Ichabods and Lady Blues Tennis

Lady Blues and Ichabod sign three to letters of intent

April 17, 2002

Washburn tennis head coach Jennifer Hastert announced the signings of three new student-athletes to join the Ichabods and Lady Blues tennis squads. Katie Schmidt from Omaha, Neb., Brett Coleman from Olathe, Kan. and Tyler Kinder from Topeka will join the teams next fall.

Schmidt and her doubles partner Heather Renier finished second in No. 1 doubles in the Nebraska Class A state tournament , which helped Millard North win the Class A state championship last spring in 2001. The duo was also the Metro champion at No. 1 doubles, helping the Mustangs to a second straight team Metro team championship.
Schmidt and Renier also teamed up to finish third in No. 1 doubles at the state tournament to help the Mustangs to a second place finish in Class A in 2000. They also finished fourth at No. 1 doubles spot at the state tournament in 1999, when the Mustangs finished third as a team in Class A.
Schmidt, who is finishing up her senior season at Millard North in tennis this spring, earned All-Metro academic honors and is a member of the honor roll. She also lettered three years at Millard North in golf, playing the No. 2 spot.

Coleman, who will be a junior for the Ichabods next fall, is in his sophomore season for the Johnson County Community College Cavaliers, playing the No. 3 doubles and No. 5 singles spots. This season he is 11-3 at the No. 5 singles spot for the Cavaliers.
Coleman played high school tennis at Olathe South High, where he graduated in 2000. He lettered four years and finished 10th in the 6A state tournament as a junior and fourth at state as a senior in 2000 in singles. He also played soccer in high school.
Coleman joins Topeka native and fellow JCCC product Ryan Peterson and Shawnee Heights senior Tyler Kinder in next fall’s recruiting class for the Ichabods.

Kinder finished second in the Centennial League tournament at No. 1 singles as a junior in 2001 and captured a the city title in singles. Kinder also captured the regional singles title, helping the T-Birds also capture a team title in the tournament. He also placed fifth in the 5A state tournament last May, losing to eventual state champion Kyle Markham of Goddard in the second round.
“In the past year Tyler has worked very hard on the tennis court in tournament play and in practice; He has raised his level of play substantially,” said Hastert. “I think he will be a great addition to the Washburn tennis program.”
Kinder was an academic letter winner at Shawnee Heights and was an All-American scholar. He is currently finishing up his senior season on the T-Bird tennis team.