No. 6 Kentucky Sweeps Dayton Flyers in Doubleheader
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky men’s tennis (9-2, 0-0 SEC) closed out non-conference play with a pair of wins, defeating the University of Dayton (7-6, 0-1 A-10) in a Wednesday outdoor doubleheader at the Boone Tennis Complex.
Kentucky swept match one 4-0 with a doubles point and three singles points. In match two, Kentucky won five singles matches, as doubles was not played.
In the first doubles session of the day, Kentucky was led by Eli Stephenson and Jaden Weekes as they cruised to a 6-1 victory over the Flyers pair Matt DeMarco and Ronit Hiryur. The Wildcat rookies, Jack Loutit and Matt Rankin clinched the doubles point for the Cats with a 6-4 win over Eric Suk and Mikkel Zinder.
Kentucky propelled ahead early in the singles session led by the freshmen trio, Loutit, Rankin, and Eli Stephenson. Loutit grabbed the first singles point for the Wildcats winning 6-0, 6-2 over Dayton’s freshman Mikkel Zinder. Rankin kept up the rookie energy winning 6-2, 6-1 over Ronit Hiryur for the Flyers. Lastly, Stephenson took the final singles point for the Wildcats with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Dayton’s Luis Saraiva to clinch the 4-0 win over UD in the day’s opening match.
To kick off the second match of the day, the Wildcats swept the Flyers in singles with wins on courts two, three, four, and six. Rankin took his second win of the day finishing 6-0, 6-2 over Eric Suk to snatch the first point of the singles session. Jaden Weekes defeated Davis Philips 6-0, 6-2 to take the second point in the Wildcats favor. Loutit kept up the freshman heat for the day with a win over senior Erik Eliasson, 6-1, 6-2. Lastly, Stephenson finished the singles frame defeating Nikola Puric in consecutive sets, 6-1, 6-0.
The Wildcats will hit the road to face off against the Vanderbilt Commodores in their first official SEC match on Friday, March 1 at 2 p.m. ET at the Lummis Family Tennis Center in Nashville.
Kentucky vs. Dayton – Match 1
Kentucky 4, Dayton 0
Doubles
#23 Joshua Lapadat/JJ Mercer (UK) vs. Connor Bruce/Nikola Puric (DAY) 5-3 (unfinished)
Jaden Weekes/Eli Stephenson (UK) def. Matt DeMarco/Ronit Hiryur (DAY) 6-1
Jack Loutit/ Matt Rankin (UK) def. Eric Suk/Mikkel Zinder (DAY) 6-4
Singles
Joshua Lapadat (UK) vs. Connor Bruce (DAY) 6-4, 4-1 (unfinished)
#24 Taha Baadi (UK) vs. Matt DeMarco (DAY) 6-2, 3-5 (unfinished)
Jaden Weekes (UK) vs. Kyle McNally (DAY) 2-6, 4-3 (unfinished)
Jack Loutit (UK) def. Mikkel Zinder (DAY) 6-0, 6-2
Eli Stephenson (UK) def. Luis Saraiva (DAY) 6-1, 6-3
Matt Rankin (UK) def. Ronit Hiryur (DAY) 6-2, 6-1
Order of Finish:
Doubles—2,3
Singles—4, 6, 5
Kentucky vs. Dayton – Match 2
Kentucky 5, Dayton 0
Singles
#24 Taha Baadi (UK) vs. Connor Bruce (DAY) 7-6 (5) (unfinished)
Jack Loutit (UK) def. Erik Eliasson (DAY) 6-1, 6-2
Jaden Weekes (UK) def. Davis Phillips (DAY) 6-0, 6-2
Eli Stephenson (UK) def. Nikola Puric (DAY) 6-1, 6-0
Christophe Clement (UK) def. Sai Dore (DAY) 6-1, 6-0
Matt Rankin (UK) def. Eric Suk (DAY) 6-0, 6-2
Order of Finish:
Singles—3, 6, 2, 4, 5
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