No. 6 Kentucky defeats the Rebels and extends their winning streak

LEXINGTON, Ky. – No. 6 Kentucky (18-2, 6-1 SEC) swept No. 33 Ole Miss (12-5, 2-3 SEC) 4-0 on Friday night inside the Hilary J. Boone Varsity Tennis Center. Led by two-win days from Taha Baadi and Joshua Lapadat, the Wildcats didn’t allow the Rebels to score a point in the double. With the win, the ‘Cats have now won their sixth straight in conference play, sitting a half-game out of first place.

For the sixth straight game, Kentucky opened the contest by taking the doubles point. After debuting at No. 25 in this week’s ITA doubles rankings, Baadi and her partner Alafia Ayeni went on to win their fifth straight match at the No. 1 doubles. The other half of the Wildcats’ doubles ranked set, No. 38 Lapadat and JJ Mercer, quickly provided the home team with the ultimate set.

In singles action, Kentucky continued its dominance, winning three of the first four sets of play. No. 44 Lapadat swept his No. 3 singles match, not allowing Simon Junk to claim a game in either set. The win improves Lapadat’s record to 15-3, 6-1 (SEC), a team-high tie mark.

On court No. 4, Baadi joined his teammate in the winner’s circle, claiming his own straight sets victory by knocking out Noah Schlagenhauf.

With his team needing one more point to secure, Liam Draxl once again delivered. Despite losing a break early in the first set, the Newmarket, Ontario senior rallied to win the final two games of the first set. After he and No. 66 Nikola Slavic split the first pair of games in the second frame, Draxl rattled off five straight to give his team the win. The win ties Draxl with Lapadat in a 15-3, 6-1 (SEC) clip in singles action. Additionally, the win gave Draxl his team’s seventh leading victory over a ranked opponent in 2023.

The two teams opted not to play the remaining matches, leaving Courts 5 and 6 unresolved. Freshman Jaden Weekes lost a break early in the first set as he wrapped up the match, while his classmate Charlelie Cosnet didn’t see her match begin.

The Wildcats will close out their two-game SEC homestand on Sunday, March 26 with a top-15 matchup against No. 12 Mississippi State. The Wildcats and Bulldogs will meet at the Boone, with first service scheduled for 1 pm EST. Admission to all regular season home games is free, and fans can follow the stats live or view them on Track Tennis.

RESULTS

Double

When. 25 Alafia Ayeni (UK) def. Trash/Agile (OM) 6-3

No. 38 Joshua Lapadat/JJ Mercer (UK) def. Engelhardt/Stromberg (OM) 6-3

Liam Draxl/Jaden Weekes (UK) vs. Schlagenhauf/Slavic (OM) 5-4 (unfinished)

Individual

No. 22 Liam Draxl (UK) def. No. 66 Slav (OM) 6-4, 6-1

No. 27 Peace Ayeni (UK) vs. Lithen (OM) 4-6, 6-3, 0-2 (unfinished)

When. 44 Joshua Lapadat (UK) def. Garbage (OM) 6-0, 6-0

Taha Baadi (UK) def. Schlagenhauf (OM) 6-2, 7-5

Jaden Weekes (UK) vs. Engelhardt (OM) 1-3 (unfinished)

Charlelie Cosnet (United Kingdom) vs. Stromberg (OM) 0-0 (unfinished)

Order of Completion:

Doubles—1, 2

Singles: 3, 4, 1

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