By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
No. 15 nationally ranked Washburn University men’s tennis wrapped up its official slate of regular-season matches with a 7-0 Senior Day sweep over Bethel College on Thursday.
The Ichabods (17-4) were ranked No. 4 in the latest NCAA Division II Central Region rankings released prior to the match as the team boasts a 5-2 record inside the division.
With only an exhibition against Cowley College remaining on the schedule before the MIAA tournament, the team recognized its two seniors, Raul-Alin Dicu and Miller Zeiders, after the match.
The No. 26 pairing of Matthew Earle and Sebastian Pjontek took a 6-1 No. 1 win to open doubles play.
Dicu and Noah Neideck took a 6-3 victory at the No. 2 spot and Zeiders and Daniel Bird followed with a 6-3 win at No. 3.
Miquel Perez lost only three set points in his two-set victory at the No. 3 singles position.
He was followed by No. 26 Tim Hammes and the No. 67 ranked Dicu, who won two-set matches at the No. 2 and No. 1 spots, respectively, giving the Ichabods a 4-0 win.
Bird, Earle, and Zeiders all won their matches in two sets at the No. 4, 5, and 6 positions to complete the team's second straight sweep.
Washburn moved to 7-0 at home after the win and will begin the MIAA conference tournament April 27 after the exhibition against Cowley.
WASHBURN 7, BETHEL 0
Individual Results
Doubles
No. 1 – Pjontek/Earle, Washburn def. Milan/Singh, Bethel 6-1
No. 2 – Dicu/Neideck, Washburn def. Cech/Anderson, Bethel 6-3
No. 3 – Bird/Zeiders, Washburn def. Menard/Quercia, Bethel 6-3
Singles
No. 1 – Dicu, Washburn def. Cech, Bethel 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
No. 2 – Hammes, Washburn def. Milan, Bethel 6-2, 6-4
No. 3 – Perez, Washburn def. Schrader, Bethel 6-3, 6-0
No. 4 – Bird, Washburn def. Pluis, Bethel 6-3, 6-1
No. 5 – Earle, Washburn def. Singh, Bethel 6-1, 6-2
No. 6 – Zeiders, Washburn def. Anderson, Bethel 6-1, 6-2