Kentucky Men's Tennis Shows Fight and Promise in Elite 8 Defeat

Kentucky men’s tennis elite season came to an end in a hard-fought, 4-2 quarterfinal loss to reigning national champion Virginia on Friday, but the ‘Cats are establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with in college tennis, and that’s not easy to do.

Case in point, year-round warm-weather schools have dominated college tennis. These programs have won 56 of the past 63 team titles. Throw in Virginia, which is a tennis power of its own, and only Illinois (2003) and Wake Forest 2018) are the lone exceptions. Plus Winston Salem, NC is pretty warm in my book. California schools have won a whopping 54 championships.

The Big Blue brought home their first SEC championship since 1992 this season and second overall before winning 4-3 thrillers over Northwestern and Stanford to advance to the final site in Orlando for their sixth Elite 8 in program history.

Last year’s team made their first-ever national final but lost three of their top four players. When Gabriel Diallo (who could have been the most talented player in college tennis this year had he stayed) made the understandable decision to turn pro after a red-hot summer on the hardcourts, many did not think Kentucky would make the final site. Yet here they were in Orlando — anything but a one-hit-wonder.

Just like basketball, the tennis Wildcats are churning out pros, which will continue to bring success in recruiting. Look for Diallo, and seniors Liam Draxl, and Alafia Ayeni (who currently has the highest pro ranking of any college player) to have success on the ATP tour. Draxl’s decision to play for UK has been the most important decision since Eric Quigley came to Lexington over a decade ago. He’s a transcendent player.

Ayeni played some incredible attacking tennis against Virginia, posting hard-fought wins on court two singles and court one doubles with Taha Baadi. In fact, Ayeni and Baadi rallied from 5-3 down and fended off four match points before winning a tiebreaker 11-9 in a moment that will live in UK lore forever. 

Ayeni finishes it off!

Ayeni def. Montes: 7-6, 1-6, 6-3

UK 2 | UVA 3#WeAreUK 🎾😺🔵 pic.twitter.com/94mifhxkAd

— Kentucky Men's Tennis (@UKMensTennis) May 19, 2023

Incredible doubles point for UK! Ayeni and Baadi fended off at least 4 match points! https://t.co/46yXqgj8QR

— Troy Howell (@teeroyhowell) May 19, 2023

Freshmen Charlelie Cosnet and Jaden Weekes got valuable experience in the lineup this year and that will help continue the positive momentum into next year and beyond. Coach Kauffmann and Coach Matt Gordon will continue to recruit at a Vince Marrow and Mark Stoops-like level, with next year’s class including 2022 KHSAA state singles champion Eli Stephenson.

This is one of the golden eras of Kentucky tennis. Former head coach Dennis Emery built it and Coach Kauffmann has the program rolling. UK was right in the match until the very end on Friday, with Virginia needing to win a third-set tiebreaker. Playing on the big stage will pay off down the road.

“I’m very proud of the year we had and [I’m] proud of the way we competed today,” Kauffmann said. “We had some chances in the last 10 minutes. We came up a little bit short, but it was not for a lack of effort or a lack of courage. The ‘Cats are not going anywhere. We will get back to work and hopefully get back to this position.”

Next Up

Draxl and Ayeni will play in Orlando in the NCAA singles tournament that starts on Monday in Orlando, with Josh Lapadat likely joining them. He is currently listed as the top alternate. Ayeni and Baadi will pair up to compete in the NCAA doubles tournament next week.