Jack Loutit Plays Hero, Wildcats Drop Arkansas in Road Match
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.- The No. 5 Kentucky men’s tennis team ( 17-2, 8-0 SEC) won its fifth road match of the season after downing the No.49 Arkansas Razorbacks, 4-3, on Friday evening at the Billingsley Tennis Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Cats remain unbeaten in conference play, and have now won 10 consecutive matches overall.
In doubles play, the pair of fifth-year Taha Baadi and freshman Jack Loutit were the first to victory for the cats, after defeating the Hogs’ Connor Smillie and Jake Sweeney, 6-3. Arkansas was quick to retaliate, as Melvin Manuel and Alan Sua Franco defeated the UK pair of Matt Rankin and Jaden Weekes 6-4 on court three. With the doubles point coming down to a battle of ranked pairs on the top court, No. 23 Joshua Lapadat and JJ Mercer ultimately defeated the Razorback duo of No. 29 Bozo Barun and Jared Horwood, 6-4. The Mercer/Lapadat duo are now 3-1 in ranked matchups this season.
Looking to level the match in the singles session, Arkansas quickly earned a win on court three after Manuel defeated Weekes 7-5, 6-0. No.36 Baadi responded, as he claimed a victory on court one after defeating Barun in straight sets, 6-3,6-3. Sophomore Frenchman Charlelie Cosnet propelled the Cats forward even more, coming back from a 1-6 first set loss to the Hogs’ Stefanos Savva by winning the second set 6-2, and ultimately claiming the court after his 6-2 third set win.
In an attempt to close the gap and square the score, Arkansas won two consecutive singles points. Lapadat fell to the Razorbacks’ Gerard Planelles 6-4,7-5 before Rankin dropped six singles to Karlo Kajin in successive tiebreak sets, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3). The match’s victor would come down to court five. Loutit flew through the first set against Arkansas’ Benedikt Emesz, 6-2, before falling in a tiebreak in the second, 6-7 (6-8). The New Zealander would go on to claim the match for UK after winning the final set 6-2. Loutit now holds 15 wins in singles play, and is 7-1 in conference matchups.
The Wildcats will conclude their weekend of road matches by traveling to Oxford, Mississippi to face the Ole Miss Rebels on Sunday at 2 p.m. E.T. at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center. Live streaming and live stats for the match can be found here.
No. 5 Kentucky vs. No. 49 Arkansas
Doubles
#23 Joshua Lapadat/JJ Mercer (UK) def. #29 Bozo Barun/Jared Horwood (ARK): 6-4
Taha Baadi/Jack Loutit (UK) def. Connor Smillie/Jake Sweeney (ARK): 6-3
Melvin Manuel/Alan Sau Franco (ARK) def. Matt Rankin/Jaden Weekes (UK): 6-4
Singles
#36 Taha Baadi (UK) def. Bozo Barun (ARK): 6-3, 6-3
Gerard Planelles (ARK) def. Joshua Lapadat (UK): 6-4, 7-5
Melvin Manuel (ARK) def. Jaden Weekes (UK): 7-5, 6-0
Charlelie Cosnet (UK) def. Stefanos Savva (ARK): 1-6, 6-1, 6-2
Jack Loutit (UK) def. Benedikt Emesz (ARK): 6-2, 6-7 (6-8), 6-2
Karlo Kajin (ARK) def. Matt Rankin (UK): 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3)
Order of Finish :
Doubles– 2,3,1
Singles – 3,1,4,2,6,5
For the latest on UK Men’s Tennis, follow the Wildcats on Twitter and Instagram at @UKMensTennis.
