At the Greenwood Tennis Center on Thursday afternoon, No. 4 TCU (26-4) defeated No. 5 Kentucky Men’s Tennis (27-3) in the NCAA quarterfinals.
In the doubles match, the Wildcats made a comeback, but they were unable to hold on, allowing TCU to take the early lead. Against the Horned Frogs’ combination of Jack Pinnington and Sebastian Gorzny, Taha Baadi and Jack Loutit were the first to complete, 3-6. Jaden Weekes and Eli Stephenson rallied from a 1-5 disadvantage on court three to tie the match at 4-5. In the end, they were unable to seal the deal, losing 4-6 to Duncan Chan and Lui Maxted of TCU.
In the singles session, TCU led the first set on all but court six, and the Cats were unable to reverse the tide. Kentucky would have to force a third set on three courts and hope for some miracle comeback to stay in Stillwater. Charlelie Cosnet, a sophomore, dropped to No. 78 Lui Maxted, 3-6, 1-6. Loutit lost his match to No. 77 Gorzny, 4-6, 4-6, with TCU leading a break on every court. Ultimately, Baadi lost 4-6, 3-6 to No. 13 Pinnington to end the tournament.
With its remarkable 27-3 overall record at the end of the season, Kentucky has won the fewest games in a season since 1970. In addition, the Wildcats won two championships: the SEC tournament championship and the overall regular season title. With their third straight appearance in the elite eight, Kentucky has made the most consecutive trips to the national quarterfinals in program history.
Mercer, Lapadat, and Baadi will stay in Stillwater from May 20–25 for the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships. Baadi will play singles for the Wildcats, while Lapadat and Mercer are the No. 3 seeds in the doubles draw.
