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By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
Tuesday was a windy day at the Washburn Tennis Complex for a ranked men’s match between No. 11 Washburn and No. 28 Rockhurst.
“I thought out kids did a really good job of adjusting to the conditions; it was really, really tough out there today,” said Washburn coach Kirby Ronning. “For our guys to just continue taking care of business is really positive.”
The weather was no worry for the Ichabods who claimed a 6-1 victory over the Hawks, giving Washburn three straight wins.
Six points is the most the Ichabods have picked up in a match since their 6-1 victory Feb. 26 over the University of Illinois Springfield.
Each point is vital as the team aims to get back into the top-10 of the ITA rankings.
With the win Washburn moved to 13-2 on the season as the Ichabods get set for five straight matches on the road.
Doubles action began with a win for the Ichabods from the first position, with the No. 21 ranked duo of freshman Matthew Earle and sophomore Sebastian Pjontek taking a 6-2 win.
Washburn's Santiago Rendon celebrates a point in Tuesday's 6-1 men's tennis win over Rockhurst. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/The Washburn Review]
Behind them sophomores Santiago Rendon and Miquel Perez picked up a spirited 6-4 win from the third position, making seven straight matches the pair has won and giving the team a 1-0 lead.
“It’s tough opponents and tough conditions, too much wind, but we managed to play and compete and that is what we are here for,” Rendon said.
Senior Raul-Alin Dicu and freshman Noah Neideck lost the No. 2 match 6-3, but the doubles point already belonged to the Ichabods as singles play began.
Freshman Tim Hammes, ranked No. 36 individually, had no trouble with his No. 3 match, winning in two sets to give WU a 2-0 team lead.
Noah Neideck (left) and Raul-Alin Dicu react to a point in Tuesday's 6-1 Washburn tennis win over Rockhurst. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/The Washburn Review]
Dicu, ranked No. 49 in singles, finished his No. 1 match next, needing three sets but coming away with a win to give Washburn a commanding 3-0 lead.
The only point lost in the match came in the No. 2 match with Perez falling in a 7-5 third set tiebreaker.
The Ichabods win was secured after sophomore Daniel Bird took a two-set victory, winning with scores of 6-3 and 6-1 from the fourth position. Pjontek finished his three set match from the sixth position next, winning the third set 6-4 to close it out.
“I think that’s something our guys have done a really good job of all year. They aren’t looking to the guy to their left or right, they are just taking it upon themselves to take care of business on their court,” Ronning said.
Rendon had the quickest match of singles play, but was the last to finish, as he dropped only one set-point on his way to a swift two-set victory to complete the 6-1 scoring.
“Doubles with Micky (Miquel Perez) we are really confident, we have won seven straight so we are very happy with that,” Rendon said. “In singles I lost the last match to SBU (Southwest Baptist University) so winning here today is very special for me.”
The win keeps Washburn a perfect 6-0 at home in Topeka, and 3-0 on the outdoor courts.
“A lot of these kids have been in college tennis for two, two and a half months and know what to expect in a lot of these matches, so there is not a lot of rookie lessons that they have to learn, it's just applying a lot of the stuff and they are starting to do a better job of that,” Ronning said.
The Ichabods will travel to Bolivar, Missouri to face Southern Arkansas University in a neutral-site match Saturday.
WASHBURN 6, ROCKHURST 1
Individual Results
Doubles
No. 1 – Pjontek/Earle, Washburn def. Harris/King, Rockhurst 6-2
No. 2 – Rodriguez/Keiner, Rockhurst def. Dicu/Neideck, Washburn 6-3
No. 3 – Perez/Rendon, Washburn def. Cequea/Sahagun, Rockhurst 6-4
Singles
No. 1 – Dicu, Washburn def. Keiner, Rockhurst 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
No. 2 – Rodriguez, Rockhurst def. Perez, Washburn 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5)
No. 3 – Hammes, Washburn def. Cequea, Rockhurst 6-1, 7-5
No. 4 – Pjontek, Washburn def. Sahagun, Rockhurst 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
No. 5 – Bird, Washburn def. Harris, Rockhurst 6-3, 6-1
No. 6 – Rendon, Washburn def. King, Rockhurst 6-0, 6-1
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Playing for Washburn Rural for the first time since 2019, senior singles standout Mason Thieu turned in a dominating perormance Tuesday as the Junior Blues opened their season with a big day in Rura's Too Big Invitational at Kossover Tennis Center.
