Senior Day success: Kentucky men's tennis victorious in final home effort

No. 6 Kentucky men’s tennis defeated Vanderbilt 4-2 on Sunday afternoon. The ‘Cats, playing in their last match of the season in Lexington, defended home court. A day of success was kicked off with a celebration of the seniors in Kentucky’s final home contest.

With the win, Kentucky moves to 20-4 (8-3 SEC) with the postseason looming. The Wildcats have one more regular season match before the SEC tournament, then comes the big dance.

Perhaps one of the only flaws in Sunday’s play was how UK started the match.

Kentucky was forced to come from behind after early struggles. The ‘Cats lost the doubles point against Vandy, making it the third-straight match where UK has failed to earn the doubles point. Liam Draxl and Jaden Weekes won their respective match 6-3, snapping a two-match losing streak for them. No. 1 doubles pairing, Alafia Ayeni and Taha Baadi, were defeated 3-6 while JJ Mercer and Joshua Lapadat fell 4-6.

Down 1-0, Kentucky looked to singles for answers.

Setting things straight

That’s exactly what Kentucky did when singles rolled around. The ‘Cats earned four straight-set singles wins through the likes of Draxl, Ayeni, Baadi, and Charlelie Cosnet. The only Wildcat who lost during singles play was Weekes.

Draxl was a force to be reckoned with in his first set. He flew out to a 6-0 first set win and then cruised to a 6-3 win in the second set. The Frenchman Cosnet followed suit. Cosnet was lights out in his match, winning 6-1, 6-4. Kentucky had completely turned the match on its head at this point and led the Commodores 2-1.

Ayeni then joined in on the straight-set soiree. He defeated Vanderbilt’s Joubert Klopper 7-5, 6-4 and the ‘Cats were one match out from putting the Commodores away. Weekes’ match was the next one to finish, though the result didn’t go Kentucky’s way. He was bested in straight sets which made the score 3-2, still in favor of the Wildcats.

Baadi came through during crunch time. His 7-6 (7), 6-2 clinching win on court four ended Vandy’s hopes at a comeback. UK had won 4-2 and picked up its 20th win of the season.

Kentucky reaching the end

Kentucky faces one last test in the regular season, next weekend. The ‘Cats travel to Gainesville for a final tune-up before the SEC Tournament. UK has already beaten Florida this season, a neutral site win at the ITA Indoor Tournament in Chicago.

The SEC regular season crown is already out of the picture for Kentucky but seeding is still up for grabs when the Wildcats go down to the Sunshine State. So yes, I think the phrase “tune-up” is the perfect way to describe the battle with the Gators. Pick up a ranked win away from home, and hope to cruise into the postseason with a little momentum. There’s the recipe, welcome to crunch time.

Thank you, seniors! #WeAreUK 🔵😺🎾 pic.twitter.com/Vt5JFOea11

— Kentucky Men's Tennis (@UKMensTennis) April 9, 2023