Kentucky Men's Tennis Coach Cedric Kauffmann Previews NCAA Tournament

It’s almost time to make another run for the national championship.

Coming off the program’s first SEC Tournament title since 1992, Kentucky men’s tennis is set to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, which begins this weekend. The Wildcats, the No. 4 overall seed in the field, are scheduled to play Presbyterian College on Friday at 1:00 p.m. EST with the winner set to take on UCLA or Northwestern on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. EST. Both matches will take place on campus at the Boone Tennis Center in Lexington, KY.

Ahead of this weekend’s events, the Premier HS Sports Podcast had the chance to interview Kentucky head coach Cedric Kauffmann. Below are some highlights from the interview. You can check out the full 17-minute podcast episode here.

Interview with HC Cedric Kauffmann

On how making the national championship in 2022 gained Kentucky respect:

Kauffmann: “They (other teams) respect what we have done with the players that we have. I’m not saying that it is the Super Bowl, but you know, beating a top-five team, the runner-up, the team that made the final is also a big deal. So, I think there has been a change in the last two or three years. I think everybody plays some of their best matches against us.

“We’ve always been there competing really, really hard. I think we are a good team in the last 30 minutes if it goes 4-3 I think we have a pretty record with the 4-3 matches. My players are smart, and I think our game plan at the end, the last 30 minutes we do a good job with coaches and players together. For everybody (that plays us) it’s been a little bit of their Super Bowl.”

On being 9-1 in matches that are decided by a 4-3 margin:

Kauffmann: “Each match we are going to compete until the last point. Some other teams or some other social medias have called us cockroaches. Tough to beat, or tough to kill. You know, you can step on them a few times, but they are still coming back.”

On defeating Tennessee in the SEC Tournament semifinals:

Kauffmann: “The Tennessee (regular season loss) was our worst match of the year. We knew as a team, as a coaching staff we were not going to be as bad (in the SEC tournament). Their (Tennessee’s) top spots are doubles — 1 and 4. Those were their strong spots and if we had to beat them or come to the wire with them, we had to flip the script a little bit on those matches. That’s what we did, we won two out of those spots where they are really, really strong. We won the doubles which gives us a little bit of a lift. We knew the singles was going to be really, really hard. Liam (Draxl) had an unbelievable day, he beat (Johannus) Monday who is a top 3 player in the country. Josh Lapadat did not lose a match that weekend, singles and doubles. Alafia (Ayeni) clinched the match but was down three match points. He kind of came out the hero that day at 2.”

On defeating Georgia in the SEC Tournament finals after losing the doubles point

Kauffmann: “We just across the board competed and made the match last long. We are a physical team. We are very good at three set (matches.) If we can at least even it out, either when the first set or the second set and push it again to the last 30 minutes we are an energy team, so I think the teams kind of fill it. We were down 3-1, Alafia was starting the third set and we were down at 4 and 5 with Jaden (Weekes) and Taha (Baadi). We were still kind of getting our physicality to 100 percent. We were rising to the level, our tennis was getting better and Georgia kind of looked around and goes ‘oh crap’. We have a chance, and when they didn’t close out it was a little bit of a panic for them and a confidence for us and the last 20 (minutes) I think we controlled the match.”

On freshman Jaden Weekes clinching the SEC championship after a rough end to his semifinal match:

Kauffmann: “To lose that Tennessee match with a match point missed volley, we will say in basketball it’s you having the last shot as a freshman and he missed it. To want to take that shot again the next day I think it shows a lot of courage, it shows a lot of growth.”

On the three other teams in the Lexington regional

Kauffmann: “Presbyterian, they have won four or five matches to win their conference tournament. We will treat Presbyterian with respect and get ready to come out of the game strong. We will have 24 hours to recover. Hopefully we can get through the first round and play the winner of UCLA and Northwestern.

“We know Northwestern really well. They are a very well-coached team. They are tough. Their upperclassmen I think it is their last year with three out of their top four (players). They are really going to try to do the best they can to get the Sweet 16 because they have never made it.

“UCLA is always a very, very talented team. It is a wonderful college. Their sports are always well-funded. They have very, very good tennis players. That will be a tough match, I think it will be a 50/50 match between Northwestern and UCLA so we will see.”

On getting great fan support this weekend

Kauffmann: “I think fans need to understand that when they come out it makes a big difference. This is why we have worked hard to host. If you guys come out I think you would love this team. They are very receptive of cheering for them, I think they rise to the occasion.”