Kentucky Travels to No. 16 South Carolina, Hosts No. 3 Texas
COLUMBIA, S.C. –Kentucky (12-7, 3-4 SEC) is set to begin the back half of Southeastern Conference play this weekend, traveling to No. 16 South Carolina (10-5, 3-4 SEC) on Friday before returning to Lexington to host No. 3 Texas (14-6, 5-2 SEC) on Sunday.
Action from the Carolina Tennis Center in Columbia is set to commence at 5 p.m. ET on Friday, March 20. Sunday’s match at the Boone Tennis Complex will begin at 1 p.m. ET on March 22, with admission free to the public. Live scoring and live court streams will be linked on UKAthletics.com.
Friday’s match against the Gamecocks will begin a seven-match gauntlet for the Wildcats, who will compete against top 20 opposition in each of their final seven contests during the regular season. Kentucky is 4-4 against ranked opponents this season, most recently upsetting No. 18 Auburn last weekend.
Kentucky checks in at a season-high No. 27 in the latest release of the ITA Computerized Team Rankings after a 3-1 weekend at the Boone. In the singles rankings, No. 22 Eli Stephenson leads the charge, joined by No. 55 Jack Loutit, No. 89 Charlelie Cosnet, and No. 99 Nicolas Arseneault. Loutit and Stephenson also feature in the doubles rankings, with the top Kentucky pair slotting at No. 24.
Stephenson has led the way for Kentucky this season, holding a team-high 22 singles wins and 11 singles victories against ranked opponents. Playing at the top line for the first time in his career, the Louisville native holds a 5-2 record at the No. 1 court. The All-American also plays at the No. 1 line in doubles, teaming up with Jack Loutit for nine victories, with seven of those against ranked opponents.
Charlelie Cosnet has been the top Wildcat during the first half of SEC play, holding a 5-2 record in conference matches across the No. 4 and No. 5 positions. In doubles alongside Martin Breysach, Cosnet holds the best doubles record on the team at 9-4.
The Wildcats have won their last three matches against the Gamecocks, notching a 4-2 victory in Lexington last season. The two teams met in the 2024 SEC Tournament Championship Match, with the Cats also producing a 4-2 victory to win the program’s third SEC Tournament title.
Kentucky and Texas are set to play in Lexington for the first time as conference foes. The Longhorns won the first SEC matchup between the two schools, claiming a 4-0 victory in Austin last year.
The Wildcats will hit the road next weekend, playing at No. 13 Vanderbilt on Friday, March 27 at 6 p.m. ET and at No. 6 Mississippi State on Sunday, March 29 at 2 p.m. ET.
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