Ghibaudo, Weekes Earn ITA Ohio Valley Region Awards
LEXINGTON, Ky.– Kentucky men’s tennis players Antoine Ghibaudo and Jaden Weekes were honored as Intercollegiate Tennis Association regional award winners the organization announced Tuesday. Ghibaudo was named the Ohio Valley Region Rookie of the Year while Weekes was honored as the Ohio Valley recipient of the Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award.
The ITA names regional awards winners in eight different categories across the organization’s thirteen regions. The Ohio Valley Region consists of teams from Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, and Ohio.
Ghibaudo, a native of Paris, France, finished an impressive freshman campaign for the Wildcats, playing at the No. 1 singles line for the entire season and amassing an 11-5 singles record. Ghibaudo earned a trio of ranked wins on the singles court and became the first Wildcat in program history to be named First Team All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman in the same season. The Frenchman finished the year at No. 61 in the ITA Singles Rankings and was the top ranked freshman in the Ohio Valley Region.
Jaden Weekes earned the region’s Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award after an impressive junior campaign on and off the court. Winners of the award have demonstrated extraordinary commitment and unwavering dedication to his team; with exceptional hard work, courage, sportsmanship, and a positive, cooperative attitude that makes people around him play better.
Weekes finished the season at No. 88 in the ITA Singles Rankings after amassing a team-leading 23 singles wins, including three against ranked opposition. Weekes was a veteran leader on a young team and played his matches with class and respect. Furthermore, the Montreal native excelled in the classroom, earning CSC Academic All-District honors, and in the community, leading his team in service hours.
This is the second straight season in which a Wildcat has earned both the Ohio Valley Region Rookie of the Year and the Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award, with Eli Stephenson winning the former and Taha Baadi claiming the latter in 2024.
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