Wildcats Travel to Florida, Host South Carolina in Second Weekend of Conference Action
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Fresh off a victory in its Southeastern Conference opener, the Kentucky men’s tennis team will continue league play this weekend with a pair of matches against teams tied for first in the SEC standings. The Wildcats (8-3, 1-0 SEC) will head down to Gainesville for their first conference road test against Florida (7-4, 2-0 SEC) on Friday, February 28 at 5 p.m. ET before returning home to face South Carolina (8-3, 2-0 SEC) on Sunday, March 2 at 1 p.m. ET.
Kentucky opened league play on Monday afternoon, downing Mississippi State, 4-2, in Lexington. The Cats won their second match of the season after losing doubles, scoring points from singles wins by Antoine Ghibaudo, Charlelie Cosnet, Jack Loutit, and Matt Rankin.
Ghibaudo was named the SEC Freshman of the Week for his efforts against the Bulldogs, as the rookie from Paris, France extended his doubles win streak to six matches and notched his second ranked singles victory of the season.
The Cats are one of eight schools in the country to feature four ranked singles players: No. 66 Jaden Weekes, No. 69 Ghibaudo, No. 81 Loutit, and No. 121 Cosnet.
The Gators opened SEC play with home wins over Auburn and No. 19 Alabama last weekend. Florida is led in singles by one ranked player, No. 61 Jeremy Jin. The Gators also feature the nation’s No. 14 doubles pairing in Tanapatt Nirundorn and Henry Jefferson. Although Florida holds a 52-19 advantage in the all-time series record, the Cats have won the last three meetings in the series and have not lost to the Gators since the 2022 SEC Tournament championship match.
The Gamecocks also earned home wins over the Tigers and Crimson Tide during the first week of conference play to move into a tie for first in the SEC table. A pair of South Carolina players—No. 68 Sean Daryabeigi and No. 110 Connor Thomson—feature in the latest ITA singles rankings. Thomson was named SEC Player of the Week on Wednesday for his performance’s during the first week of conference play. The Cats lead the all-time series with South Carolina, 30-17. Kentucky won both matches between the two schools in 2024, including a 4-2 win in the SEC Tournament championship match.
All home matches will be played at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex, and admission is free to the public for all regular season contests. A live stream will be provided for all home matches on UKAthletics.com.
For the latest on UK Men’s Tennis, follow the Wildcats on X and Instagram at @UKMensTennis.
