No. 11 Kentucky Men’s Tennis Defeats No. 8 Harvard for 2nd Top 10 Win in Under a Week

For the second time in under a week, Kentucky men’s tennis took down a top-10 opponent in Lexington.

The No. 11 Wildcats (7-1) followed up their 4-3 victory over two-time reigning NCAA champion Virginia on Sunday with a 5-2 win over No. 8 Harvard (5-2) on Friday night at the Hilary Boone Tennis Complex.

Charlelie Cosnet clinched the tense match for UK with a 6-4, 6-4 victory on court 5. The steady sophomore from France improved to 7-0 this season.

No. 11 Kentucky men’s 🎾with the 4-2 win over No. 8 Harvard.

Charlelie Cosnet with the clinch 6–4, 6-4 on court five. Great deuce point to end it!

‘Cats take out another top 10 team!!

The final match will be played out but UK has already clinched! pic.twitter.com/pxLMCTcJc8
— Troy Howell (@teeroyhowell) February 10, 2024

Kentucky opened the match by claiming the doubles point over Harvard. Eli Stephenson and Jaden Weekes picked up a 6-3 win on court two, minutes before Josh Lapadat and JJ Mercer knocked off the number four ranked doubles team in the nation 6-4.

DOWN GOES #4

Mercer/Lapadat (UK) def. Williams/Milavsky (Harvard) 6-4 😼👏 pic.twitter.com/ngp5D5gwlx
— Kentucky Men's Tennis (@UKMensTennis) February 9, 2024

Limited to four indoor courts, Cosnet had to wait for a match to finish before taking the court. The Wildcats took the first sets on the top three courts, with the Crimson claiming the first set on court four.

Strong start for #11 @UKMensTennis vs #8 Harvard.

‘Cats take doubles and first sets on court 1 (Baadi), court 2 (Lapadat) and court 3 (Weekes). Crimson took the first set on court 4.

Below is the set point for Lapadat. pic.twitter.com/8pTuWp0Cck
— Troy Howell (@teeroyhowell) February 9, 2024

Since moving up to the top court, Kentucky’s Taha Baadi continued his stellar play with a quick 6-2, 6-4 win over No. 12 Cooper Williams. It was Baadi’s third straight win over a ranked opponent.

Another ranked win for UK’s Taha Baadi on court 1! This time a 6-2, 6-4 win over No. 12 ranked Cooper Williams. He’s on 🔥

No. 11 Kentucky 2
No. 8 Harvard 0 pic.twitter.com/THrKeg7kH5
— Troy Howell (@teeroyhowell) February 9, 2024

Harvard pulled to within 2-1 with a straight-set victory on court four, but minutes later Lapadat countered with a 6-3, 6-2 victory on court 2, playing well in his return from injury.

Josh Lapadat puts No 11 Kentucky up 3-1 on No. 8 Harvard with a 6-3, 6-2 victory on court 2! 🎾 pic.twitter.com/druFWZWRih
— Troy Howell (@teeroyhowell) February 10, 2024

Harvard stayed alive with a third-set comeback victory on court three, right before Cosnet’s clincher. Stephenson, a freshman from Louisville, rallied from 5-1 down to eventually win 7-6 (6), 6-2 on court 6 to make the final margin 5-2 Kentucky. The former Louisville St. Xavier star is 6-0 this season.

UK freshmen Eli Stephenson comes back from 5-1 games down to take the first set 7-6 (6) on court 6 vs Harvard. Cut down on his errors and played steady and consistent to turn the tide. Won the last four points of the breaker. pic.twitter.com/a4vS7eByBs
— Troy Howell (@teeroyhowell) February 10, 2024

Next Up: The ranked opponents don’t stop here. Kentucky travels to Durham to face No. 15 Duke on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. EST.