Men’s Tennis Avenges Earlier Loss to Bama, Wins SEC Home Opener

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 7 Kentucky men’s tennis team (11-2, 2-0 SEC) beat No. 18 Alabama (10-6, 0-1 SEC) in its Southeastern Conference home opener Sunday, led by the efforts of freshman Jack Loutit and senior Taha Baadi.

Kentucky fought hard to jump out to a one-point lead over the Crimson Tide in the doubles’ point as the number three pair of Jack Loutit and Matt Rankin jumped out to an early lead over Alabama pair Matic Dimic and Yair Sarouk. In credit to their strong serving, they won the match 6-1. With the advantage in favor of the Wildcats, the No. 23 ranked pair Josh Lapadat and JJ Mercer beat Enzo Aguiard and Zach Foster 6-3 to secure the doubles point. The doubles pair of Jaden Weeks and Eli Stephenson played an unfinished match, as the point was by Lapadat and Mercer clinched before their match was over.

Playing third singles, Weekes defeated Andrii Zimnokh 6-4, 6-1 in a strong performance. Loutit also played well in a win against Roan Jones, ending things with a score of 6-2, 6-3. Taha Baadi beat yet another ranked opponent in No. 30 Filip Planinsek, 6-3, 6-3. With Kentucky leading 4-0, the match was clinched and Kentucky booked its ticket to a 2-0 start to conference play on opening weekend.

With both teams agreeing to play out the match, the freshman standout Stephenson won another match beating the Crimson Tide’s Dimic 6-3, 7-5. Charlelie Cosnet was defeated in his matchup, losing 1-6, 4-6, as was Lapadat against No. 57 Aguiard 6-4, 1-6, 8-10. This brought the final score to 5-2 on the afternoon, with the Wildcats getting their revenge on the Crimson Tide from earlier this season.

The Wildcats aim to extend their undefeated conference record next Friday as they face No. 52 Florida. The match will begin at 5 p.m. ET at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex, and admission is free.

Kentucky 5, Alabama 2

Doubles 

Court 1 – JJ Mercer/Josh Lapadat (UK) def. Enzo Aguiard/Zach Foster (UA) 6-3

Court 2 – Flip Planinsek/Andrii Zimnokh (UA) vs. Jaden Weekes/Eli Stephenson (UK) 5-4 (uf)

Court 3 – Matt Rankin/Jack Loutit (UK) def. Matic Dimic/Yair Sarouk (UA) 6-1

Singles 

Court 1 – Taha Baadi (UK) def. Filip Planinsek (UA) 6-3, 6-3

Court 2 – Enzo Aguiard (UA) def. Josh Lapadat (UK) 4-6, 6-1, 10-8

Court 3 – Jaden Weekes (UK) def. Andrii Zimnokh (UA) 6-4, 6-1

Court 4 – Matis Ponce De Leon (UA) def. Charlelie Cosnet (UK) 6-1, 6-4

Court 5 – Jack Loutit (UK) def. Roan Jones (UA) 6-2, 6-3

Court 6 – Eli Stephenson (UK) def. Matic Dimic (UA) 6-3, 7-5

Order of Finish: 

Doubles—3, 1*

Singles— 3, 5, 1,* 4, 6, 2

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