Men's Tennis
Kevin Lai - Men's Tennis - University of Kentucky Athletics

KevinLai

  • height 5-9
  • class Senior

Senior (2016) – Went 3-0 in singles play, playing once on the fifth court and twice on the sixth court … Won B singles flight in the spring at the Louisville Invitational to highlight his 10-2 record during fall tennis … Went 3-8 in doubles play, playing across all three courts while teaming up with Nils Ellefsen, Gus Benson, Austin Hussey, Ryotaro Matsumura and Trey Yates … Took A flight doubles crown alongside Nils Ellefsen at the Louisville Invitational in the fall.

Junior (2015) – Compiled a 6-14 singles record in the dual season, playing between No. 3 and No. 6, with a 1-6 SEC record … Took down Tennessee at the No. 5 spot … Went 4-4 during the tournament season … Played mostly alongside classmate Beck Pennington in doubles at No. 1, stringing together a 5-10 record with a 2-7 SEC record … Named to All-SEC Academic honor roll.

Sophomore (2014) – Went 27-13 overall in singles and doubles on the season … Teamed with Tom Jomby to form the No. 9 ranked doubles team in the nation by season’s end, and was therefore named an ITA All-American … Along with Jomby, was named the Ohio Valley Doubles Team of the Year, going 14-5 in doubles play with seven wins over top-20 tandems. Played in 19 singles matches, including 12 SEC matches at the No. 3, 4, 5 and six positions, with most of his starts coming at the No. 5 and 6 slot … Clinched Kentucky’s spot in the NCAA Sweet 16 for the fifth time in five seasons with a dramatic come-from-behind three-set win over Clemson to win 4-3 in the Lexington Regional Final.

Freshman (2013) –  Named an ITA All-American … Was a bolt of energy during the season, collecting a 14-6 record in singles play, having to play as high as court four after all the injuries to Kentucky during the season … Defeated No. 125 Hernus Peiters in three sets of Georgia to collect his first win against a ranked opponent of his career in the SEC Tournament … Played three three-set matches, and went 3-0 in those matches … Clinched first-career match in win against Alabama … Partnered with Tom Jomby to form one of the best doubles teams in the nation … Duo went 18-8 on the year and finished the season ranked No. 9 in the nation … Had seven wins against teams in the top 50 as a duo … All matches were played on court one … Played three matches against top-10 teams, and went 2-0 with one match not finishing … Knocked off No. 3 pair from Auburn and No. 5 pair from Texas A&M.

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