Four Wildcats Advance Out of Pre-Qualifying at ITA All-American Championships
TULSA, Okla. – After two days of pre-qualifying action, four Wildcats—Nicolas Arseneault, Charlelie Cosnet, Matt Rankin, and Eli Stephenson—have progressed through to the next stage of play at the 2025 ITA All-American Championships. Cosnet and Stephenson both won three singles matches to advance to the qualifying draw, while the doubles team of Rankin and Arseneault won both of their matches to move along.
In total, six Wildcats began their run at the All-American Championships in pre-qualifying. Martin Breysach won his first pre-qualifying singles match before dropping a three-set battle in round two, while Mikael Arseneault advanced to the final round of pre-qualifying—upsetting the draw’s No. 1 seed in the process—before bowing out in a tough three-setter. Rankin also participated in the pre-qualifying singles draw but had to retire from his opening round match due to injury.
Stephenson was the first Wildcat to advance into Monday’s qualifying draw, knocking out a pair of seeded players on Sunday. Making his tournament debut, the Louisville native earned straight set wins over Alejandro Jacome of Wichita State and [21] Ondrej Horak of Middle Tennessee to advance to the final round of the draw. Stephenson split the first two sets against [16] Niels Ratiu of North Carolina before running away with the final set without dropping a game.
Cosnet was not far behind his teammate, solidifying his spot as one of 20 pre-qualifiers into the next round of the tournament. The Frenchman defeated Leo Linquet of Nebraska in three sets to begin his run before knocking out No. 11 seed Chris Xu of North Carolina in straight sets in round two. After breezing through the opening set in his final round, Cosnet had to play a pair of tiebreaks against Lincoln Battle of Cleveland State, dropping the second set before claiming the third—and the match—in extra points.
The top seeded doubles team in the pre-qualifying draw—Rankin and Nicolas Arseneault—opened their campaign with a straight sets win over Wright and Jones of North Carolina on opening day. In the final round of pre-qualifying, the Wildcat duo dropped a first set tiebreak against [9] Kalina/Kriznik of Alabama before rebounding with a second set victory. Playing a 10-point match tiebreak to advance into the qualifying draw, Rankin and Arseneault recovered from a 5-2 deficit to eventually win 10-8 and advance.
In addition to Cosnet and Stephenson, Nicolas Arseneault will open up his singles campaign in the qualifying draw as the No. 13 seed. Ranked No. 82 in the ITA Singles Rankings—and as the No. 5 newcomer in the country—Arseneault will play his first collegiate singles match on Monday. All three Wildcats will look to win two rounds of qualifying play over Monday and Tuesday to book their spots in the main draw.
In doubles, 2025 ITA All-Americans Jack Loutit and Stephenson will open their tournament as the No. 3 seeds in the qualifying draw. Ranked No. 37 in the preseason rankings, the duo will play their first match since closing last season as a top ten doubles team. Both Loutit/Stephenson and Rankin/N. Arseneault will also need to win two matches in two days to qualify for the main draw.
The marquee event of the tournament, the main draw, will kick off September 24 and run until the conclusion of the tournament on September 28. 64 singles players and 32 doubles teams will fight for one of the most prestigious individual titles in college tennis, as well as spots at the 2025 NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships in Orlando, Fla. this November. No. 28 Loutit and No. 29 Antoine Ghibaudo both earned direct entry into the singles main draw by virtue of their ranking.
Qualification to NCAAs will be available to 10 singles players—the eight main draw singles quarterfinals and two consolation bracket finalists— and four doubles teams—the four main draw semifinalists. Athletes will also have the opportunity to qualify for the NCAA Individual Championships at ITA Regional, ITA Sectional, and ITA Conference Masters tournaments throughout the fall.
Pre-Qualifying Results
Saturday, September 20
Singles
R1 – Martin Breysach (Kentucky) def. Oskar Jansson (Arizona) 3-6, 6-1, 7-5
R1 – Charlelie Cosnet (Kentucky) def. Leo Linquet (Nebraska) 6-1, 5-7, 6-3
R1 – Mikael Arseneault (Kentucky) def. Calum Jestin (Tulsa) 1-6, 6-2, 6-1
R1 – Wil Jenkins (NJIT) def. [14] Matt Rankin (Kentucky) 1-6, 7-6, 4-0 (ret.)
R1 – Eli Stephenson (Kentucky) def. Alejandro Jacome (Wichita State) 6-3, 6-3
Doubles
R1 – [1] Rankin/N. Arseneault (Kentucky) def. Wright/Jones (North Carolina) 6-4, 7-5
Sunday, September 21
Singles
R2 – Evan Burnett (Texas) def. Martin Breysach (Kentucky) 6-2, 1-6, 6-1
R2 – Charlelie Cosnet (Kentucky) def. [11] Chris Xu (North Carolina) 6-4, 6-2
R2 – Eli Stephenson (Kentucky) def. [21] Ondrej Horak (MTSU) 6-3, 6-0
R2 – Mikael Arseneault (Kentucky) def. [1] Filip Gustafsson (Arizona) 7-6, 6-3
R3 – Eli Stephenson (Kentucky) def. [16] Niels Ratiu (North Carolina) 6-4, 4-6, 6-0
R3 – Charlelie Cosnet (Kentucky) def. Lincoln Battle (Cleveland State) 6-3, 6-7, 7-6
R3 – [21] Gabriele Vulpitta (Georgia) def. Mikael Arseneault (Kentucky) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
Doubles
R2 – [1] Rankin/N. Arseneault (Kentucky) def. [9] Kalina/Kriznik (Alabama) 6-7, 6-4, [10-8]
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