EDMOND, Okla. -- No. 17 Washburn will look to punch its ticket at the NCAA National Championships with a third meeting against No. 33 Central Oklahoma in the regional finals on Saturday, May 9 in Edmond, Okla. Beginning at 10 a.m. 
  

FIRST SERVE 

• No. 17 Washburn's 22nd appearance in the NCAA Tournament continues into the Central Region finals as they face No. 33 Central Oklahoma for a third time this season. 

• The Ichabods will face the Bronchos on Saturday, May 9 in Edmond, Okla. at Edmond Center Court beginning at 10 a.m. for a chance to advance to the NCAA National Championships in Surprise, Arizona.  

• Washburn improved to 19-4 on the season with a 4-0 win over the No. 6 seed Arkansas Tech in the opening round of the regional tournament on Friday morning. 

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 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 7-2 on the road and 5-2 in neutral court matches. 

• The Ichabods are 6-3 against ranked opponents this season. 

TOURNAMENT TIME!  

• Washburn has an 11-16 record all-time in the NCAA Regional Tournament.  

• The Ichabods are looking to advance to the NCAA National Tournament for the fifth time in program history. 

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 149-44 (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 23-6 on the year to begin her freshman season. She is 14-5 in duals and is 13-4 at No. 2 with a 2-2 record against ranked opponents. 

• Daniela Tijaro has compiled a 21-10 record in singles play. She is 14-7 in duals overall and 13-5 playing at No. 3. 

• 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 22-4 overall in singles with a 16-3 mark in duals. She has gone 9-3 playing at No. 4 and 7-0 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 16-4 on the year in singles play and has gone 7-1 at the six spot in singles. She has a team-high five-match winning streak. 

• Maddie Shelley has a 7-1 record in singles play and has gone 2-1 in duals. 

• Peyton Koper is 3-4 on the singles side to open the season. 

DOUBLES DOWNLOAD 

• The Ichabods have gone 70-23 (75.3%) on the year in doubles matches this season.  

• Jasel Bailey and Saajida Razick have the most doubles victories of any duo going 13-6 together this season, all in duals. They have a 8-3 record at No. 1 and are 1-2 against ranked opponents. 

• Daneila Tijaro and Mariana Silva Balsa are 11-4 together, all in duals, and are 9-3 playing at No. 2. 

• Renske Ubachs and Riko Konno are 8-2 together this season playing at all three spots. They are 4-0 at No. 3. 

• Daniela Tijaro has a team-high 23 doubles victories, Jasel Bailey and Renske Ubachs each have 21 wins. 

LAST TIME OUT 

Washburn 4, Arkansas Tech 0 (May 8, 2026) 

EDMOND, Okla. -- No. 17 Washburn opened the NCAA Tournament by rolling to a 4-0 win over the No. 6 seed in the Central Region, Arkansas Tech, on Friday morning. The No. 3 seeded Ichabods will advance to face the No. 2 seed in the region No. 33 nationally ranked Central Oklahoma on Saturday, May 9 at 10 a.m. for a spot in the NCAA National Championships.   

After a slow start to doubles Washburn (19-4) was able to gain the advantage with Renske Ubachs and Riko Konno working a 6-3 victory on court two. Mariana Silva Balsa followed close behind winning 6-4 at No. 3 to clinch the point over the Golden Suns (12-8). No. 40 Jasel Bailey and Saajida Razick led 5-4 over the No. 29 ranked duo of Rebecca Arnold and Elis Gergel on the top court when the point was decided.  

Singles competition led off on court six with Charlotte Bair needed less than an hour on the court to pick up 6-1 and 6-2 victories and put another point on the board. Daniela Tijaro followed closely behind, winning two sets by the exact same score at No. 3 to bring up match point. No. 59 Riko Konno battled for a 6-4 opening set victory and carried the momentum into a 6-1 win in the second set that clinched the match and 4-0 sweep.  

On the three unfinished courts No. 31 Renske Ubachs led 5-1 in the second set after winning 6-2 in the first on court one. Saajida Razick had responded to falling 4-6 in her first set at No. 4 by leading 3-0 in the second set. Jasel Bailey was two games away from victory at No. 5, leading 4-2 in the second after a 6-2 first set victory.   

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 213-68 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.  

• 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 CENTRAL OKLAHOMA BRONCHOS 

• Central Oklahoma improved to 18-3 with a 4-0 sweep of the Ichabods in the MIAA Tournament Championship last time out on May 3. 

• They are ranked No. 33 in the latest ITA rankings and are the No. 2 seed in the Central Region. 

• Last season the Bronchos went 13-7 overall and 6-3 in the MIAA, winning the MIAA Tournament and falling in the first round of the NCAA Central regional.  

• This year they are 8-1 on the year playing in Edmond, 6-2 on the road and are 4-0 in neutral court matches.  

• Mei Hasegawa is ranked No. 20 in the nation in singles while Pete Komada is slotted at No. 54 by the ITA.  

• Central Oklahoma has gone 83-30 (73.5%) in singles play in duals.   

• Mei Hasegawa is 18-1 on the year in singles duals, all coming at No. 1 in the lineup.  

• In doubles competition Mei Hasegawa and Pete Komada are ranked No. 7 in the nation while Pete Komada and Ayaka Koga are ranked No. 37.  

• The Bronchos have gone 50-8 (86.2%) in doubles competition.  

• Mei Hasegawa and Pete Komada are 18-2 in doubles duals this season, all coming at No. 1.   

BRONCHOS COACHING STAFF 

• Joe Vann is in his 5th season as the head coach at Central Oklahoma.   

• Vann came to UCO from UT Tyler, where he spent four years as the assistant coach for both men's and women's programs  

• Vann is a 2009 graduate of UT Tyler. He earned All-ASC honors both on the court and in the classroom there before moving into coaching.  

• Graduate assistant Ana Naranjo Martinez completes the coaching staff. 

HISTORY WITH CENTRAL OKLAHOMA 

• Central Oklahoma leads the all-time series between the two teams 17-7.  

• The series began on April 12, 1998 with a 9-0 win for Central Oklahoma on the road.   

• The Bronchos have won both meetings this season winning 4-3 at home in the regular season and 4-0 in Springfield in the MIAA Tournament Championship match a week ago. 

MILESTONE MARKERS 

• Maddie Shelley is two career singles victories away from reaching 40. 

• Jasel Bailey needs five singles victories to reach 50 in her career.