No. 12 Kentucky Starts 2022 Season with Doubleheader vs. Dayton

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 12 Kentucky men’s tennis team will commence the spring 2022 season Saturday with a doubleheader against Dayton at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. ET at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex. 
 
Admission to all home matches for Kentucky Tennis is free of charge to the public. For any indoor match held on UK’s campus, masks for all attendees are required in conjunction with the University of Kentucky’s indoor mask mandate currently in place. Doors to the Boone Tennis Center will open one hour prior to the start of each match. 
 
Prior to a successful fall season, the men’s tennis team found ample success in the spring 2021 season, finishing with a 19-8 record (7-5 Southeastern Conference) and wins over five nationally ranked opponents. Kentucky finished ranked No. 18 in the final 2021 International Tennis Association team rankings, the team’s highest finish since 2014.
 
Kentucky returns 10 members from last year’s squad, adding redshirt-sophomore transfer JJ Mercer and graduate transfer Francois Musitelli. Kentucky, which advanced to the second round of the 2021 NCAA Championship, returns a majority of its potent lineup and will be one of the most experienced teams for 2022. 
 
Included in that group is junior Liam Draxl, the reigning ITA National Player of the Year, who returns to the top of the lineup. 
 
In addition, this year’s Kentucky roster features five players ranked in the December top-125 rankings, including junior Gabriel Diallo (No. 4), Musitelli (No. 45), Mercer (No. 89), sophomore Joshua Lapadat (No. 90) and sophomore Yasha Zemel (No. 122). The doubles pair of Lapadat and Mercer checked in at No. 34 on the poll. 
 
Both Draxl and fifth-year senior Millen Hurrion were not considered for December’s preseason individual rankings due to foregoing the fall season. 
 
Dayton returns 10 players from last year’s team that finished 13-6 overall in its previous spring slate. After taking on the Wildcats, the Flyers will travel to Louisville to face the Cardinals on Tuesday, three days before Kentucky hosts its in-state foe.
 
The Wildcats will host two teams over three matches at home to start the year. In-state rival Louisville will come to Lexington Friday, Jan. 21, before Kentucky’s first test away from its home court, when it head to Crestview Hills, Kentucky, to challenge Northern Kentucky.
 
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.