Kentucky Men’s Tennis Opens SEC Tournament Thursday

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Ninth-seeded Kentucky (16-10, 7-7 SEC) will begin its run towards a third consecutive SEC Men’s Tennis Tournament title on Thursday, taking on eight-seeded Auburn at 2 p.m. ET in the second round at the Carolina Tennis Center in Columbia, S.C.

The Cats enter the tournament on a five-match winning streak, the team’s longest of the season. Last weekend, Kentucky cemented an undefeated home slate by defeating No. 22 Oklahoma and Arkansas, finishing 14-0 in matches at the Boone.

Jack Loutit continues to lead the way for the Wildcat, turning in a team-best 17-4 singles record in the regular season that included four wins over ranked opponents. For his efforts, Loutit is currently ranked No. 57 in the ITA Singles Rankings, In doubles, Loutit and partner Eli Stephenson have raised to No. 14 in the ITA rankings, with five of their nine wins this season coming against ranked teams.

Two-time SEC Freshman of the Week Antoine Ghibaudo recently reached a career high singles ranking, checking in at No. 48 in Tuesday’s release. Junior Jaden Weekes also is ranked in singles, clocking in at No. 86.

The matchup with the Tigers will be a rematch of a regular season contest where homestanding Auburn defeated the Cats in a tight 4-3 dual that was decided by a 7-5 third set on the final court. Kentucky leads the all-time series with Auburn 40-24 and last faced the Tigers in the SEC Tournament in 2022, where Kentucky won 4-1 in the semifinals.

The Wildcats have enjoyed plenty of success in recent editions of the tournament, reaching the final in 2022 before taking home the championship in 2023 and 2024.

Should the Cats win on Thursday, they are set to face No. 4 Texas, the SEC Regular Season Champion. First serve for that quarterfinal match is set for Friday, April 18 at 2 p.m. ET.

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