Kentucky men's tennis national championship dream adds a new chapter

The destination is Orlando, Florida for Kentucky men’s tennis.

The Wildcats find themselves in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Men’s Tennis Tournament. Kentucky’s picked up three wins throughout the Big Dance so far and added some dramatic comebacks to its current tournament resume. Presbyterian, Northwestern, and Stanford have all been defeated by the ‘Cats during this tournament run.

Next up for UK is a rematch with the Virginia Cavaliers, this time for a spot in the Final Four.

Cats in the Sunshine State! ☀️🌴#WeAreUK 🔵😺🎾 pic.twitter.com/kf2O6dLgBP
— Kentucky Men's Tennis (@UKMensTennis) May 16, 2023

The ‘Cats and Cavaliers last faced off on February 3, where Kentucky knocked off the then-No. 1 team in the land. Before the February showdown, the ‘Cats and Cavs met in the 2022 National Championship where UVA took home the hardware. The Wildcats won this year’s matchup 4-3, a scoreline that they’ve gotten quite familiar with in the past two matches. UK beat Northwestern 4-3 in the Round of 32, then inched out Stanford 4-3 in the Sweet 16. In fact, this Kentucky squad is 11-1 in matches that end 4-3 this season.

The ‘Cats sure love themselves the dramatic wins.

“At home we work really hard. We work on fitness, we put the hours in. So, we feel the longer the match goes, we feel that we can keep pushing hard and actually feel better. We actually don’t play so well the first hour, then we start playing the tennis we play the second and third hour. We trust ourselves,” Head Coach Cedric Kauffmann said in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

Singles play drove Kentucky to the Sweet 16 win on Saturday. The six singles players that the ‘Cats boast are as good as anyone’s lineup in the country. Just how good is this squad? Well, you can point to their double-double number of ranked wins, or yeah, the SEC Tournament championship.

What Kentucky should expect

Virginia is one of the hottest teams in the country. The Cavaliers are on a 19-match winning streak, which includes an ACC Tournament Championship win. Kentucky comes in riding an impressive eight-match winning streak, but 19 is something spectacular.

Over that 19-match span, UVA has beaten Duke three separate times, once coming in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Keep in mind that Kentucky beat Duke 4-3 in mid-February. Virginia has also beaten Louisville, Notre Dame, and Virginia Tech. The ‘Cats have also bested those three squads earlier on in the year. In getting to this point, Virginia’s form is more impressive — the ‘Cats should not be overlooked at all.

In the first matchup between Kentucky and Virginia this season in Charlottesville, the Wildcats got out to a 1-0 lead after winning the doubles point. With the score tied at three, Taha Baadi gave UK the win in the last match of the afternoon.

ITA All-American and team captain, Liam Draxl, knows of the challenge ahead.

“I think it takes everyone on the team, all 12 guys to show up and bring what they have to the table. It’s going to be a battle for sure, there’s going to be a lot of tough moments. Everyone’s going to need to come together as a team and perform to their absolute best to win that match,” Draxl said on Wednesday.

Kentucky and Virginia will begin action at 5 p.m. EST on Thursday from the USTA National Campus. A 2022 National Championship rematch now determines a Final Four place. The scriptwriters for collegiate tennis have absolutely outdone themselves with this one.