Jack Loutit Named SEC Player of the Week
LEXINGTON, Ky. – For the second time in his career, junior Jack Loutit has earned Southeastern Conference Player of the Week honors, picking up the laurel for his performance in Kentucky’s win over No. 12 Georgia last week. Loutit earned a top 15 doubles win alongside Eli Stephenson and delivered the clinching singles point in come-from-behind fashion, securing the 4-3 upset victory.
Loutit shared this week’s honor with Oscar Lacides from Oklahoma. The Auckland, New Zealand native has now won an SEC Player of the Week award in back-to-back seasons, earning his first career recognition on January 29, 2025, after an undefeated slate during ITA Kickoff Weekend.
Loutit joins teammates Stephenson and Mikael Arseneault in winning SEC Weekly Awards this season. Stephenson and Arseneault swept the awards on February 4 for their performances in wins against Louisville and No. 15 Duke. With Loutit and Stephenson both winning Player of the Week this season, the Cats have had multiple players earn the honor in the same year for the fourth time in program history and the first time since 2023.
In doubles, Loutit and Stephenson recovered from an early break deficit to deliver their eighth ranked win of the season, defeating No. 13 Arda Azkara and Santiago Giamichelle, 7-5. Kentucky would go on to win the doubles point in part thanks to Loutit’s efforts.
In singles, Loutit was able to finish off a furious Wildcat comeback effort to secure Kentucky’s best win of the season by ranking at time of match. All six Kentucky players lost their opening sets and Georgia eventually took a 3-1 lead in the dual.
Despite falling 6-2 in the opening frame and falling behind a break in the second set, the Kiwi rallied to force a third with a second set tiebreak win. At level terms, Loutit seized the momentum and raced to a 5-1 lead in the third set, moments away from victory as his teammates had brought the dual score even at 3-3. A fierce resistance from Derrick Chen would bring the deciding match to 5-5, and eventually 6-6.
A third set tiebreaker on the last court on would decide a Kentucky tennis match for the sixth time this season, with the Wildcats 1-4 in those matches entering Saturday. However, Loutit was able to flip the script on the season and buckle down in the tiebreaker, holding a lead for the entire game and putting the match away in extra points, sealing the upset victory for the Wildcats with a 2-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6) victory.
Kentucky will close out the regular season this week, facing Nicholls and No. 5 LSU in Baton Rouge on Friday, April 10 before heading to Oxford for a match against No. 25 Ole Miss on Sunday, April 12.
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