Tennis Edition of the Turnpike Tussle Up Next for Emporia State

Men's Tennis | 4/8/2025 3:22:00 PM

#28 Emporia State Hornet Men (9-4, 1-1 MIAA)
at #7 Washburn Ichabods Lopers Men (12-3, 2-0 MIAA)
Wednesday, April 9 | 2:00 p.m. | Washburn Tennis Complex | Topeka, Kan.
Live Results
Emporia State Hornet Women (7-7, 2-2 MIAA)
at #11 Washburn Ichabods Women (12-1, 3-0 MIAA)
Thursday, April 10 | 2:00 p.m. | Washburn Tennis Complex | Topeka, Kan.
Live Results
Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: Men vs. Augustana
Sunday, April 13 | 11:00 a.m. | Kossover Family Tennis Complex | Emporia, Kan.
Women at Missouri Western
Thursday, April 17 | 2:00 p.m. | Noyes Tennis Courts| St. Joseph, Mo.

TURNPIKE TUSSLE TENNIS STYLE
Emporia State travels to Topeka for the tennis edition of the Turnpike Tussle. The #28 Hornet and #7 Ichabod men will play on Wednesday with the Emporia State women taking on the #11 Ichabod women on Thursday.

LAST TIME OUT
Women
The Emporia State women's tennis team rolled to a 6-1 MIAA win at Fort Hays State on Monday afternoon in Hays, Kan.
The Hornets took all three doubles matches to get out to an early lead.  Anastasia Pesic and Sheriden Wichman won 6-2 at #3 while Perla Conde and Lilie Bizouerne won 6-3 at #2 to clinch the point.  Yulima Klimova and Paige Stranghoner completed the doubles sweep with a 6-3 win at #1.
Men
in a battle of nationally ranked teams the #43 Lopers pulled out a 4-3 win over the #28 Hornets. 
Neb.-Kearney got off to a 1-0 lead as they swept the doubles competition. Singles started with a win by forfeit as the Lopers attempted to change their line up after doubles but did not have an additional player listed on their scoresheet. UNK went up 2-1 with a win at #3 singles and led 3-1 when #46 Jip Mens defeated Mostafa Elbasnaly 6-3, 6-3 at #2. At the #1 position #16 Anton Sarunic was leading 6-3, 6-5 and had match point when the Lopers Adrian Constantin was assessed a point penalty for code violations give Sarunic the 7-5 win.
Both the #4 and #5 singles matches would go to a third set.  The Hornets Roko Kacer won 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2 over UNK's Aaron Osmond at #5 but Andy Brisdon recorded a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over ESU's Diego Calvo at #4 to give the Lopers the 4-3 win. 

COACHES
Former Hornet CyCy Peyroche is 12-19 in her second full season as the permanent coach of the Emporia State women's program. She took over as the interim coach for both teams in December of 2022. She went 6-9 with the men's team and 5-13 in women's action as the interim coach. Peyroche was 23-15 in singles play during her three years as a Hornet before moving into the graduate assistant position.  
John Blackburn is 21-12 in his second season as the head men's coach and Director of Tennis at Emporia State. He spent the previous eight seasons as the head coach at NCAA Division III Methodist University in Fayetteville, N.C. He went 117-58 overall with a 54-4 record in conference play, winning three regular season conference championships, two conference tournament championships and made two NCAA Tournament appearances. He was also a head coach at Eastern Illinois, Coker College and Palm Beach Atlantic. 

