SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Washburn University’s men’s tennis team claimed its fourth consecutive MIAA/GAC title with a 4-1 win over Harding in the 2026 MIAA/GAC Men’s Tennis Championship match. The victory also awards the Ichabods with an automatic trip to the NCAA Division II postseason.
 
The top eight teams from the regular season met at the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield, Mo., this week for the Association’s postseason men’s tennis championship. Washburn, the No. 1 seed in the North Division, won its fourth straight MIAA/GAC championship with a 4-1 victory over the South Division’s No. 1 seed, Harding. The 2026 crown marks the Ichabods’ seventh in program history.
 
Washburn, the No. 11-ranked team in Division II, asserted control early during doubles play. The MIAA/GAC Player of the Year Pavlos Parson teamed up with Tommy Cecchetti to claim the opening point with a 6-2 win at the No. 2 position. Washburn’s Killian Martinez and Yuto Miyagawa then earned a 6-1 victory at No. 3 over Harding's Sebastian De Las Salas and Edoardo D'Arrigo. The No. 1 doubles match involving Harding's No. 3-ranked duo of Adrian Solorzano and Cian Mikkelsen and Washburn’s No. 9-ranked duo of Zinovii Nahirniak and Benjamin Fock was left unfinished once the point was clinched.
 
Harding, the No. 35-ranked team in Division II, earns its one point in singles competition thanks to Cian Mikkelsen’s 6-3, 6-0 win over Tommy Cecchetti at the No. 3 position. Washburn’s Kilian Martinez defeated De Las Salas at No. 2 singles (6-1, 7-5) and Yuto Miyagawa defeated Caleb Folse (6-3, 6-4) at the No. 5 singles to give the Ichabods a 3-1 lead. The championship was decided at the No. 6 position, where Benjamin Fock outlasted Harding freshman Jan Alexander Has in a three-set battle, 6-4, 3-6 and 6-3.
 
The No. 1 singles match featuring Pavlos Parson and Harding’s Adrian Solorzano and the No. 4 singles match between Washburn’s Zino Nahirniak and Harding’s Luis Agullo Diaz went unfinished.  
 
To find match-by-match results and more information on the 2026 MIAA/GAC Men’s Tennis Championship, visit theMIAA.com/menstennis.
 
The NCAA will announce the complete tournament field of the 2026 NCAA Division II Men’s Tennis Championship on Monday, May 4. The selection show is scheduled to air at 7 p.m. on NCAA.com. The advancing MIAA/GAC men’s tennis teams will compete in the Central Region Championship, set for May 11-12 (location to be determined).