UK has nation’s No. 1-ranked men’s singles tennis player entering 2021 postseason

Lexington Herald-Leader
·2 min read

The University of Kentucky will enter the postseason with the No. 1-ranked men’s singles tennis player in the nation.

Sophomore Liam Draxl moved into the top spot in NCAA Division I in the latest Oracle/ITA Rankings released Wednesday. He will lead 14th-ranked Kentucky into the Southeastern Conference championships April 19-23 at Fayetteville, Ark.

Coach Cedric Kauffmann’s Wildcats (17-6 overall, 7-5 SEC) face a loaded tournament field that includes No. 1 Florida, No. 4 Tennessee, No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 9 Georgia, No. 12 Mississippi, No. 13 South Carolina, No. 17 Mississippi State and No. 18 Alabama.

The 6-foot-1 Draxl, from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, is 19-2 this season. His record includes victories over previous No. 1-ranked players Daniel Cukierman of Southern Cal and Daniel Rodrigues of South Carolina, who is No. 2 in this week’s rankings. Draxl’s only defeats this season have come against current No. 4 Duarte Vale of Florida and current No. 5 Valentin Vacherot of Texas A&M.

Draxl was No. 22 on March 24 and No. 7 on March 30 in the two previous sets of singles rankings released this spring.

Kentucky sophomore Gabriel Diallo (18-6) enters postseason play ranked No. 21 in men’s singles. Senior Millen Hurrion (17-7) is also in the top 50 at No. 43. Fifth-year player Cesar Bourgois (14-5) cracks the top 100 at No. 97.

Bourgois and Diallo are the nation’s 11th-ranked doubles team.

UK women’s duo No. 1

The Kentucky doubles team of Akvilė Paražinskaitė and Fiona Arrese rose to No. 1 in the nation in Wednesday’s Oracle/ITA Division I rankings.

The Wildcats (14-7) are No. 26 in the team rankings and, like the men, open SEC Tournament play next week. The women’s championships are at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Paražinskaitė and Arrese are 19-1 this season and have gone 6-1 against ranked foes.

Paražinskaitė, the No. 45 singles player in the nation, is a graduate student from Lithuania. Arrese is a freshman from Spain.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Status quo for the leading four teams in Super Rugby Pacific after 11 rounds

    Super Rugby Pacific’s playoff race changed only marginally in the weekend’s 11th round as the pacemakers showed few signs of faltering and the others jostled to keep up. Behind them, the Queensland Reds moved up to fifth with a win over the defending champion Crusaders, the Melbourne Rebels dropped back to sixth after losing to the Blues, the Dunedin, New Zealand-based Highlanders are in seventh place after a win over Moana Pasifika in the first Super Rugby match played in Tonga, and the Fijian Drua hung on to remain in the top eight. Moana Pasifika is now three points behind the Drua in ninth place, the Christchurch-based Crusaders are a further point back in 10th, the New South Wales Waratahs are a full five points behind the Drua in 11th and the last-place Western Force are all but out of the race.

  • Bernardeschi scores twice to end goal drought, lift Toronto FC past FC Dallas

    TORONTO — Italian star Federico Bernardeschi ended a lengthy scoreless drought with a pair of goals and added an assist Saturday to help Toronto FC defeat FC Dallas 3-1 in MLS play, extending TFC's winning streak to four games in all competitions. Bernardeschi had been shut out in 19 games since scoring twice in a 3-2 loss to CF Montreal on Aug. 20. But the stylish attacker, who has played a variety of roles this season, has still been an influential figure for TFC. And the former Juventus man w

  • Quick start sends Earthquakes to 3-1 victory over LAFC

    SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Rodrigues gave San Jose the lead in the 5th minute and the Earthquakes never looked back in a 3-1 victory over Los Angeles FC at Levi's Stadium on Saturday night. San Jose (2-8-1), which ended a five-match unbeaten run, jumped out to a 1-0 lead on defender Rodrigues' second goal of the season. Cristian Espinoza notched his sixth assist on Rodrigues' header from the center of the box to the bottom right corner of the net off a corner kick. Espinoza tallied another assis

