Kentucky Knocks Off No. 18 Auburn

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Putting together its most complete performance of Southeastern Conference, Kentucky (10-7, 3-4 SEC) defended the Boone Tennis Complex and upset No. 18 Auburn (14-3, 4-2 SEC) with a 5-2 victory.

Snapping a streak of four consecutive 4-3 matches that saw the Cats fall three times in final set, final match tiebreakers, Kentucky left no doubt today. The Cats claimed the doubles point and four of six singles courts, clinching the victory with two courts to spare. Kentucky put its resilience on display, with all four singles victories coming in three sets, including three of the comeback variety.

The Wildcats set the tone early, taking the 1-0 advantage with Kentucky’s first doubles point in its last four matches. No. 19 Jack Loutit and Eli Stephenson dominated their top 25 matchup, cruising to a 6-1 victory over No. 25 Billy Blaydes and Freddy Blaydes. With the results, the All-American pair from Kentucky earned their seventh ranked victory of the season.

The Tigers evened things up with a 6-4 victory at court two, as Nicholas Heng and Joey Phillips defeated Martin Breysach and Charlelie Cosnet. The deadlock did not last long, as the Cats clinched the opening point mere seconds later. Mikael Arseneault and Matt Rankin recovered from an early deficit to defeat Jake Kennedy and Hamza Nasridinov, with the Wildcat pair earning their first win together in a 6-4 result.

Moving into singles play, the comeback theme began to develop. Auburn claimed three of the first four opening sets and was the first team to put a point on the board in singles. Heng made quick work at court three, defeating Jaden Weekes, 6-3, 6-1.

The remaining matches in the opening flight would end up in deciding sets, with Kentucky earning wins in all three during a ten-minute stretch. No. 38 Loutit saw a 3-0 first set lead evaporate against Freddy Blaydes, with the Tiger winning five games on the stretch to earn a 6-4 opening set win. The Auckland, New Zealand native would respond, building a 5-1 lead in the second set that was sealed at 6-3 with a critical deciding point win. The Kiwi would then seize the momentum in full force, winning all six games in the decider to seal the three-set win.

No. 102 Nicolas Arseneault picked up the fourth ranked win of his freshman campaign by defeating No. 61 Billy Blaydes, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Arseneault fell behind an early break and, despite having multiple break points across different return games, could not work his way back into the first set. The Wildcat would break Blaydes in his first and last return games of the frame to push the match into a third. In the decider, Arseneault would hold the lead the whole time; however, the Cat saw two breaks come and go before finally consolidating on his third chance and serving the match out in the subsequent game.

The match was clinched at the top court as No. 24 Eli Stephenson earned her 11th ranked win of the year in a 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-2 victory over No. 33 Nasridinov. The Louisville native opened a lead of 3-0 and never looked back on his way to the first set win. In the second, Stephenson broke in the opening game and sustained the lead until he was serving for the match. Nasridinov was able to break and push the frame into a tiebreak, where the Tiger would once again come back, this time from a 4-2 deficit, win the set and force a third. Stephenson responded quickly, building a 4-1 lead and breaking for the win in the eighth game.

The two teams played out, allowing Auburn to claim its second point at court five. Alan Bojarski defeated No. 77 Charlelie Cosnet, 6-2, 6-4.

In the final match of the nearly five hour dual, Mikael Arseneault prevailed to put Kentucky’s fifth point on the board. Trailing for much of the first set, Arseneault broke Manel Lazaro to even the first set at five-all before dropping the final two games of the frame. The freshman responded quickly, finding a break midway through the second set. Lazaro broke Arseneault when he was serving for the set and the court went into a tiebreaker. Arseneault ended up saving match point at 6-5 down, claiming the final three points to force a match tiebreaker. The Richmond Hill, Ontario native never trailed in the super breaker, building a 9-5 lead and closing the match out with a 5-7, 7-6 (6), [10-8] victory.

Kentucky will return to the Boone tomorrow, hosting Southern Indiana for a doubleheader at Noon and 4 p.m. ET. Admission is free to the public.

For the latest on UK Men’s Tennis, follow the Wildcats on X and Instagram at @UKMensTennis.

Kentucky vs. No. 18 Auburn

Doubles Results

1. No. 19 Stephenson/Loutit (UK) def. No. 25 Blaydes/Blaydes (AUB) 6-1
2. Heng/Phillips (AUB) def. Breysach/Cosnet (UK) 6-4
3. M. Arseneault/Rankin (UK) def. Kennedy/Nasridinov (AUB) 6-4

Order of finish: 1, 2, 3

Singles Results

1. No. 24 Eli Stephenson (UK) def. No. 33 Hamza Nasridinov (AUB) 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-2
2. No. 102 Nicolas Arseneault (UK) def. No. 61 Billy Blaydes (AUB) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
3. Nicholas Heng (AUB) def. Jaden Weekes (UK) 6-3, 6-1
4. No. 38 Jack Loutit (UK) def. Freddy Blaydes (AUB) 4-6, 6-3, 6-0
5. Alan Bojarski (AUB) def. No. 77 Charlelie Cosnet (UK) 6-4, 6-2
6. Mikael Arseneault (UK) def. Manel Lazaro (AUB) 5-7, 7-6 (6), [10-8]

Order of finish: 3, 4, 2, 1, 5, 6