Kentucky (8-4) was defeated handily by Florida (8-4) during its SEC road opener on Feb. 28 with a final score of 6-1.

The Cats got out to an early lead by winning the doubles point with the duo of Jack Loutit and Eli Stephenson setting the tone with a 25-minute win that was quickly followed by another doubles victory to secure the point.

However, the Gators would snap back in the singles as they rapidly jumped into the lead on every court, swinging the momentum away from Kentucky and into their favor.

Once the points started rolling in for Florida, they came in bunches. Tanapatt Nirundorn would tie up the match 1-1 with a win on court five, and, shortly after, two matches would complete within mere seconds of each other to give Florida a 3-1 lead.

The home team secured the match off the racket of No. 61 Jeremy Jin as he defeated No. 66 Jaden Weekes in the only ranked matchup of the night.

Although Florida had won the match 4-1, the teams decided to play out the remainder of the match where the Wildcats didn’t fare much better.

JanMangus Johnson would hand No. 81 Loutit his first singles loss of the season on court three.

Meanwhile, No. 121 Charlelie Cosnet would also taste defeat but had the honor of being the only Wildcat in singles to push his match to three sets before losing to Florida’s Henry Jefferson.

After being swept in singles by the Gators, Kentucky will look to bounce back quickly with a short turnaround between the road trip and a return home for an SEC Tournament Championship rematch with South Carolina.

The Cats will take to the courts once again on Sunday, March 2, at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex.