After a dominant singles performance on Friday in round one of the 2021 NCAA Tennis Championship, the 14th-seeded Kentucky Wildcats would turn their attention to a second-round bout against the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday afternoon at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex in Lexington.  

UK defeated Cleveland State 4-1 behind four convincing singles victories on courts one, three, four and six. The Vikings jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after nabbing the doubles point from the Cats. 

No. 18 Arizona fought past No. 12 Michigan 4-3 in the first round on Friday. Like Kentucky, Arizona dropped the doubles point before securing four singles wins, capped off on court one by No. 45 Gustaf Strom, who won a three-set thriller to send the Wildcats to the second round of the tournament for the first time since 2009.  

Both teams would look to avoid an early deficit for the second day in a row and secure the coveted doubles point.  

Arizona would strike first on court two, as Jonas Ziverts and Herman Hoeyeraal defeated Liam Draxl and Millen Hurrion 6-4. 

Kentucky would answer on court three as Joshua Lapadat and Alexandre Leblanc fought past Nick Lagaev and Filip Malbasic 6-4, leaving the doubles point in the hands of court one. 

No. 6 Cesar Bourgois and Gabriel Diallo would suffer their second-consecutive defeat, losing 4-6 to Carlos Hassey and Alejandro Reguant, giving Arizona the doubles point and the vital 1-0 lead heading into singles play.  

The Cats would now have to channel their singles performances from round one if they wanted to move on to the super regional in Orlando. 

No. 33 Hurrion would pump out another dominant singles performance on court three, defeating Malbasic 6-1, 6-4, tying the match at one all. Hurrion, the senior out of Weymouth, England, finished the regular season on a tear, winning eight of his last ten dual matches, including three wins over ranked opponents to go along with his two commanding NCAA tourney wins. 

Arizona would respond on court six, as Hassey found victory for the second time on the afternoon by beating Leblanc 6-3, 6-4. 

Big Blue would then go down 3-1 after Hoeyeraal downed No. 85 Bourgois in a three-set battle, winning 7-5, 1-6, 6-3, putting Arizona one win away from advancing to third round of the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history. 

UK would respond as No. 1 Draxl found victory once again, defeating No. 45 Strom after dropping the first set, winning 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, bringing Kentucky within one. 

Ultimately, Arizona would put UK away on court two, as No. 90 Ziverts took down No. 14 Diallo in yet another three-set match, winning 6-7, 6-1, 6-4, making program history for Arizona while breaking the hearts of Kentucky.  

While the Cats won’t be taking home any hardware as a team, there is still an opportunity for the individuals participating in the singles and doubles tournaments. 

Beginning on May 23, Draxl, Diallo and Hurrion will all make their runs for the singles title, while Diallo and Bourgois will do the same as a pair in the doubles tournament.  

The tournaments will take place at the UTSA National Campus in Orlando, beginning after the conclusion of the team tournament.