No. 6 Kentucky mens tennis takes down Alabama 6-1 on the road
Kentucky Wildcats senior Liam Draxl hits the ball during the No. 5 Kentucky vs. No. 6 South Carolina mens tennis match on Thursday, March 2, 2023, at the Boone Tennis Complex in Lexington, Kentucky. South Carolina won 4-3. Photo by Samuel Colmar | Staff
March 20, 2023
No. 6 Kentucky mens tennis (17-2) picked up its fifth straight win of the season on Saturday after it defeated Alabama (9-9) 6-1 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
The win rounded out a three day stay in Alabama after the Wildcats defeated No. 22 Auburn 4-3 on Thursday.
Kentucky started out with a 1-0 advantage after going 2-0 in doubles play, with the third match going unfinished.
Senior Liam Draxl and freshman Jaden Weekes won their doubles match 6-1, while senior Taha Baadi and fifth-year student Alafia Aleyni won their doubles match 6-4 to give Kentucky the doubles point.
No. 56 doubles pair redshirt junior JJ Mercer and junior Joshua Lapadat had a 5-4 lead in their match before it was discontinued.
Moving on to singles play, Weekes would strike first on court 5, winning in straight sets 6-4 and 6-1 to give Kentucky a 2-0 lead.
No. 28 Ayeni shortly followed suit, winning his matchup in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 to extend Kentucky’s lead to 3-0.
Court six would hold the only singles loss for the Wildcats after freshman Charlelie Cosnet lost the first set 6-2, won the second set 6-1, and fell in the third set 6-2 to give the Crimson Tide its only victory of the day.
No. 23 Draxl clinched the victory on court one after winning the first set 6-3, falling in the second set 7-5, and ultimately winning the third set 6-2 to give Kentucky a 4-0 lead.
On court four, No. 102 Baadi would drop the first set 6-4 before rebounding to win the next two sets 6-2, 6-2 to rack up Kentucky’s fourth singles win on the day.
After also losing the first set 6-3, No. 47 Lapadat won the following two sets 6-3, 6-2 to get the win and add the final point to Kentucky’s 6-1 victory.
The Wildcats will look to carry the momentum as they travel home to take on the Ole Miss Rebels at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center on Friday, March 24, at 5 p.m. EST.
