Kentucky men’s tennis runs winning streak to 18 in NCAA Tournament-opening sweep
The University of Kentucky men’s tennis team made quick work of its opening-round opponent in the NCAA Tournament at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex in Lexington on Friday.
The Wildcats, champions of the Southeastern Conference regular season and tournament, dominated DePaul 4-0 for their 18th win in a row.
Kentucky, the No. 5 overall seed in the 64-team NCAA field, improved to 25-2 heading into a second-round match Saturday against Illinois. The Fighting Illini (17-9) advanced with a 4-1 win over Toledo on Friday in Lexington.
UK won the doubles point behind victories from its teams of Taha Baadi/Jack Loutit and Eli Stephenson/Jaden Weekes by scores of 6-2 and 6-4, respectively.
The Wildcats have claimed the doubles point in 11 consecutive matches.
In singles, Lapadat won 6-3, 6-1, Loutit rolled 6-3, 6-0 and Charlelie Cosnet coasted 6-0, 6-2, and that was that.
UK’s three other singles players — Baadi, Weekes and Stephenson — were leading their matches when Kentucky clinched.
Saturday’s match, with a spot in the NCAA Sweet 16 at stake, was to get underway at 4 p.m. at UK.
▪ Baadi, a fifth-year player, was the only Wildcat to earn a berth in the NCAA singles championships, which take place May 20-25 at Stillwater, Okla. Baadi is No. 30 in the most recent ITA singles rankings with a 13-9 record.
Lapadat and JJ Mercer, both seniors, will represent Kentucky in the doubles draw, where they are the No. 3 seed. Lapadat and Mercer are 15-5 together this season and ranked No. 4 in the ITA doubles rankings.
