9-5 on the year in singles all at No. 1.
• Birk Arwedahl and Eduardo Bribliesca are ranked No. 43 in the nation in doubles.
• The Lions have gone 20-21 (48.8%) in doubles competition this season.
• Eduardo Bribiesca and Birk Arwedahl are 7-6 together in doubles, all at No. 1.

LIONS COACHING STAFF

• Mike Phillips is in his 2nd season as the head men's and women's tennis coach at Arkansas-Fort Smith.
• Phillips comes to UAFS after coaching at the Walton Family Whole Health and Fitness Center in Bentonville and Kingsdale Tennis Center in Bella Vista, Arkansas. 
• Phillips managed tennis programs in Los Angeles where his coaching included training active UTR and USTA youth and adult competitors for his local tennis club.

HISTORY WITH ARKANSAS-FORT SMITH

• Washburn leads the all-time series between the two teams 4-0.
• The Ichabods are 1-0 against Arkansas-Fort Smith on the road.
• The series began with a 8-1 win for the Ichabods in Fort Smith on Feb. 24, 2014.
• Washburn won both meetings between the two teams last one, one at home and one in the MIAA/GAC Tournament in Springfield, Mo.

MILESTONE MARKERS

• Tommy Cecchetti is four victories away from reaching 50 career doubles wins in his career. He needs two wins in singles to reach 60 for his career.
• Pavlos Parson needs five doubles victories to reach 50 in his career at Washburn.

SCHEDULE SPRING FORWARD

• The MIAA/GAC Championship Tournament takes place in Springfield, Mo. at the Cooper Tennis Complex from April 29-May 1.