No. 10 UK mens tennis took its first loss of the season at the hands of No. 1 Ohio State on Friday in Columbus. The Cats fell 4-0 in their first match of the weekend. 

Kentucky couldn’t get any momentum going after starting off slow with a doubles loss. UK’s Millen Hurrion and Liam Draxl fell 6-3 in the opening match, while the No. 57 duo of Joshua Lapadat and JJ Mercer lost by the same score. 

The Cats’ struggles continued as Ohio State’s No. 2 James Trotter and Justin Boulais defeated Francois Musitelli and Yasha Zemel, taking the first point of the day. 

In singles, UK failed to get the ball rolling. Musitelli suffered a loss to the Buckeyes’ No. 11 JJ Tracy, falling 6-1 and 6-3. Hurrion kept things close with No. 16 Cannon Kingsley, but fell short in the second match, losing 6-4. 

Ladapat came close to taking the set against OSU’s Robert Cash, but didn’t have enough to finish it off, losing 6-1, 6-4. JJ Mercer got the Cats’ only set victory against Trotter, 6-4. 

The match’s final scores are as follows:

Singles  

1. #16 Cannon Kingsley (OSU) def. Millen Hurrion (UK) 6-2, 6-4 

2. #6 Matej Vocel (OSU) vs. Liam Draxl (UK) 7-5, 3-4, unfinished 

3. Jake Van Emburgh (OSU) vs. #5 Gabriel Diallo (UK) 7-6 (7-5), 1-2, unfinished  

4. #11 JJ Tracy (OSU) def. Francois Musitelli (UK) 6-1, 6-3 

5. #36 James Trotter (OSU) vs. JJ Mercer (UK) 4-6, 6-3, unfinished 

6. Robert Cash (OSU) def. #37 Joshua Lapadat (UK) 6-1, 6-4 

Order of finish: 4, 1, 6

Doubles 

1. #1 Robert Cash/Matej Vocel (OSU) def. Millen Hurrion/Liam Draxl (UK) 6-3 

2. #2 James Trotter/Justin Boulais (OSU) vs. Francois Musitelli/Yasha Zemel (UK) 4-5, unfinished  

3. JJ Tracy/Cannon Kingsley (OSU) def. #57 Joshua Lapadat/JJ Mercer (UK) 6-3 

Order of finish: 1, 3* 

The Cats seek to get back in the win column this Sunday, Feb. 13, against the Duke Blue Devils. The match will tilt at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center in Durham at noon.