TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 11 Washburn looks for a fourth consecutive MIAA/GAC Tournament Championship on Friday morning as they face No. 35 Harding in the title match beginning at 9 a.m. in Springfield, Mo. 
  

FIRST SERVE

• It will be a battle of top-seeds as the No. 1 seed from the North and No. 11 nationally ranked Washburn faces the No. 1 seed from the South, No. 35 Harding for the MIAA/GAC Tournament title.  

• The Ichabods will take on the Bisons at 9 a.m. on Friday, May 1 at the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield, Mo. as they take aim at a fourth straight title.  

• Washburn carries a twelve-match winning streak into the finals after defeating No. 49 Northwest Missouri 4-1 on Thursday afternoon to move to 17-5 on the season. 

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. 11 in the latest ITA rankings. 

• They are ranked No. 1 in the latest NCAA Central Region rankings released on April 29. 

• 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, 7-2 in neutral court meetings and 5-3 on the road.  

• After going 14-4 against ranked opponents last season the Ichabods are 9-4 against ranked competition this season. 

ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS 

• Five players were named All-MIAA/GAC honorees in addition to head coach Kirby Ronning being named the conference Coach of the Year for a third straight season. 

• Pavlos Parson was named the MIAA/GAC Player of the Year while also earning First-Team honors in singles. 

• Benjamin Fock and Zino Nahirniak earned First-Team honors in doubles together. 

• Pavlos Parson and Tommy Cecchetti were tabbed to the All-MIAA/GAC Second Team in doubles. 

• Both Tommy Cecchetti and Kilian Martinez were selected as Honorable Mentions in singles.  

TOURNAMENT TIME 

• Washburn looks to win a fourth straight MIAA/GAC Tournament Champoinship and also the fourth in program history on Friday.  

AROUND THE RANKINGS 

• Three players are ranked by the ITA in singles for the Ichabods in the most recent rankings.  

• Kilian Martinez leads the trio at No. 41. Pavlos Parson ranks No. 43 in the nation with Tommy Cecchetti just behind him at No. 44. 

• In doubles, Zino Nahirniak and Benjamin Fock remain inside the top-10 at No. 9 in the nation. Pavlos Parson and Tommy Cecchetti re-enter the rankings at No. 28. 

SINGLES SETUP 

• For the season Washburn has gone 151-74 (67.1%) in singles competition.  

• After winning the ITA Central Region Championship Pavlos Parson has a 22-13 record on the year and is 10-10 in duals playing at No. 1 and No. 2.  

• Kilian Martinez is 13-3 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 24 victories going 24-8 on the year. He is 12-6 on the year in duals with a 4-0 mark at No. 6. 

• Benjamin Fock is also tied for a team-high with a 24-7 mark during his freshman season. He has gone 12-6 in duals overall and is 6-0 from No. 5.  

• Zino Nahirniak has gone 21-4 on the year in singles action and is 14-0 in duals playing at No. 3-5. 

• Tommy Cecchetti is 16-11 so far on the year while going 13-7 in duals on the top-three courts. He is 6-1 at No. 3 and is 2-4 against ranked opponents. 

• Moritz Pieper has gone 16-8 so far in singles competition with a 6-3 record in duals going 5-2 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 gone 5-5 during his freshman season with a 1-0 mark in duals. 

DOUBLES DOWNLOAD 

• On the year Washburn has gone 60-41 (59.4%) in doubles matches.  

• Benjamin Fock and Zino Nahirniak have 14 victories together this season, the most for any duo. They are 14-5 together with a 9-2 mark in duals, all at No. 1. They are 4-2 against ranked duos. 

• Tommy Cecchetti and Pavlos Parson are 10-2 together overall all in duals. They have a 9-2 record playing at No. 2 and are 2-1 against ranked opponents. 

• Kilian Martinez and Yuto Miyagawa are 3-2 together playing only in duals. They are 2-2 playing at No. 3. 

• Yuto Miyagawa and Yoshinobu Nakatsuji are 7-6 together playing at No. 2 and No. 3.  

• Pavlos Parson has a team-high 20 victories in doubles overall. Benjamin Fock is just behind with 19 victories in doubles. 

LAST TIME OUT 

Washburn 4, Northwest Missouri 1 (April 30, 2026) 

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- No. 11 Washburn built an early lead and went on to win 4-1 over No. 49 Northwest Missouri and punch its ticket to a fourth straight MIAA/GAC Tournament title match. The Ichabods will face the No. 1 seed from the South and No. 35 nationally ranked Harding on Friday, May 1 at 9 a.m.   

No. 28 Pavlos Parson and Tommy Cecchetti began the match working a 6-0 sweep at No. 2 doubles. On the top court No. 9 Zino Nahirniak and Benjamin Fock battled to win 6-3 and give the first point to Washburn (17-5). Kilian Martinez and Yuto Miyagawa led 5-4 at No. 3 when the point was decided.   

No. 43 Pavlos Parson led off singles play on the top court with a decisive 6-1 victory in the first set before winning 6-3 in the second. The Bearcats (12-9) got on the board as Moritz Pieper fell in two sets, 0-6 and 2-6 at No. 6.   

Zino Nahirniak battled back from losing 3-6 in the first set to a dominant 6-1 win in the second set at No. 4. He continued the momentum into a 6-2 third set victory to set up match point for Washburn. Playing on court five Benjamin Fock battled to win a first-set tiebreaker 7-6(2). He went on to clinch the match with a 6-4 second set victory. Both Tommy Cecchetti and Kilian Martinez were into the third sets of their duals when the point 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 210-68 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 HARDING BISSONS 

• Harding moved to 16-6 on the year and advanced into the finals with a 4-1 win over Nebraska Kearney in the semifinals on Thursday. 

• They are ranked No. 35 in the latest ITA rankings. 

• Last season the Bisons went 15-7 overall and 2-1 in the MIAA/GAC, they advanced to the MIAA/GAC Tournament semifinals before falling to Washburn. They lost in the first round of the NCAA Central Region Tournament. 

• On the year they are 3-0 at home in Searcy, Ark., 9-14on the road and 4-2 in neutral court matches. 

• Adrian Solorzano is ranked No. 66 in the country in singles by the ITA. 

• Harding has gone 104-60 (63.4%) on the year in singles play. 

• Adrian Solorzano has a 14-7 record on the year going 8-3 in duals with an 8-2 mark at No. 1.  

• The Bisons have gone 60-30 (66.7%) on the year in doubles play as a team. 

• Cian Mikkelsen and Adrian Solorzano are 18-6 together with a 9-5 mark at No. 1. 

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 has a 10-2 advantage in the all-time series between the two teams.  

• The series began on April 4, 2015 with a 5-4 win for the Ichabods in Springfield, Mo. 

• The Ichabods swept a 4-0 match in the only meeting this season coming on March 14. 

MILESTONE MARKERS 

• Tommy Cecchetti is one victory away from reaching 50 career doubles wins in his career.  

• Pavlos Parson needs two doubles victories to reach 50 in his career at Washburn.