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

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.

Round One Won🏆Round One Done✅#WeAreUK | #BBN pic.twitter.com/P8Bfw6Rn4B

— Kentucky Men's Tennis (@UKMensTennis) May 4, 2024