Kentucky Sweeps Dayton in Season Opener
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Beginning on a familiar note, no. 4 ranked Kentucky men’s tennis (2-0) opened its spring season with a sweep of the Dayton Flyers (1-3) in a doubleheader on Wednesday at the Boone Tennis Center.
Kentucky was victorious in all of the day’s completed matches, taking the morning showdown by a score of 5-0, before posting a 4-0 victory in the afternoon. 2023 marks the second straight season in which the Wildcats began their season with a doubleheader against Dayton, both times earning a pair of wins.
The no. 1 doubles tandem of Alafia Ayeni and Liam Draxl looked formidable in their first matches together, dropping just three games across the two contests. The team of Alexandre LeBlanc and Jaden Weekes also picked up a pair of wins, first at the no. 3 spot in the day’s opening match, and then at no. 2 doubles in the afternoon.
Draxl, a senior captain, was the lone Wildcat to complete two singles victories in the shortened sessions, first winning at no. 1 singles vs. reigning First-Team All-Atlantic 10 member, Connor Bruce, and then defeating Erik Perkowski, 6-0, 6-0, at the second singles position.
Other Kentucky singles victors on the day included Ayeni, JJ Mercer, Joshua Lapadat, Taha Baadi, and Jaden Weekes.
A total of four UK student-athletes made their Kentucky debuts in the season opener including transfers Ayeni and Baadi and freshmen Weekes and Clement.
Next up for the Wildcats is a home date with Illinois this Saturday back at the Boone Tennis Center. The contest will begin at 1 p.m. with free admission for the public. Play can also be seen live on Track Tennis.
RESULTS
Match 1
Doubles
Alafia Ayeni and Liam Draxl (UK) def. Georgi Mavrodiev and Erik Perkowski (DAY): 6-2
Joshua Lapadat and J.J. Mercer (UK) def. Max DeCurtins and Ronit Hiryur (DAY): 6-3
Alexandre LeBlanc and Jaden Weekes (UK) def. Connor Bruce and Oliver Dunne (DAY): 6-2
Singles
Liam Draxl (UK) def. Connor Bruce (DAY): 6-4, 6-3
Joshua Lapadat (UK) def. Ronit Hiryur (DAY): 6-2, 6-1
Taha Baadi (UK) def. Erik Perkowski (DAY): 6-1, 6-3
Jaden Weekes (UK) def. Erik Eliasson (DAY): 7-5, 6-1
Match 2
Doubles
Alafia Ayeni and Liam Draxl (UK) def. Max DeCurtins and Ronit Hiryur (DAY): 6-1
Alexandre LeBlanc and Jaden Weekes (UK) def. Georgi Mavrodiev and Erik Perkowski (DAY): 7-6 (4)
Taha Baadi and Christophe Clemente (UK) def. Sai Dore and Erik Eliasson (DAY): 7-6 (4)
Singles
Alafia Ayeni (UK) def. Connor Bruce (DAY): 6-3, 6-2
Liam Draxl (UK) def. Erik Perkowski (DAY): 6-0, 6-0
J.J. Mercer (UK) def. Georgi Mavrodiev (DAY): 6-2, 6-2
Christophe Clemente (UK) vs. Sai Dore (DAY): 6-3, 3-4 Unfinished
Jaden Weekes (UK) vs. Max DeCurtins (DAY): 1-0, unfinished
For the latest on UK Men’s Tennis, follow the Wildcats on Twitter and Instagram at @UKMensTennis.
