Top-Seeded Kentucky Advances to Semifinals in SEC Tournament
BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 1 seeded Kentucky men’s tennis team (22-2, 12-0 SEC) opened play at the 2024 Southeastern Conference Tournament with a 4-0 sweep over the No. 9 seeded Arkansas Razorbacks (21-11, 5-8 SEC) on Friday night at the LSU Tennis Complex.
Kentucky started strong in the doubles session with a win by ranked pair No. 7 Josh Lapadat and JJ Mercer as they defeated the Razorbacks’ No. 30 Bozo Barun and Jared Horwood, 6-4. This marks the duo’s sixth win over nationally ranked opponents this season. Taha Baadi and Jack Loutit secured the doubles point for the Wildcats with a quick 6-2 win over Arkansas’ pair of Connor Smillie and Jack Sweeney. This collaborative effort gives Kentucky their eighth-straight doubles point.
The Wildcats tallied the final three points to claim the match quickly in singles. Sophomore Charlelie Cosnet secured the first singles point for Kentucky defeating Stefanos Savva, 6-2, 6-4. The Wildcats momentum propelled as Kentucky’s freshmen carried the Cats to sweep the Razorbacks. Loutit took down Benedikt Emesz in a straight-set victory, 6-1, 6-3. This helped Loutit achieve his ninth singles win in the SEC this season. To close out the dual, freshman Eli Stephenson defeated Karlo Kajin, 6-2, 6-4 to clinch the win for the Wildcats.
Kentucky will advance to the semifinals and continue play tomorrow against the winner of No. 13 LSU vs. No. 4 Auburn. The match is slated for Saturday, April 20 at 4 p.m. ET in the LSU Tennis Complex. Semifinal matches will be broadcast on SECN+ with all other streaming options, live stats, and tournament info found on the LSU Championship landing page.
RESULTS
No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 9 Arkansas
Doubles
No. 7 Lapadat/Mercer (UK) def. No. 30 Barun/Horwood (ARK): 6-4
Baadi/Loutit (UK) def. Smillie/Sweeney (ARK): 6-2
Stephenson/Weekes (UK) unf Manuel/Sau Franco (ARK): 5-4
Singles
No. 35 Taha Baadi vs. Bozo Barun (ARK): 6-3, 1-6, 5-0 (uf)
No. 97 Joshua Lapadat (UK) vs. No. 104 Gerard Planelles Ripoll (ARK): 6-4, 3-1 (uf)
Jaden Weekes (UK) vs. Melvin Manuel (ARK): 6-7, 2-3 (uf)
Charlelie Cosnet (UK) def. Stefanos Savva (ARK): 6-2, 6-4
Jack Loutit (UK) def. Benedikt Emesz (ARK): 6-1, 6-3
Eli Stephenson (UK) def. Karlo Kajin (ARK): 6-2, 6-4
Order of Finish:
Doubles— 1, 2
Singles— 4, 5, 6*
For the latest on UK Men’s Tennis, follow the Wildcats on Twitter and Instagram at @UKMensTennis.
