Kentucky Men's Tennis sweeps DePaul in first round of NCAA Tournament

ZGeogheganKSR

Kentucky men’s tennis might just be the hottest team in the sport right now. Ranked No. 5 overall heading into Friday night’s NCAA Tournament opener, the Wildcats were riding a 17-game match win streak. They had no problem extending it to 18.

The Wildcats (25-2) swept the DePaul Blue Demons (14-10) last night 4-0 in Lexington at the Boone Tennis Complex, advancing to Saturday afternoon’s second round, which features a matchup against Illinois. SEC Tournament champions this season for just the third time in school history, Kentucky is on a hunt to go even farther than last season’s NCAA Tournament quarterfinals run. Friday was the perfect start to making that happen.

Here’s how Friday night’s first-round action played out. Kentucky’s doubles victory marked its 11th straight. The ‘Cats are red-hot.

Doubles

No. 4 Lapadat/Mercer (UK) vs. Verma/Gitschel (DPU): 4-4, unfinished
Baadi/Loutit (UK) def. Huck/Moser (DPU): 6-2
Stephenson/Weekes (UK) def. Almeida/Tonejc (DPU): 6-4

Singles

No. 28 Taha Baadi (UK) vs. Vito Tonejc (DPU): 7-6(5), 3-1 (unfinished)
No. 80 Joshua Lapadat (UK) def. Leon Huck (DPU): 6-3, 6-1
Jaden Weekes (UK) vs. Shourya Verma (DPU): 6-3, 3-3 (unfinished)
Charlelie Cosnet (UK) def. Matteo Iaquinto (DPU): 6-0, 6-2
Jack Loutit (UK) vs. def. Pablo Almeida (DPU): 6-3, 6-0
Eli Stephenson (UK) vs. Sven Moser (DPU): 6-3, 5-3 (unfinished)

Order of Finish:

Doubles— 2, 3
Singles— 5, 4, 2*

This afternoon’s matchup against Illinois — the No. 2 seed in the Lexington Region and No. 29 in the nation — is set for 4:00 p.m. EST. Live stats and streaming will be available through the links here and here, including a whip-around broadcast on the Cracked Racquets YouTube channel. If you’d like to make the trip and watch in person, you can purchase tickets here or through the UK Ticket Office.