Thieu, who was a state placer as a freshman for Rural before competing out of state, went 3-0 on the day without dropping a game, winning the No. 1 singles championship. Thieu topped junior teammate Mason Casebeer 6-0, 6-0 in the final.
Washburn Rural senior Mason Thieu makes a return in Tuesday's Too Big Invitational. Thieu won the No. 1 singles title without dropping a game. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural seniors Jiyoon Park and Zach Willingham captured the No. 1 doubles title, taking an 8-2 win over Olathe East in the championship match.
Washburn Rural seniors Jiyoon Park (left) and Zach Willingham won the No. 1 doubles championship in Tursday's season-opening Too Big Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Team scores weren't kept Tuesday, but the Junior Blues also won the No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles titles as Washburn Rural won four out of five divisions.
Justin Kruse ws the runner-up in the No. 2 singles division to pace Seaman
TOO BIG INVITATIONAL
Individual results
Singles
No. 1 -- Championship: Thieu, Washburn Rural def. Casebeer, Washburn Rural, 6-0. Third: Magee, Topeka West, def. Wise, Gardner-Edgerton, 6-1, 6-1.
No. 2 -- Championship: Parrin, Salina Sacred Heart, def. Kruse, Seaman, 8-5. Third: Luetje, Washburn Rural, def. Prettejohn, Olathe East, 8-5.
No. 3 -- Championship: Nelson, Washburn Rural, def. Rundel, Washburn Rural, 8-2. Third: Wagnon, Seaman, def. Williams, Washburn Rural, 8-3.
Doubles
No. 1 -- Championship: Park/Willingham, Washburn Rural, def. Hanou/Blasi, Olathe East, 8-2. Third: Lorenzo/Matthews, Junction City, def. Byerly/Natarjan, Manhattan, 8-4.
No. 2 -- Championship: Labatos/Dodge, Washburn Rural, def. Arnold/Spiegel, Manhattan, 8-3. Third: Forssberg/LeBar, De Soto, def. Engel/Rutledge, Topeka West, 8-7, 7-5.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural athletic and activities director Penny Lane received the 2022 National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association State Award of Merit last Saturday during the Kansas Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association state conference.
Washburn Rural athletics/activities director Penny Lane has received the NIAAA State Award of Merit. [Twitter]
This annual award is provided by the NIAAA to an athletic administrator from each state for recognition of meritorious dedication to high school and middle school athletics.
Within the KIAAA Lane served as second vice-president from 2017 to 2018, first vice-president from 2018 to 2019 and president from 2019 to 2020.
Lane is a 16-year member of the NIAAA as well as a 16-year veteran in athletic administration.
Lane has guided Washburn Rural athletic and activites programs that have been among the most successful in the state.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural's Kevin Hedberg is one of the state's best known and most successful high school tennis coaches.
But the 43-year teaching and coaching veteran formally informed Washburn Rural's administrators on Monday that he is retiring at the end of the current school year.
"The classroom was fine, the kids were absolutely fantastic and treated me with a lot of respect and did what I asked -- teaching and tennis -- but it just seemed like time,'' Hedberg said. "For whatever reason, it just felt like time.''
Longtime Washburn Rural tennis coach Kevin Hedberg (left) jokes with a Junior Blues player during Monday's practice at Topeka Country Club while Rural senior Nick Luetje looks on. Hedberg will retire at the end of the current school year. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Hedberg turned 70 in February and said that landmark birthday got him thinking more about retirement.
"I started thinking about it a little bit about three months ago, honestly,'' Hedberg said. "When I turned 70, it was kind of a weird thing. You start thinking, 'Wow, when I was kid 70 was ancient, and I'm there.' ''
Hedberg is in his 32nd year at Washburn Rural after spending 11 years at Seaman.
Hedberg has coached five state championship teams at Rural (four boys and one girls), as well as singles and doubles champions in both boys and girls tennis and a long list of city and Centennial League title teams.
Hedberg, a former Division I college tennis player at South Florida, knows it will be hard to step away from teaching and coaching, but said it will be nice to be able to pursue other interests in retirement.
"'I'm driving down 61st Street towards Auburn Road the other day and I got to this one road and I thought, 'I've taught here 32 years and I've never driven down this road,' so I just drove down that road,'' said Hedberg, a member of the Topeka Tennis Association Hall of Fame. "The have-tos of your life just take over and you don't have time do do a lot of that stuff. Now I can do that.
