By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Washburn golf could not complete a late push and finished tied for second place at the MIAA Championship tournament.
Dawson Wills led the way with a tie for fifthplace individually as Washburn tied for second in the MIAA golf championships. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods will await their fate for qualification for the NCAA Midwest/Central Super Regional Championship beginning May 11.
Washburn finished round three tied with Northeastern State for second place in the tournament finishing at +22. Missouri Southern State made a comeback in the final nine holes and won by two strokes, finishing with a total of 884. Central Missouri and Central Oklahoma rounded out the top five respectively.
Dawson Wills continued to lead the Ichabods through the third day, finishing tied for fifth overall at just four over par. Wills shot a 74 on the final round including notching his second eagle of the tournament on the final hole of the day.
Jack Baker dashed up the leaderboards over the final 18 holes. Baker shot a 72 round good for an even-par round to close out the tournament with a total score of 222 and all alone in eightht place. Max Ullan was just behind him, finishing in a three-way tie for ninth place at seven over par. Ullan shot a 75 on the final round, ending his day with a birdie on hole 18.
Kade Prentice shot a 75 over the final 18 holes to end tied for 12th overall and at eight over par. Cade Uhlenhake wrapped up the scoring with a 75 on the final round as well, placing tied for 15th with a total score of 225.
All five Ichabods finished in the top-15 of the 50-player field. As a team Washburn had the best average scoring on par five holes, carding a 4.68 on them. On par fours the Ichabods averaged 4.19, second best among the 10 teams.
Washburn picked up 157 pars in the tournament, four more than any other team, and had three total eagles which was also the most among the field.
WU men's tennis advances to MIAA/GAC Tournament Championship
No. 24 Washburn men's tennis is advancing to the MIAA/GAC Tournament Championship after sweeping No. 36 Harding 4-0 in the semifinals on Thursday morning. The Ichabods will face No. 15 Northwest Missouri State in the championship on Friday at 9 a.m.
Washburn (15-7) entered as the No. 2 seed in the MIAA while the Bisons (11-9) were the No. 1 seed in the GAC, giving them a bye in the quarterfinals.
The Ichabods (15-7) won a fifth straight match beginning with a strong performance in doubles. Daniel Bird and Yoshinobu Nakatsuji kicked off the match at No. 3 with a quick 6-1 win. Shortly after the No. 16 ranked pairing Santiago Rendon and Tim Hammes slammed the door on doubles with a 6-4 win at No. 2 over Dani Ortiz and Teodor Zlatar.
No. 7 Miquel Perez and Sebastian Pjontek were trailing 5-3 to No. 7 Cian Mikkelsen and Cas de Ruiter before the match was left unfinished.
After helping to close doubles Hammes, ranked No. 28, opened singles action at No. 1 defeating No. 18 ranked Oritz 6-2, 6-1 in under 45 minutes. Daniel Harkin started his first set at No. 6 with a 3-0 lead before winning 6-3. In the second set he broke away early, winning 6-1 to make the match 3-0.
No. 70 Rendon closed the match for a third time in the last four matches, winning his opening set without dropping a game, 6-0, and finishing his No. 5 match winning 6-2 to defeat Harding for a second time this season.
Three singles matches were left unfinished, at No. 2, Pjontek, ranked No. 47 was locked into a 6-6 tie in his first set against No. 20 Zlatar. Perez lost his first set at No. 3, 6-3 and trailed 2-1 in the second, and at No. 4 Bird lost 6-2 in the opening set and had a 2-1 lead in the second when the match was decided.
Washburn's Sonia Smagina has been named the MIAA women's tennis player of the year. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Ichabods' Smagina named MIAA Player of the Year
Washburn women's tennis had seven players selected to the All-MIAA teams announced by the conference.
Sonia Smagina was voted the MIAA Player of the Year and the Ichabods were represented at eight of nine possible positions.
Senior Smagina was named the 2022-23 Player of the Year and was unanimously named first team for No. 1 singles after compiling a 26-2 overall record this season which began with winning the ITA Central Region tournament and advancing to the finals of the ITA Cup. In duals Smagina, ranked No. 2 in singles nationally, went 17-7 all at No. 1 and was 6-1 against ranked opponents. In conference play she was a perfect 7-0.
Junior Maja Jung also earned first team honors, getting the nod at No. 2 singles. Jung, ranked No. 29 nationally, recorded her 50th career singles victory this season on her way to a 20-7 mark overall. In duals she is 15-5 with a 12-4 record at No. 2. In conference play she went 6-1, all at No. 2.
Junior Marta Torres earned an honorable mention nod at No. 3 singles. Torres went 14-10 on the season including 12-7 in duals. She went 3-1 at No. 2 before moving to No. 3 where she went 7-5. Against the MIAA Torres was 5-1 on the singles side.
Senior Casie Curry was an honorable mention for the Ichabods at No. 5 singles. Curry went 13-10 overall in her first season with Washburn. She went 3-1 at No. 3 but was a perfect 4-0 at No. 5. In duals she went 11-6 and was 5-1 against the MIAA.
Sophomore Issabella Pensavalle was an honorable mention at No. 6 singles. Pensavalle went 6-12 overall in singles this season from No. 5 and No. 6. At No. 6 she was 3-6 and she had a 2-4 record in MIAA matches.
In doubles Smagina and Jung, ranked No. 7 nationally together, earned first team honors at No. 1 after a 15-2 record together all at the top position. The pair went 4-2 against nationally ranked opponents and had a perfect 7-0 record in conference play.
Isabella Martensson and Pensavalle were named to the second team at No. 2 doubles posting an 11-3 record together. The pair went 5-2 at No. 3 before moving to No. 2 where they went 6-1 together. In conference play the duo went 5-2 against the MIAA.
Curry and Torres also earned second team honors, at No. 3 doubles. The pair went 11-4 overall together and 7-1 at No. 3 after moving from No. 2 where they were 4-3. In conference play the duo went 4-3 against the MIAA.
The No. 25 Ichabods are in action in the semifinals of the MIAA Championship Tournament as the No. 2 seed and will face the winner of Nebraska-Kearney and Missouri Western on Saturday at 10 a.m. in Edmond, Okla.