QUICK LOOK AT THE HORNETS
Women
The Emporia State women are 7-7 on the season, 2-2 in the MIAA. The Hornets are 5-1 at home this season against four year schools with two exhibition wins against junior colleges at the Kossover Family Tennis Center. They have gone 1-2 this spring against nationally ranked teams with a 4-3 win over then #38 Rockhurst on March 8, a 5-2 loss to then #31 UT-Tyler on March 18 and last week's 5-2 loss at #15 Neb.-Kearney.
Giovanna Ferreira has a 6-7 mark at #1 singles this spring and is 10-14 overall with a win over the #9 player in the nation in her last match. Perla Conde is 14-9 overall,  9-4 in the spring with an 8-2 record at #3 singles and was named MIAA Female Athlete of the Week on March 12. Lilie Bizouerne is 7-6 this spring with a 3-2 mark at #3 singles and 4-4 record at #4 and is 9-13 overall. She was the MIAA Athlete of the Week earlier this spring. Anastasia Pesic is 10-6 overall and 8-5 this spring, 6-4 at #5 and 2-1 at #4 singles. Paige Stranghoner is 15-8 overall and has a spring record of 7-6, 6-6 at the #6 position. Sheriden Wichman is 6-4 this spring with matches at the #3, #4, and #5 spots. She is 11-10 overall. Yuliya Klimova is 4-9 at #2 singles and 0-3 at the #1 spot this spring and is 8-15 overall. 
The women have used ten different doubles combinations this spring. The team of Conde and Bizouerne is 4-2 this spring with a 3-1 mark in MIAA play. Klimova and Pesic are 6-4 this spring with a 4-1 mark at #3 doubles. Conde and Wichman are 5-2 in the spring with a 3-2 mark at the #2 spot. Bizouerne and Stranghoner have played nine matches at the #1 position with a 3-6 record.

Men
The Emporia State men are 11-4 on the season and ranked #28 in the nation. The Hornets are undefeated at home this season. They have gone 2-3 against nationally ranked teams. 
The Hornets are led by Anton Sarunic who is 16-3 overall this year with a 9-1 mark this spring in dual competition at the #1 slot. He was ranked #16 nationally in last week's individual singles rankings. Alexis Mattenberger is 16-6 overall with an 11-3 mark in duals, with a 4-0 mark at the #6 position, 3-3 at #3, 2-0 at #2, and wins at #4 and #5.  Mostafa Elbasnaly is 14-8 overall with a 9-5 record in spring duals with five wins at #2 and two wins each at #1 and #3 singles.  Diego Calvo is 15-8 overall going 2-0 at #3 and having a 6-3 mark at the #4 singles position this spring. Duvan Santiago Torres is 11-6 overall and has gone 6-2 this spring with three wins at #5 singles. Hachem Kacer is 5-4 this spring with a 3-0 mark at #6 singles. Roko Kacer is 3-2 in spring duals, going 2-1 at #5 and splitting two matches at #6.
Mattenberger and Gwendal Mazuay are 10-5 on the spring in doubles going 4-0 at #3, 4-4 at #1 and 2-1 at the #2 position while Elbasnaly and Fahem are 3-3 in doubles this spring with a 3-1 mark at the #2 spot. Sarunic and Luke West are 6-7 this spring with a 3-3 record at #2 and 3-4 mark at the #1 position.

KNOW THE FOES
The Washburn men are 12-3, 2-0 in MIAA/GAC North Division play.  The Ichabods  are ranked #7 nationally.  
Tim Hammes is 20-6 on the season and ranked #3 in the nation while Vaclav Schneider is 22-7 and ranked #7 nationally. Pavlos Parson is ranked #50 in the nation and is 15-5 overall.  Hammes and Matthew Earle are ranked second nationally in doubles with an 18-5 overall record. Schneider and Tommaso Cecchetti are 19-7 overall and ranked #8 in the nation.
The Washburn women are 12-1 overall, 3-0 in the MIAA and ranked #11 in the nation.
Renske Ubachs is ranked #36 in the nation with an overall record of 14-6. She is paired with Daniela Tijardo to rank second in the nation in doubles with an overall record of 19-5.  Leonie Floeth and Isabella Martensson are 7-4 overall and ranked #19 nationally.

LAST TIME VS WASHBURN MEN
Anton Sarunic picked up a win at #1 singles for Emporia State and three matches went to a third set but the Hornets fell 6-1 to #9 Washburn at the Kossover Family Tennis Center on the ESU Campus.
The Ichabods picked up wins at #3 and #2 doubles to take a 1-0 lead into singles play. The #1 match went unfinished with the Hornets Anton Sarunic and Sergio Vera Martin trailing 5-3 to #22 Tim Hammes and Mathew Earle
A win at #3 singles put Washburn up 2-0.  Diego Calvo won the first set at #4 singles before falling 3-6, 6-0, 6-0 to Tommy Cecchetti. In a battle of Top 50 players in NCAA Division II, 50th ranked Sarunic took care of #26 Sebastian Pjontek 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 to pull Emporia State within 3-1.  The final three matches all went three sets. Emporia State's Mostafa Elbasnaly fell 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to #10 Tim Hammes at #2 singles as Washburn clinched the dual.  Hachem Fahem dropped a 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (10-7) decision to Matthew Earle while Harrison Brown went down 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 1-0 (13-11) in the final match of the day.

