UK Men’s Tennis to Commence Fall Schedule This Weekend
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Following a 2019-20 season that was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Kentucky men’s tennis team is set to make its return to the court with the announcement of its fall 2020 schedule on Thursday.
The Wildcats will commence competition on Friday, taking part in the Gamecock Fall Invitational in Columbia, South Carolina.
Last August, the Southeastern Conference established new formats for fall play this season. Each institution will be allowed to participate in up to three events against other SEC teams.
In addition to this weekend’s three-day spectacle versus host South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee, Kentucky will head to the Commodore Invitational in Nashville, Tennessee, on Friday, Oct. 16, through Sunday, Oct. 18, for matchups with host Vanderbilt, Arkansas and Auburn. UK will end its fall run in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Friday, Nov. 6, through Sunday, Nov. 8, against Alabama, LSU and Vanderbilt once again.
The Wildcats return eight players from last year’s team that produced a 12-5 (3-1 SEC) record. At the time the season was canceled, Kentucky was in the midst of a three-match winning streak, beginning with two victories over ranked opponents and ending with two wins on the road.
The Cats’ best win came in a 4-3 thriller at then-No. 17 Alabama on March 6.
Sophomore Liam Draxl—the No. 1 UK singles player last spring—and fifth-year letter winner César Bourgois, who competed alongside Draxl in the No. 1 doubles slot, will each rejoin their team next semester when dual-match competition begins in spring 2021.
The rest of Kentucky’s 10-man roster, including senior Millen Hurrion and sophomores Gabriel Diallo and Alexandre LeBlanc, are slated to partake in all three fall tournaments. Hurrion posted an 8-2 record in matches on the top two singles courts last spring, while Diallo and LeBlanc combined for 11 wins in their first collegiate spring session.
Joshua Lapadat—a top-100 International Tennis Federation Junior from London, Ontario—and fellow freshman Tate Sandman fill out the rest of the UK roster, along with junior Ying-Ze Chen, redshirt sophomore Jonathan Sorbo and redshirt freshman Heman Nama.
Head coach Cedric Kauffmann enters his ninth season at the helm of his alma mater, assisted by third-year coach Matthew Gordon and first-year volunteer assistant Peter Kobelt.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, follow @UKMensTennis on Twitter and Facebook, @kentuckymenstennis on Instagram, and on the web at UKAthletics.com.
