Kentucky Defeats Host LSU, Progresses to SEC Championship
BATON ROUGE, La. – Kentucky men’s tennis (23-2, 12-0 SEC) advanced triumphantly at the 2024 Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals, defeating LSU (16-13, 1-11 SEC), 4-0, on Saturday afternoon at the LSU Tennis Complex.
Kentucky kicked off doubles strong, securing an impressive ninth doubles point in a row. The Wildcats were led by Taha Baadi and Jack Loutit, playing in the second position, defeating the Tigers’ Ben Koch and Stefan Latinovic, 6-2. This is the duos ninth doubles victory together on the season. Kentucky’s ranked pair No. 7 Josh Lapadat and JJ Mercer clinched the doubles point for the Wildcats with a win over LSU’s ranked pair, No. 59 Julien Penzlin and Chen Dong, 6-3. The win was the Kentucky pair’s seventh-ranked victory together this season.
The Wildcats started the singles slot with a win on court two by No. 97 Lapadat as he defeated LSU’s Alessio Vasquez in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1. Baadi was victorious in the first position with a hard fought battle, ultimately coming out on top, 7-5, 6-2 over the Tiger’s Stefan Latinovic. Sophomore Charlelie Cosnet clinched the semifinal victory for the Cats with a straight-set win, 6-3, 6-4, over Julien Penzlin.
Kentucky will advance to the championship and continue play tomorrow against the No. 11 South Carolina Gamecocks. The match is projected for Sunday, April 21 at 2 p.m. ET in the LSU Tennis Complex. Championship matches will be broadcast live on SEC Network with all other streaming options, live stats, and tournament info found on the LSU Championship landing page.
RESULTS
No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 13 LSU
Doubles
No. 7 Lapadat/Mercer (UK) def. No. 59 Chen Dong/Julien Penzlin (LSU): 6-3
Baadi/Loutit (UK) def. Ben Koch/Stefan Latinovic (LSU): 6-2
Stephenson/Weekes (UK) vs. Welsh Hotard/Alessio Vasquez (LSU) 3-5, unfinished
Singles
No. 35 Taha Baadi (UK) def. Stefan Latinovic (LSU): 7-5, 6-2
No. 97 Joshua Lapadat (UK) def. Alessio Vasquez (LSU): 6-3, 6-1
Rudy Ceccon (LSU) vs. Jaden Weekes (UK) 6-4, 6-6 (unfinished)
Charlelie Cosnet (UK) def. Julien Penzlin (LSU:) 6-3, 6-4
Chen Dong (LSU) vs. Jack Loutit (UK) 6-2, 3-6, 0-1 (unfinished)
Welsh Hotard (LSU) vs. Eli Stephenson (UK) 6-1, 5-7 (unfinished)
Order of Finish:
Doubles— 2, 1
Singles— 2, 1, 4*
For the latest on UK Men’s Tennis, follow the Wildcats on Twitter and Instagram at @UKMensTennis.
