Nicolas Arseneault Named ITA Ohio Valley Region Rookie of the Year
LEXINGON, Ky. – Kentucky freshman Nicolas Arseneault was crowned as the 2026 Intercollegiate Tennis Association Ohio Valley Region Rookie of the Year, the organization announced Tuesday. Arseneault’s recognition marks the third consecutive year in which a Wildcat rookie has collected the award, joining Eli Stephenson in 2024 and Antoine Ghibaudo in 2025.
Arseneault completed a successful freshman campaign for the Wildcats in which he featured primarily at the No. 2 singles position for the Wildcats. The Richmond Hill, Ontario native totaled a 16-11 singles record during his first collegiate campaign, including eight ranked singles wins. Arseneault collected a trio of top 25 singles wins over No. 14—and former ITA No. 1— Ozan Baris of Michigan State, No. 19 Kalin Ivanovski of Texas, and No. 22 Erik Arutiunian of LSU. Arseneault played his best tennis to close out his rookie campaign, winning 12 of his final 15 completed singles matches.
After entering the season as the No. 5 newcomer in the country according to the ITA, Arseneault peaked at No. 54 in the ITA Singles Rankings and ended the season at No. 56. Arseneault was recognized as a member of the All-SEC Second Team and SEC All-Freshman Team, becoming just the fourth Wildcat in program history to achieve both feats in a season.
Arseneault also featured in the Kentucky doubles lineup across both the No. 2 and No. 3 positions, compiling an 11-10 record. Arseneault peaked in the ITA Doubles Rankings at No. 48 alongside Matt Rankin in March and earned his first career ranked doubles victory against No. 61 Alex Frusina and Kholo Montsi of Texas A&M playing with Jaden Weekes.
The No. 1 ranked junior player in Canada out of high school, Arseneault came to Lexington as a top 500 ATP player after earning a first round victory at the ATP Masters 1000 National Bank Open in his tour debut. Arseneault also earned his first international call-up in February, joining Wildcat greats Gabriel Diallo and Liam Draxl on the Canadian Davis Cup squad for their 3-2 victory over Brazil in the first round of qualifiers.
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