The Washburn University women’s and men’s tennis teams hone in on their skills as they prepare for this weekend’s Washburn Invitational. The Ichabods share strong mindsets as they head into their final matches of the 2024 Fall season.

Graham Faris, sophomore, heads into the weekend with winning in mind. 

“I just want to play to win, play good tennis and whatever happens, happens,” Faris said. 

Isabella Martensson, senior, is also feeling competitive. 

“I’m ready to compete hard and put all the effort we’ve worked on in practice into an actual match, and then look to get ready for the real season,” Martensson said.

In the fall, the players use the season as an opportunity to prepare for the spring season in which the stakes are much higher as well as when the competition becomes team based instead of individual based. 

With the Washburn Invitational being the last competition for the fall, players are looking to give it their all this weekend. Maddie Shelley, junior, says she’s planning to carry this energy into her upcoming match.

“It’s our last match before the spring season, so [we just want to] give it our all and have fun,” Shelley said. 

In the last eight weeks, the Ichabod tennis teams have put in a lot of effort to improve their play. Kirby Ronning, head coach of both the men’s and women’s teams, was with the players every step of the way.

“I think our goal with our freshmen and our new players this semester is just to get acclimated to their game, find out what their strengths and weaknesses are,” Ronning said. “With the last tournament coming up, we’re just looking to see what kind of progress they’ve made throughout these last eight weeks.”

With a whole season behind them and fierce competition to look forward to, the Ichabods are set to strongly compete at the Washburn Invitational.

Edited by Morgan Albrecht