Washburn University Athletics

Kirby Ronning will head into his sixth season as the head coach for the Ichabod men's and women's tennis programs in 2025-26 having compiled a 88-32 record with the women's team and a 88-28 mark with the men. 

Since being named to the position on July 23, 2020 he has led both the men's and women's programs to the NCAA Tournament in every season, with six appearances at the National Championships. Ronning has coached 33 All-MIAA first team selections, 21 ITA All-Americans, three CSC Academic All-Americans and three MIAA Players of the Year, four ITA Regional Champions and two pairs of ITA Cup Doubles National Champions. Individually, Ronning has been named the ITA Central Region Coach of the Year four times (2022-23 men and women, 2023-24 - men, 2024-25 - women) and the MIAA Coach of the Year three times (2023-24 - men, 2024-25 - men and women). 

The 2024-25 season was the most successful to date for the tennis program beginning in the fall with a pair of ITA Regional Championships in the fall (Daniela Tijaro and Renske Ubachs - Doubles & and Tim Hammes - Singles). Washburn sent eight to the ITA Cup and won a National Championship for a second straight year with Tim Hammes and Matthew Earle claiming the title. Both teams were ranked for the entire season including the men's team reaching a new program high mark of No. 3 in the nation. The women's team won a share of the MIAA Regular Season Championship going 8-1 in the conference and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. The men's team set a new program best with a 23-4 record and went 5-0 in the MIAA/GAC North Division. They won a third straight MIAA/GAC Tournament Championship and reached the National Championship match before falling 4-2 to No. 1 Valdosta State. The men's team also competed in the ITA National Indoor Championship for the first time in program history and reached the Championship match, losing 4-0 to West Florida. Washburn added six All-American honors and an academic All-American after the season. 
 
Success continued in year four for both programs beginning with Sebastian Pjontek capturing the ITA Regional Singles title in the fall. Later in the fall Ronning helped guide Santiago Rendon and Tim Hammes to the ITA CUP National Championship, the first ever on the men's side. Both the men's and women's teams reached new heights in the ITA rankings. The women were ranked as high as No. 3 during the season while the men reached No. 5. The men's team finished the year 20-5 overall and 4-0 in the MIAA/GAC north, winning the regular season title and repeating as tournament champions. They went on to reach the NCAA Round of 16 for a second straight season. The women's team finished 20-6 overall and 6-2 inside the MIAA, reaching the NCAA Round of 16 a third consecutive season. Ronning led six Ichabods to earn ITA All-American status for the year, along with a pair of Academic All-Americans. 

Year three marked significant breakthroughs for both programs. The men’s team compiled a 17-8 record and won the MIAA/GAC Tournament for the first time since 2009. The team hosted a home regional match for the first time since 2007 and defeated Ouachita Baptist 4-1 to reach the NCAA Round of 16. The women’s team held a record of 18-7 and won the MIAA Tournament for the first time since 2010. The team hosted a regional match and defeated Augustana 4-2 to go to the NCAA Round of 16 for the second season in a row and advanced to the National Quarterfinal match for the first time in program history. Sonia Smagina spent nearly the entire season as the No. 2-ranked player in the country in singles, reaching No. 1 in March. Both teams featured All-Americans as the two combined for seven earning the national honor. 

In year two, both programs continued their climb in the national spotlight. The men’s team reached a program-high national ranking of No. 7 in the spring season and qualified for the NCAA postseason for the second consecutive season. On the women’s side, the team qualified for the NCAA postseason for the second-straight year as the No. 6 team in the region, and beat third-seeded Southeastern Oklahoma and second-seeded Augustana to reach the NCAA Round of 16.  

In his first season with the Ichabods, both programs saw instant success as the men’s and women’s teams earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament and finished ranked in the top-25 in the ITA national poll. The women’s team turned in a record of 17-3 (7-1 MIAA) and checked in at No. 14 in the final ITA rankings. They competed in the MIAA Tournament championship match and also played in the NCAA regional final.

On the men’s side, the Ichabods went 11-5 (3-0 MIAA) and played in the MIAA/GAC Tournament championship match and reached the first round of the NCAA regional. Ronning coached his first All-American duo with Bradley Eidenmueller and Sebastian Pjontek earning national honors in doubles. Additionally, the Ichabods received seven total All-MIAA selections. The team wrapped up the season ranked No. 20 in Division II.

Prior to accepting the head coaching position at Washburn, Ronning spent four seasons as the assistant coach at Azusa Pacific from 2016-2020. 

During the 2019 spring dual match season at APU, Ronning was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's West Region Men's Assistant Coach of the Year. On the women's side, the 2019 spring season marked the best finish in program history since the Cougars transitioned to NCAA Division II. After qualifying for the NCAA postseason for the second consecutive year, the program won its first NCAA Regional match and qualified for the National Tournament, reaching the NCAA Quarterfinals after a win against eighth-seeded University of Central Oklahoma. 

In Ronning's second year on staff, the men's program produced a national semifinal appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the first PacWest Championship in program history. That spring also marked the first time that the women's program qualified for the NCAA postseason and Ronning was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's West Region Women's Assistant Coach of the Year. 

During his first season at Azusa Pacific, he assisted head coach Mark Bohren to the first NCAA Division II national quarterfinal appearance for the men's program. 

As a player, he played for four years at Bethel University (Minn.) and was honored with the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Sportsmanship award two times. As a senior, he served as the team captain while playing primarily at the No. 2 singles and No 1. doubles position. Ronning received his bachelor's degree in Business and earned his master's degree in Physical Education at Azusa Pacific in May 2020. 

Washburn women's tennis under Head Coach Ronning

Year	Overall	MIAA (regular season finish)	Postseason	Final ITA Ranking
2020-21	17-3	7-1 (2nd)	NCAA Central Region Final	#14
2021-22	16-12	7-1 (2nd)	NCAA National Round of 16	#39
2022-23	18-7	6-2 (2nd)	MIAA Tournament Champions, NCAA National Quarterfinals	#17
2023-24	20-6	6-2 (4th)	NCAA National Round of 16	#14
2024-25	17-4	8-1 (T-1st)	NCAA Central Region Final	#18
TOTAL	88-32	34-7

Washburn men's tennis under Head Coach Ronning

Year	Overall	MIAA/GAC (regular season finish)	Postseason	Final ITA Ranking
2020-21	11-5	3-0 (1st in north division)	NCAA Central Region Semifinals	#21
2021-22	17-6	3-1 (2nd in north division)	NCAA Central Region Final	#19
2022-23	17-8	3-1 (2nd in north division)	MIAA Tournament Champions, NCAA National Round of 16	#18
2023-24	20-5	4-0 (1st in north division)	MIAA Tournament Champions, NCAA National Round of 16	#9
2024-25	23-4	5-0 (1st in north division)	MIAA Tournament Champions, NCAA National Finalists	#5
TOTAL	88-28	18-2