Job done: Kentucky men's tennis advances to ITA Nationals after perfect weekend
The undefeated season continues to roll for No. 5 Kentucky men’s tennis after a productive weekend saw the Wildcats claim the top spot heading into the 2023 ITA National Indoor Championships. UK dismantled Liberty 4-0 on Friday and then beat Notre Dame 4-1 on Saturday for a perfect weekend of victories.
Kentucky’s jam-packed schedule will only continue to prove more challenging for a squad that finished as NCAA Tournament runners-up last season. There’s still a month before SEC play begins for the Wildcats, but UK will get a mini-sniff at ACC action in the coming weeks.
The ‘Cats face four consecutive ACC foes before they go to the gauntlet that is the ITA Nationals which is being hosted in Chicago this year. The tournament runs from Feb. 17 through Feb. 20.
Maybe we can coin a phrase calling this squad the Multi-Conference Cats.
How about those Wildcat results
Kentucky didn’t drop a set in its Friday afternoon tilt versus Liberty. Liam Draxl, Alafia Ayeni, and Joshua Lapadat were leading the charge for the ‘Cats in their 4-0 sweep. Draxl and Ayeni teamed up on the doubles court to snag a 6-3 win.
After earning the doubles point, Kentucky won three singles matches to secure the sweep. Ayeni was able to win his respective match in straight sets while Draxl got over the line in a three-set 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory. The other matches wouldn’t even need to finish, considering Liberty didn’t have enough points to catch Kentucky.
Notre Dame showed a little more fight on Saturday against the Wildcats, but dominant singles play propelled UK.
The Fighting Irish took the doubles point, which forced Kentucky to be nearly perfect during singles play. Perfection is indeed what Kentucky showed. Draxl won another three-set thriller after dropping his first set. Ayeni and Lapadat both cruised to straight-set victories as well, and the ‘Cats were one singles victory away from clinching the win along with the ITA Nationals birth.
Taha Baadi came up massive on court four for Kentucky. Baadi was forced to win his opening singles set in a tiebreaker, but then found his form in a dominant second set. Baadi’s 7-6 (5), 6-2 win added another point for the Wildcats which would eventually help them push them over the line to a 4-1 victory.
Time to show why it means more
Four-straight ACC foes await Kentucky, starting with a trip to Virginia on Friday, Feb. 3. Then it’s a trip down I-81 for a matchup with Virginia Tech on Sunday, Feb. 5. In fact, it’s three straight road matches before the Wildcats are back in action in Lexington.
After clashing with both Virginia schools, it’s a rivalry match versus Louisville on Feb. 10, which Kentucky swept last season. Then it’s back to Lexington for a Sunday showdown on Feb. 12 against the Duke Blue Devils.
The matches will be coming thick and fast for this undefeated squad. Time to show the country that last season’s postseason run was merited and UK can hang with the best of the best.
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
KSBoard