Kentucky men's tennis downs Illinois, advances to Round of 16

For the third straight year, Kentucky men’s tennis has made it to the NCAA Tournament Round of 16.

This time around, the No. 5 Wildcats (26-2) took down the Illinois Fighting Illini (16-10) by a final score of 4-3 on Saturday afternoon at the Boone Tennis Complex in Lexington. Illinois came into the match with revenge on the mind after falling to Kentucky earlier in the season by the same score of 4-3.

And even though the ‘Cats went down early, young star power shined down the stretch. With the match knotted at 3-3, freshman Jack Loutit broke the tie to secure the win. Kentucky had just beaten DePaul in the opening round on Friday to reach Saturday’s Round of 32.

Onward! ⏭️#WeAreUK 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/J3hh5zPd57

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

After winning its last 12 doubles points, Kentucky finally dropped one to the Illini. But the ‘Cats quickly recovered in singles play as fifth-year Taha Baddi soon put his squad on the board. UK sophomore Jaden Weekes dropped his match before freshman Eli Stephenson brought the score to even once again.

The back-and-forth continued with Kentucky sophomore Charlelie Cosnet falling in the fourth singles match and senior Joshua Lapadat coming away with the win. Then, with the outcome on the line, Loutit — backed by a loud pack of the Big Blue Nation — rallied to beat Illinois’ Oliver Okonkwo and win the match for the Wildcats.

Coming up, Kentucky — now winners of 19 consecutive matches — heads to the super regionals next Saturday at the Boone Tennis Complex to take on No. 12 seed Harvard. The official start time of the match will be announced at a later date.

Kentucky vs. Illinois results

Doubles

• No. 12 Heck/Ozolins (ILL) def. No. 4 Lapadat/Mercer (UK): 6-2
• Baadi/Loutit (UK) vs. Horve/Okonkwo (ILL): 4-4, unfinished
• Debru/Miyoshi (ILL) def. Stephenson/Weekes (UK): 6-2

Singles

• No. 28 Taha Baadi (UK) def. No. 26 Karlis Ozolins (ILL): 6-3, 6-1
• No. 80 Joshua Lapadat (UK) def. No. 46 Hunter Heck (ILL): 7-6(5), 6-2
• No. 95 Kenta Miyoshi (ILL) def. Jaden Weekes (UK): 6-1, 6-4
• Alex Petrov (ILL) def. Charlelie Cosnet (UK): 6-3, 6-4
• Jack Loutit (UK) def. Oliver Okonkwo (ILL): 1-6, 6-2, 6-4
• Eli Stephenson (UK) def. Lucas Horve (ILL): 6-2, 6-4

Order of Finish:

• Doubles— 3, 1
• Singles— 1, 3, 6, 4, 2, 5*