SURPRISE, Ariz. -- No. 11 Washburn men's tennis returns to the NCAA National Quarterfinals on Thursday morning as they take on the No. 2 seed and No. 1 nationally ranked West Florida at 9 a.m. PST at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex. 
  

FIRST SERVE

• The 20th NCAA Tournament run for No. 11 Washburn men's tennis continues to day two of nationals as they face the No. 1 ranked team by the ITA in West Florida.  

• The No. 7 seeded Ichabods will face the No. 2 seeded Argonauts at 9 a.m. PST on Thursday, May 21 in Surprise, Ariz. at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex.  

• Washburn improved to 20-5 on the season and won a 15th straight match sweeping No. 19 Ferris State in the Round of 16 on Wednesday afternoon. 

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 6-0 in home matches, 9-2 in neutral court meetings and 5-3 on the road.  

• After going 14-4 against ranked opponents last season the Ichabods are 12-4 against ranked competition this season. 

TOURNAMENT TIME 

• Washburn has an overall record of 20-19 in the NCAA Tournament. 

• They have a 5-8 all-time record in the national tournament including a 1-1 mark in the National Quarterfinals. 

• The Ichabods are one of five teams to reach the quarterfinal round for a second straight season. 

• The semifinal and championship rounds will be broadcasted by the NCAA. 

• The championship match in Surprise is set for Sunday May 24 at 8 a.m. PST.  

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 160-75 (68.1%) in singles competition.  

• After winning the ITA Central Region Championship Pavlos Parson has a 23-13 record on the year and is 11-10 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 second on the team with 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 27-7 mark during his freshman season to lead the team in victories. He has gone 15-6 in duals overall and is 8-3 from No. 6.  

• Zino Nahirniak has gone 23-4 on the year in singles action and is 16-0 in duals playing at No. 3-5. He has won his last 16 times out. 

• Tommy Cecchetti is 17-12 so far on the year while going 14-8 in duals on the top-three courts. He is 7-2 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 66-42 (61.1%) in doubles matches.  

• Benjamin Fock and Zino Nahirniak have 14 victories together this season, the most for any duo. They are 14-6 together with a 9-3 mark in duals, all at No. 1. They are 4-3 against ranked duos. 

• Tommy Cecchetti and Pavlos Parson are 13-2 together overall all in duals. They have a 12-2 record playing at No. 2 and are 4-1 against ranked opponents. 

• Kilian Martinez and Yuto Miyagawa are 6-2 together playing only in duals. They are 5-2 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 23 victories in doubles competition. Yuto Miyagawa is second on the team with 20 wins in doubles play.  

LAST TIME OUT 

Washburn 4, Ferris State 0 (May 20, 2026) 

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- No. 11 Washburn took an early hold of its Round of 16 match against No. 19 Ferris State and never let up Wednesday afternoon, sweeping its way into the National Quarterfinals for a second straight season with a 4-0 victory. The Ichabods will face the second seed and No. 1 nationally ranked West Florida at 9 a.m. PST on Thursday.   

In doubles play Kilian Martinez and Yuto Miyagawa led off the match with a swift 6-2 victory on court three to give Washburn (20-5) the edge. No. 28 Tommy Cecchetti and Pavlos Parson overcame an early deficit to reel off a 6-4 win and clinch the first point of the match. No. 9 Benjamin Fock and Zino Nahirniak were trailing 5-6 to No. 33 ranked Erik Kovas and Adrian Catahan of the Bulldogs (19-4) on the top court when the point was determined.  

Across all six doubles courts the Ichabods took the first set in every one. The first to finish was Benjamin Fock at No. 6 winning a pair of 6-3 sets to put the second point of the match on the board. On the top court No. 43 Pavlos Parson grinded out a 6-4 victory in his first set against No. 42 Kevin Kovacs. In the second he worked quickly to secure a 6-3 win that brought up match point.   

Zino Nahirniak put the finishing touches on the match within minutes after, winning 6-1 in his first set at 6-4 in the second as he clinched a second straight match for Washburn.   

No. 41 Kilian Martinez was one game away from finishing his match with No. 29 Jose Perez on court two, while No. 44 Tommy Cecchetti was also just one game away from adding another point at No. 3. Yuto Miaygawa was tied 4-4 on court six after winning his opening set 6-3 when the match was clinched. 

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 216-69 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.  

• 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 UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA ARGONAUTS 

• West Florida improved to 27-1 on the year with a 4-0 romp over St. Thomas Aquinas in the Round of 16 on Wednesday afternoon. 

• They are ranked No. 1 in the latest ITA rankings released on April 29 while being ranked No. 2 at the National Championships. 

• Last season the Argonauts went 24-3 on the year, winning the ITA Indoor National Championship before falling to Barry in the Regional Finals. 

• On the year they are 10-0 playing at home in Pesacola, Fla., 8-0 on the road and 9-1 in neutral court matches. 

• Sebastian Rendon is ranked No. 1 in the nation in singles, Diego Duran is also in the top-five at No. 3. Rafael Sabio is No. 49 in the nation and Mateo Martinez is ranked No. 74 by the ITA.  

• Sebastian Rondon is 25-2 on the year in singles action, all at No. 1 and he is 4-1 against ranked opponents. 

• Diego Duran has compiled a 21-2 record in singles duals all coming at No. 2. He is 3-1 against ranked players. 

• In doubles Sebastian Rondon and Diego Duran are ranked No. 1 in the nation by the ITA. The pair are 20-2 together in doubles this season all at No. 1 and are 2-0 against ranked duos.  

• Goncalo Quintela and Rafael Sabio are 11-5 together in doubles with a 6-3 mark at No. 2.  

ARGONAUTS COACHING STAFF 

• Derrick Racine is in his 27th season as head coach of the West Florida men's and women's tennis teams. 

• Racine has been named the 2003, 2005, 2012, 2014 and 2017 Division II Wilson/ITA Men's Tennis National Coach of the Year and the 2002 Division II Wilson/ITA Women's Tennis National Coach of the Year 

• Racine began his head coaching career at Mobile in 1995. At Mobile, Racine posted an impressive 76-9 record with his men's squad and an equally impressive 77-6 record with the women. 

• Graduate assistant coach Salvador Bandiera rounds out the coaching staff. 

HISTORY WITH WEST FLORIDA 

• West Florida leads the series between the two teams 1-0.  

• The first and only match was a 4-0 win for the Argonauts in the ITA Indoor National Championships on Feb. 16, 2025. 

MILESTONE MARKERS 

• Zino Nahirniak needs two more wins in singles to reach 50 for his career as an Ichabod. 

• Benjamin Fock is tied for 3rd in a single season with 26 singles victories, Yuto Miyagawa is tied for 5th with 25.  

UP NEXT 

• With a win on Thursday the Ichabods would have a day off before playing at 9 a.m. PST against the winner of the match between No. 3 Lubbock Christian and No. 6 Flagler.