Men’s Tennis Officially Concludes Season at Singles & Doubles Championships

STILLWATER, Okla. – The 2023-24 Kentucky men’s tennis season officially reached its conclusion on Tuesday as the Wildcats’ representatives in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships bowed out in the round of 32 at the Greenwood Tennis Center on the campus of Oklahoma State University.

After winning his first-round singles match on Monday, Kentucky’s Taha Baadi was defeated in the round of 32, falling to the No. 5 seed, Micah Braswell of Texas.

Baadi opened his inaugural NCAA Singles Championship appearance with a resounding first round victory of Hunter Heck of Illinois, 6-1, 6-2. The Wildcat senior was unable to advance further however, dropping his second-round match to Braswell by a score of 1-6, 3-6.

On the doubles side, UK’s Lapadat and Mercer entered the tournament as the first Kentucky doubles pair to appear in the NCAA Doubles Championships since 2021. The duo earned the No. 3 overall seed in the draw, but dropped their opening match to Princeton’s Filippos Astreinidis and Paul Inchauspe, 5-7, 1-6.

These results cap another incredibly successful season for the Kentucky men’s tennis program. The team posted a 27-3 overall dual-match record, reached its third-straight national quarterfinal and won both the SEC regular season and tournament titles in the same season for just the second time in program history.

NCAA Singles Championship
Round of 64: Taha Baadi (UK) def. Hunter Heck (Ill.): 6-1, 6-2
Round of 32: (5) Micah Braswell (Texas) def. Taha Baadi (UK): 6-1, 6-3

NCAA Doubles Championship
Round of 32: Filippos Astreinidis/Paul Inchauspe (Prin) def. (3) Josh Lapadat/JJ Mercer (UK): 7-5, 6-1

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