SERIES HISTORY
The  Hornets have won two duals from the Ichabods since joining the MIAA. The last Emporia State win was a 5-4 victory on April 14, 2015. The other victory was a 7-2 win on April 7, 1993.

LAST TIME VS WASHBURN WOMEN
The Emporia State women fell to #12 Washburn 4-3 in last year's tennis edition of the Turnpike Tussle at the Kossover Family Tennis Complex
The Ichabods opened the dual with a 6-2 win by Maja Jung and Isabella Martensson at #1 doubles over the Hornets Andrea Santiago and Angelina Gnezdilova.  Perla Conde and Sheriden Wichman then tied things for Emporia State with a 6-3 win at #2 over Martine Carroll and Issabella Pensavalle.  Washburn took the doubles point with a 6-4 win by Renske Ubachs and Maddie Shelley  over ESU's Paige Stranghoner and Lilie Bizouerne at #2.
Anastasia Pesic evened things up for Emporia State with a 6-0, 6-0 win at #5 singles over Pensavalle.  Washburn won the next three points at #2, #4 and #1 to clinch the win.  Stranghoner would win 1-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-2) at #6 singles and Bizouerne finished out the dual with a 4-6, 6-3, 10-0 (11-9) win at #3 singles.

SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State trails Washburn 33-12 since joining the MIAA.  The last win for the Hornets was a 6-3 victory on April 15, 2015 as ESU took five of six singles matches from the Ichabods. ESU won six of seven duals from 2005-08 including three wins in post season play.

HOW TOUGH IS IT?
The MIAA has two of the top 15 ranked women's teams in NCAA Division II with Washburn ranked #11 and Neb.-Kearney at #15 this week. Six MIAA women's teams have been ranked this spring with five of the six being in the rankings multiple times. Four of the six teams in the Central Regional last year were from the MIAA and seven of the current ten members of the association have made multiple NCAA Tournament appearances.
Six of the top 45 men's teams in the nation are from the MIAA/GAC with four North Division and two South Division teams. Washburn is ranked #7, Emporia State is #28, Neb.-Kearney is #43 and Northwest Missouri is rnaked #45 out of the North while the South has Harding at #14 and Southern Arkansas at #39 nationally. Eight of the current 11 members of the MIAA/GAC alliance have made multiple NCAA Tournament appearances.

EMPORIA STATE IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
The Emporia State women have a 5-5 record in five appearances in the NCAA Tournament, highlighted by a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2007. They made their first appearance in 2005 with a 5-1 win over Colorado Mesa before falling 5-1 to Northwest Missouri in the second round.  The Hornets beat Washburn 5-3 in the first round of 2006 and dropped a 5-4 decision to Northwest Missouri in the second round.  In 2007 they picked up a 5-1 win over Colorado Mesa and a 5-2 win over Neb.-Omaha before falling 5-0 to eventual national champion BYU-Hawaii in the round of 16. ESU completed a five year run of appearances with a 5-3 win over Washburn and a 5-2 loss to Northwest Missouri in 2008.  The most recent NCAA tourney was a 5-0 loss to Augustana in 2014. 
The Hornet men have made two appearances in the NCAA Tournament. They lost 5-1 in the first round to Washburn in 2007 and to Northwest Missouri 5-1 in the first round in 2008.
 
UP NEXT
Emporia State men will play host to Augustana (SD) on Sunday, April 13 at 11:00 a.m. at the Kossover Family Tennis Complex.  The next action for the Hornet women will be on Thursday, April 17 at Missouri Western.  First serve from the Noyes Tennis Courts in St. Joseph, Mo. is set for 2:00 p.m.