Kentucky men’s tennis (3-0) got its first ranked win of the season with a 5-2 comeback win over No. 20 Michigan State (0-1), spearheaded by Jack Loutit and Nicolas Arseneault.
Despite being down 3-1 early, Martin Breysach and Charlelie Cosnet turned it around for a 6-4 win over No. 76 Mitchell Sheldon and David Saye. Michigan State still took the doubles point.
As doubles play continued, No. 14 Taym Alazmeh and Daniel Rahmatullayev took down No. 60 Loutit and Eli Stephenson 7-6 (7-5). The Spartans a 1-0 lead heading into singles after Ozan Baris and Matthew Forbes took out the duo of Arseneault and Jaden Weekes 7-5
The Spartans looked to maintain their momentum, but No. 19 Stephenson halted it with a 6–3, 6–3 victory over Alazmeh, evening the score for the Wildcats. The Spartans quickly took the lead back, despite Antoine Ghibaudo battling throughout; it was not enough to overcome No. 3 Forbes, falling 6-4, 6-4.
In singles, Arseneault delivered a statement against No. 14 Baris. Arseneault got down 4-0 in the first set and eventually lost it 6-2.
“I got broken though early, and I stayed with my game,” Arseneault said.
Arseneault had a resurgence on the court, taking a highly contested second set 7-5 and the third 6-3 in an incredible upset victory.
“I didn’t stop, I kept competing and fighting, and eventually, like I broke back and got the win,” Arseneault said. “The crowd and the team had a lot to do with that. They were great, supporting, awesome.”
With the win, Arseneault tied up the score for the Wildcats, and No. 26 Loutit looked to claim the match lead. Matched up with No. 103 David Saye, Loutit looked to bring the fire, getting the crowd and team energized in the match. Undeterred, Loutit pulled out a well-fought 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 win, earning Kentucky its first lead of the day.
Building off his strong performance in doubles, Cosnet carried the momentum into singles, jumping out to a fast start against Sheldon with a 6-0 first-set win. Sheldon responded with a competitive second set, but Cosnet closed out the match in straight sets, taking the second 7-5, clinching the win for Kentucky.
“It gives us some confidence, that is a very, very good team. I think that they have the talent to be top 15, top 10,” head coach Cedric Kauffmann said. “We lost to them last year, and to lose the doubles, lose that one, be down 2-0, to come back and we talked about, being one of the toughest teams in the country. So we’re working on it, we’re getting there.”
Weekes and Rahmatullayev exchanged games early, with Weekes winning the opening set 6–4. Weekes was permitted to finish and won the match in straight sets with a 6-3 second set.
With the win, the Wildcats are now on a 30-match unbeaten streak at the Hillary J. Boone Tennis Complex, showing how important home-court advantage can be.
“Yeah, it’s huge for me and the team who got a lot more confidence and momentum going to New York, which can definitely help us,” Arseneault said. “We have a tough, tough bracket, but I think we can do it awesome.”
Kentucky will travel for its next match, heading to the ITA Kickoff Weekend beginning Friday, Jan. 23, where they will open the event with an 11:00 a.m. matchup against the Florida Gators at the Milstein Family Tennis Center.
