SURPRISE, Ariz. -- No. 17 Washburn heads to the Valley of the Sun for the NCAA National Championships for a Round of 16 match-up against No. 8 nationally ranked Columbus State on Tuesday, May 19 in Surprise, Ariz. 
 

FIRST SERVE

• No. 17 nationally ranked and No. 8 seed Washburn will head to the Pacific time zone to face the No. 8 nationally ranked and No. 9 seeded Columbus State in the Round of 16.
• The Ichabods will face the Cougars at 8 a.m. PST on Tuesday, May 19 in Surprise, Ariz. at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex. 
• Washburn improved to 20-4 on the season and advanced into the national tournament with a 4-1 win over No. 33 Central Oklahoma last time out on May 9.

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 are ranked No. 17 in the latest ITA poll.
• 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 7-0 when playing at home 8-2 on the road and 5-2 in neutral court matches.
• The Ichabods are 7-3 against ranked opponents this season.

TOURNAMENT TIME! 

• Washburn has a 13-20 record all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
• They have gone 1-4 at the national tournament with a 1-3 record in the Round of 16.
• The semifinal and championship rounds will be broadcasted by the NCAA. 
• The championship match is set for Saturday, May 23 at 12 p.m. PST.

AROUND THE RANKINGS

• Washburn has two players ranked in the ITA singles rankings. 
• Renske Ubachs leads the team with a No. 31 ranking. Riko Konno is slotted at No. 59.
• On the doubles side Renske Ubachs and Daniela Tijaro are ranked No. 17 in the nation. Saajida Razick and Jasel Bailey enter the rankings at No. 40 in the nation.

SINGLES SETUP

• So far on the season Washburn has gone 152-45 (77.2%) in singles matches.
• After winning the ITA Central Region Championship, Renske Ubachs leads the team with a 27-6 singles record and is 15-4 playing at No. 1. 
• Riko Konno has gone 24-6 on the year to begin her freshman season. She is 15-5 in duals and is 14-4 at No. 2 with a 3-2 record against ranked opponents.
• Daniela Tijaro has compiled a 22-10 record in singles play. She is 15-7 in duals overall and 14-5 playing at No. 3. She has won her last five times out.
• Saajida Razick has a 19-5 mark in singles play overall while going 12-4 in duals. She has played between No. 2 and No. 5 with a 4-2 mark at No. 4.
• Jasel Bailey is 23-4 overall in singles with a 17-3 mark in duals. She has gone 9-3 playing at No. 4 and 8-0 on court five.
• Mariana Silva Balsa is 8-4 on the year in singles play all in duals. She is 5-3 at No. 6.
• Charlotte Bair is 16-5 on the year in singles play and has gone 7-2 at the six spot in singles. 
• Maddie Shelley has a 7-1 record in singles play and has gone 2-1 in duals.
• Peyton Koper is 3-4 in singles action this season, all in tournaments.

DOUBLES DOWNLOAD

• The Ichabods have gone 72-24 (75.0%) on the year in doubles matches this season. 
• Jasel Bailey and Saajida Razick have the most doubles victories of any duo going 13-7 together this season, all in duals. They have a 8-4 record at No. 1 and are 1-3 against ranked opponents.
• Daneila Tijaro and Mariana Silva Balsa are 12-4 together, all in duals, and are 9-3 playing at No. 3 and 3-1 at No. 3.
• Renske Ubachs and Riko Konno are 9-2 together this season playing at all three spots. They are 4-0 at No. 3 and 3-0 at No. 2. They have won the last seven times out.
• Daniela Tijaro has a team-high 24 doubles victories, Renske Ubachs is second on the team with 22 wins.

LAST TIME OUT

Washburn 4, Central Oklahoma 1 (May 9, 2026)

EDMOND, Okla. -- In the third meeting between the two teams this season No. 17 Washburn prevailed for the first time, defeating No. 33 Central Oklahoma 4-1 on the road to advance to the NCAA National Championships. The Ichabods head to nationals for the 5th time in program history and first since the 2023-24 season, the tournament will begin May 19 in Surprise, Arizona.  

Renske Ubachs and Riko Konno set the tone early jumping out to a 5-0 lead at No. 2 doubles and went on to win 6-2, giving Washburn (20-4) the edge early. The Bronchos (18-4) evened up doubles play with No. 7 ranked Mei Hasegawa and Pete Komada winning 6-2 on the top court over No. 40 Saajida Razick and Jasel Bailey. Mariana Silva Balsa and Daniela Tijaro fought off tight points late at No. 3 to win 6-3 and clinch the first point of the match. 

As singles play began Central Oklahoma was able to even the match up on court six as Charlotte Bair fell in two sets, 6-1 and 6-0. Playing on court five Jasel Bailey battled to win a 6-3 opening set and in the second set cruised to a 6-0 sweep, making it 2-1. Daniela Tijaro took early leads in both sets at No. 3 and won 6-3 in the first and 6-2 in the second to set up match point for the Ichabods.  

In a battle on court two No. 59 RIko Konno came up just short in her first set, losing a 7-6(4) tiebreaker to No. 54 Pete Komada. She rallied in the second set and responded with a 6-2 victory to force a third. In the third she jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, winning 6-1 to clinch Washburn's trip to the national tournament with a 4-1 victory. 

No. 31 Renske Ubachs trailed 1-2 in her third set at No. 1 against No. 20 Mei Hasegawa while Saajida Razick was just beginning her third set on court four when the 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 215-68 combined record with Washburn.
• Has been named the ITA Central Region Coach of the Year six times and the MIAA Coach of the Year three times. 
• 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 COLUMBUS STATE COUGARS

• Columbus State improved to 20-4 overall with a 4-0 sweep of No. 15 Flagler to advance into the NCAA National Championships last time out on May 9.
• Last season the Cougars went 16-7 overall and 5-1 inside the PBC, they fell in the Southeast Regional finals to North Georgia.
• They are ranked No. 8 in the latest ITA rankings from April 29.
• This year they are 12-3 playing at home at the John W. Walden Tennis Center, 8-1 playing on the road and have not played a neutral court match.
• Nikoline Gullacksen is ranked No. 13 in the national ITA singles rankings.
• Columbus State has a 96-31 (75.6%) record in singles duals this season.
• Nikoline Gullacksen has gone 16-2 this season in singles, all at No. 1. 
• Claudia de Lucas has gone 16-5 in singles this season at three positions with a 11-5 record at No. 3.
• The Cougars are 48-15 (76.2%) in doubles duals this season.
• Laura Pesickova and Isabell Ek have gone 20-3 this season in doubles. They are 10-1 playing at No. 1.
• Annie Adams and Maria Markosov are 10-3 in doubles play this season with a 9-3 mark at No. 3.

COUGARS COACHING STAFF

• Evan Isaacs is in his 27th season as the head men's and women's tennis coach at Columbus State.
• Isaacs earned his undergraduate in Recreational Management (1995) and graduate degree in Public Administration (1997) from Columbus State.  He was a two-year member of the tennis program at CSU.
• Prior to CSU, Isaacs was a private tennis instructor working in several different areas.  From April of 1998 until his arrival in Columbus, he was the head professional at Wynlakes Golf and Country Club in Montgomery, Ala.
• He started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Columbus State.

HISTORY WITH COLUMBUS STATE

• Tuesday's Round of 16 meeting will be the first ever match between the two teams.

MILESTONE MARKERS

• Maddie Shelley is two career singles victories away from reaching 40.
• Jasel Bailey needs four singles victories to reach 50 in her career.
• Renske Ubachs' 27 singles victories are currently the 5th most in a single season in program history.

UP NEXT

• With a win in the opening round the Ichabods would move on to face the winner of the match between the top seed Mississippi College and the No. 16 seed Adelphi. The national quarterfinals match would take place on Wednesday, May 20 at 3 p.m. PST.