Kentucky Commences SEC Play Against Tennessee, No. 16 Texas A&M

LEXINGTON, Ky. – After a bye week, Kentucky (7-3, 0-0 SEC) opens the 14-match gauntlet of the Southeastern Conference season this weekend, hosting Tennessee (6-4, 0-0 SEC) on Saturday, February 21 at 1 p.m. ET and welcoming No. 16 Texas A&M (7-3, 0-0 SEC) on Monday, February 23 at 2 p.m. ET. Both matches will be played at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex with admission free to the public.

The Wildcats return to the court after seeing their 34-match home winning streak snapped in a 4-3 loss to No. 25 Illinois in the non-conference finale. Kentucky has won its last 18 regular season SEC matches at the Boone, dating to March 9, 2023.

The Cats have been led by junior duo Eli Stephenson and Jack Loutit through the first half of the 2026 season. Stephenson, reaching a career best ITA Singles Ranking of No. 16 this week, is 19-3 this season and a perfect 8-0 in the dual season. Loutit clocks in at No. 38 in the latest ITA rankings and ranks second on the team with 12 wins this season. The duo has combined for 15 ranked wins this season and both players qualified for the NCAA Singles Championship in the fall.

On the doubles court, Stephenson and Loutit enter conference play ranked No. 23 in the latest ITA Doubles Rankings. The All-Americans from a season ago hold a 4-1 record against ranked opposition and have led Kentucky to doubles points in each of the last six matches.

Two more Wildcats—No. 91 Charlelie Cosnet and No. 94 Nicolas Arseneault—are also ranked in the latest ITA Singles Rankings drop, with the latter fresh off an international call-up to Team Canada during the Davis Cup Qualifiers earlier this month.

Kentucky will complete its season-long eight-match homestand next week, hosting No. 15 Florida at 5 p.m. ET on Friday, February 27.

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