"There's always going to be things at every job you don't like but the hardest thing about it for me will be walking away from the kids because I honestly think the kids have kind of kept me young. Ending that association with them is going to be hard but I've got to fill that void and I will. I'll figure something out to keep my spirits up that way.''
Hedberg's boys team will open the 2022 season on Tuesday in Rural's Too Big Invitational at Kossover Tennis Center and Hedberg said he's looking forward to the season.
"This is a great bunch of boys and they're just fun to be around and they have fun playing tennis,'' he said. "They're great as a group.''
Veteran Topeka West coach Kurt Davids said he has a great deal of respect for Hedberg and said he will definitely be missed.
"When I came here in 1993 it was easy to hold a grudge against Rural because of their success, but as time went on and I got to know not just Kevin but the rest of coaches in town and the league, you realize that everybody cares for each other and everybody wants everybody to be successful against everybody but themselves,'' Davids said. "Kevin was always a good example of that -- good advice, understood what we had to do and how we were trying to do things.
"I consider him a very dear friend now more so than a mortal enemy. He wants us to be successful, we want them to be successfu, up until the time they play us.''
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The 2022 All-City girls bowling team: From left -- Katie Price, Seaman; Makenzie Millard, Seaman; Megan Wood, Topeka West; Kaitlyn Doyal, Washburn Rural; Amaya Buchanan, Washburn Rural; Karli Gilliland, Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Three state placers, including Class 5A-1A senior runner-up Makenzie Millard of state team champion Seaman, lead the 2022 All-City girls bowling team.
Millard, who posted a top-five state finish for the third straight season, is joined on the first team by junior teammate Katie Price after the Vikings captured the team championship by a 3,173-3,144 margin over Bishop Carroll in the state meet at Wichita Northrock Lanes.
Washburn Rural senior Kaitlyn Doyal placed fourth in 6A with a 616 three-game series while Topeka West sophomore Megan Wood placed 13th in 5A-1A with a 593 series.
Also earning first-team honors were Amaya Buchanan, who helped Rural finish third in 6A, and Shawnee Heights' Karli Gilliland, who qualified for the 5A-1A state tournament.
All-City capsules:
AMAYA BUCHANAN, Washburn Rural -- Buchanan helped Waashburn Rural post a third-place finish in the Class 6A state tournament, shooting a 524 series. Buchanan finished seventh in the Centennial League tournament with 568 series and finished sixth in 6A regional competition with a 538.
KAITLYN DOYAL, Washburn Rural -- Doyal finished her high school career with a 4th-place finish in the Class 6A state tournament, bowling a 616 series to help lead the Junior Blues to a third-place team finish. Doyal won the individual Centennial League title with a 668 series.
KARLI GILLILAND, Shawnee Heights -- Gilliland qualified for the Class 5A-1A state tournament as a senior, rolling a 525 series at state. Gilliland placed fifth in 5A-1A regional competition with a 603 series.
MAKENZIE MILLARD, Seaman -- Millard finished off her banner high school career with a runner-up individual finish in the Class 5A-1A state while leading the Vikings to the state team championship. Millard, who place fifth as a sophomore and fourth as a junior, bowled a 697 series at state as Seaman took the team crown. Millard shot a 709 to win a regional title and finished second in the Centennial League with a 636.
KATIE PRICE, Seaman -- A junior, Price was part of Seaman's Class 5A-1A state championship team, bowling a 538 series. Price placed third at regionals with a 630 series and finished fifth in the Centennial League tournament with a 576 series.
MEGAN WOOD, Topeka West -- Wood completed her sophomore season with a 13th-place finish in the Class 5A-1A state tournament with a 593 series. Wood took third in the Centennial League tournament with a 590 series and placed sixth in 5A-1A regional competition with a 601.
ALL-CITY GIRLS BOWLING
FIRST TEAM
Amaya Buchanan, Washburn Rural; Kaitlyn Doyal, Washburn Rural; Karli Gilliland, Shawnee Heights; Makenzie Millard, Seaman; Katie Price, Seaman; Megan Wood, Topeka West.
SECOND TEAM
Kaitlyn Evans, Seaman; Claire Ireland, Washburn Rural; Gabbi McCarthy, Topeka High; Kayla Mize, Seaman; Brenna Rutschman, Topeka West; Cheyenne Turkin, Seaman.
HONORABLE MENTION
Abby Dodd, Hayden; Laura El-Koubysi, Shawnee Heights; Emily Ireland, Hayden; Corina Roberts, Highland Park; Renee Spinner, Highland Park; JaeLinn Thetford, Seaman.
