TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 11 Washburn men's tennis opens the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday at home hosting No. 41 Ouachita Baptist at 2 p.m. with a spot in the NCAA National Championships in Surprise, Ariz. on the line.
 

First Serve

• The 20th NCAA Tournament run for No. 11 Washburn men's tennis begins by taking on No. 41 Ouachita Baptist. 
• The Ichabods will take on the Tigers in the regional championship at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, May 12 at the Castillo Family Tennis Complex in Topeka. 
• Washburn enters the NCAA Tournament winning 13 straight matches after winning the MIAA/GAC Tournament Championship to give them a 18-5 record on the year.

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.
• 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, 8-2 in neutral court meetings and 5-3 on the road. 
• After going 14-4 against ranked opponents last season the Ichabods are 10-4 against ranked competition this season.

TOURNAMENT TIME

• Washburn has an overall record of 18-19 in the NCAA Tournament including a 13-11 mark in the regional tournament.
• They are looking to advance into the national tournament for the eighth time in program history.
• The championship is set for Friday, May 1 at 9 a.m. at the Cooper Tennis Complex.

AROUND THE RANKINGS

• Three players are ranked by the ITA in singles for the Ichabods in the most recent rankings. 
• Kilian Martinez leads the Ichabod squad at No. 41 in the nation. Pavlos Parson is close behind at No. 43 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. Tommy Cecchetti and Pavlos Parson re-enter the rankings at No. 28 nationally.

SINGLES SETUP

• For the season Washburn has gone 154-75 (67.2%) 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 14-3 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 is tied for a team-high 25 victories going 25-8 on the year. He is 13-6 on the year in duals with a 4-0 mark at No. 6.
• Benjamin Fock has compiled a 25-7 mark during his freshman season. He has gone 13-6 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 16-12 so far on the year while going 13-8 in duals on the top-three courts. He is 6-2 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 62-41 (60.2%) 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 11-2 together overall all in duals. They have a 10-2 record playing at No. 2 and are 3-1 against ranked opponents.
• Kilian Martinez and Yuto Miyagawa are 4-2 together playing only in duals. They are 3-2 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 21 victories in doubles competition. Benjamin Fock is second on the team with 19 doubles victories.

LAST TIME OUT

Washburn 4, Harding 1 (May 1, 2026)

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- No. 11 Washburn set the tone early against No. 35 Harding and went on to defeat the Bisons 4-1 and secure a fourth straight MIAA/GAC Tournament Championship on Friday morning. The Ichabods officially secure a berth in the NCAA Tournament and will await their seeding in the selection show on Monday, May 4.  

A strong weekend for No. 28 Pavlos Parson and Tommy Cecchetti continued to begin the match winning 6-2 at No. 2 doubles over No. 27 ranked Florian Gayme and Jan Alexander. Washburn (18-5) took the doubles point as Yuto Miyagawa and Kilian Martinez secured a 6-1 victory at No. 3 defeating No. 48 Sebastian de las Salas and Edoardo D'Arrigo of the Bisons (16-7). No. 9 Benjamin Fock and Zino Nahirniak led No. 3 Cian Mikkelsen and Adrian Solorzano 4-3 on the top court in a top-10 battle when the point was decided.  

Yuto Miyagawa led off singles competition working 6-3 and 6-4 set victories on court five to put Washburn up 2-0. Harding responded shortly after as No. 44 Tommy Cecchetti fell 3-6 and 0-6 in two sets at No. 3.  

No. 41 Kilian Martinez opened his dual at No. 2 cruising to a 6-1 victory in the first set. He fell behind early in the second set but was able to tie it up at 5-5. He won the next two games to secure the dual and bring up match point. Benjamin Fock grinded out a 6-4 opening-set win but fell behind early in the second before losing 3-6 to bring on a third set. In the third he jumped out to an early lead and on the third try took the sixth and final game of the set to clinch the match and a fourth straight tournament championship.  

No. 43 Pavlos Parson and Zino Nahirniak were in the third set and late in the second sets of their respective matches when the point and match 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 214-68 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 OUACHITA BAPTIST TIGERS

• Ouachita Baptist improved to 16-8 on the year and advanced into the regional finals with a 4-2 win over No. 49 Northwest Missouri State on Monday afternoon in Topeka.
• They are ranked No. 41 in the latest ITA rankings. 
• Last season the Tigers went 15-10 overall and 4-0 in the MIAA/GAC South. They advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 before losing to Barry.
• On the year they are 7-4 playing at home in Arkadelphia, 5-3 on the road and 4-1 in neutral court matches.
• Ramon Stassman is ranked No. 56 in the nation in singles by the ITA. 
• Ramon Strassmann is tied for a team-high with an 18-5 singles record all coming at No. 1. 
• Guillaume Randoux is also 18-5 on the year and has a 8-3 mark at No. 4 singles.
• Yarin Aebi and Ramon Strassmann are ranked No. 22 in the nation in doubles while Aaron Osmond and Moritz Buss are No. 29 nationally.
• Yarin Aebi and Ramon Strassmann are 17-6 together in doubles and have a 15-6 record at No. 1. 
• Aaron Osmond and Moritz Buss are 14-8 together in doubles with a 12-8 record at No. 2. 

TIGERS COACHING STAFF

• Jake Shoemake is in his 2nd season as the head men's tennis coach at Ouachita Baptist. 
• Shoemake lettered for the Tiger tennis team while earning a bachelor's degree in business administration. During his time as an undergraduate, he and the Tigers won three consecutive AIC championships in 1992, 1993, and 1994.
• From 2018 until his hire as head coach at Ouachita, Shoemake was the head tennis pro and manager at the Bella Vista (Arkansas) Property Owners Association.
• Shoemake began his career in 1994 as an assistant pro at the Hardscrabble Country Club in Fort Smith.

HISTORY WITH OUACHITA BAPTIST

• Washburn leads the all-time series between the two teams 10-3.
• The Ichabods are 3-0 against Ouachita Baptist in Topeka. 
• The series began on March 17, 2002 with a 7-1 win for the Tigers at home. 
• Washburn won the only meeting between the two teams this season winning 5-2 on the road on March 19.

MILESTONE MARKERS

• Pavlos Parson needs one doubles victory to reach 50 in his career at Washburn.
• Zino Nahirniak needs four more wins in singles to reach 50 for his career as an Ichabod.