Antoine Ghibaudo Earns Second SEC Freshman of the Week Honor
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Freshman Antoine Ghibaudo was named the Week 13 SEC Freshman of the Week following his performance in the final week of the regular season that aided the Cats to pair of victories over No. 22 Oklahoma and Arkansas. This is Ghibaudo’s second Freshman of the Week honor this season in addition to earning the laurel after the first week of conference play in late February.
The Paris, France native finished his first regular season campaign with an undefeated weekend, picking up a ranked singles victory and a pair of doubles wins. He is just the fifth Wildcat to earn multiple Freshman of the Week honors, joining Eli Stephenson, Ryo Matsumura, Kevin Lai, and Tom Jomby.
In Thursday’s match against No. 22 Oklahoma, No. 58 Ghibaudo dominated his ranked Sooners counterpart, taking down No. 78 Oscar Lacides in swift fashion, 6-2, 6-3. Ghibaudo’s win gave the Cats their first lead in the match—a lead the team would not relinquish on the way to their first top 25 win of the conference season.
On Saturday against No. 41 Arkansas, Ghibaudo sat two points away from his second ranked win of the weekend, but his match against No. 48 Lukas Palovic was left abandoned after a Wildcat sweep, with the Parisian leading by a set and a minibreak in the tiebreak, 6-3, 6-6 (5-4).
Ghibaudo also dominated on the doubles court, pairing with Jaden Weekes for a pair of convincing wins. Against the Sooners, the duo was the first to finish their match, taking down Harazaki and Melero, 6-2. Ghibaudo and Weekes ended up clinching the doubles point on Saturday, defeating Boland and Palovic, 6-3.
The team has turned into a formidable force for the Cats, winning five of their last six matches. With Ghibaudo’s efforts, Kentucky ended the regular season on a season-long five match winning streak and cemented a perfect 14-0 record in home matches.
Ghibaudo and the rest of the Cats will open postseason play on Thursday, April 17, taking on Auburn in the second round of the SEC Tournament at 2 p.m. ET.
For the latest on UK Men’s Tennis, follow the Wildcats on X and Instagram at @UKMensTennis.