  • 13-Year-Old Girl Allegedly Attacked by Classmate and Their Mother on a School Bus in Texas

    A middle school student in Denton says she was attacked by a classmate and her mother as she rode the bus home from school on April 23

  • White Sox vs. Cardinals Highlights

    Gavin Sheets and the White Sox take on Nolan Arenado and the Cardinals on May 4, 2024

  • Nikola Petkovic scores first MLS goal to help Charlotte beat Timbers 2-0

    CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Nikola Petkovic scored his first MLS goal, Enzo Copetti also scored and FC Charlotte beat the Portland Timbers 2-0 Saturday night. Kristijan Kahlina stopped three shots, and had his third shutout of the season, for Charlotte (4-5-2). Charlotte went in having lost back-to-back games and won for just the second time in last six matches. Petkovic took a pass from Nathan Byrne near the corner of the penalty area, paused briefly before exploding past two defenders and scoring w

  • How does a three-horse photo in the Kentucky Derby rank? Here are the closest finishes ever.

    Mystik Dan won the 2024 Kentucky Derby in a three-way photo finish. It was the closest Derby finish in almost 30 years.

  • Angels vs. Guardians Highlights

    Bo Naylor and the Guardians defeat Zach Neto and the Angels, 7-1

  • Top Plays from Denver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

    Top Plays from Denver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves,05/04/2024

  • Means tosses seven shutout innings in season debut, Orioles beat Reds 2-1

    CINCINNATI (AP) — John Means pitched seven shutout innings in his season debut and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Cincinnati Reds 2-1 on Saturday night. Means (1-0) underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery on April 27, 2022. He returned to make four starts last September before landing back on the IL with a left forearm strain to begin this season. Means made six rehab starts for Triple-A Norfolk before being reinstated on May 1. The Orioles have won five of their past six games. Like Cole Irv

  • Ontario Progressive Conservatives Keep Milton Riding

    The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PCPO) has maintained its hold on the Milton seat in the provincial legislature. Their candidate Zee Hamid won a by-election held on May 2 by 2,481 votes over his closest competitor Liberal Candidate Galen-Naidoo Harris. “I want to congratulate Zee,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said. Hamid was named a candidate in early March. He previously served on Milton Council for three terms as both a municipal, Regional Councilor. He’s served in numerous volunte

  • Be Wary Of Frencken Group (SGX:E28) And Its Returns On Capital

    If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an...

  • Is Zimbabwe zigzagging into further currency chaos?

    Traders suffer a case of déjà-vu as any savings are wiped out with a new currency called the Zig.

  • Edwards scores 43 points, Reid erupts in 4th to help Timberwolves beat Nuggets 106-99 in Game 1

    DENVER (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored a playoff career-high 43 points, Naz Reid had 14 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets 106-99 in Game 1 of the second-round series Saturday night. Edwards was unstoppable in the first half, scoring 25 points, and Reid took over in the fourth quarter. Karl-Anthony Towns had 20 points despite dealing with foul trouble. Game 2 is Monday night in Denver. Three days after undergoing kne

  • New Claim Puts WaPo Boss Will Lewis in Crosshairs of Murdoch Scandal

    Photo Illustration by Erin O’Flynn/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesActions taken in 2011 by senior executives of Rupert Murdoch’s London tabloids, following revelations about industrial-scale hacking in their newsrooms, have come back to bite them.New reporting in the British magazine Prospect, by Nick Davies, who first revealed the criminal activity in The Guardian, gives a detailed account of what he alleges was a giant cover-up, a sustained and rigorous operation to destroy evidence of wrongdoing

  • 21 People Who Revealed Themselves To Be Walking Red Flags (And Ended Up Losing Someone Close To Them In The Process)

    "At that moment, I lost all the respect I had for him as a person, and it was the last time I spoke to him."

  • Anthony Edwards with the And-1!

    Anthony Edwards with the And-1!, 05/04/2024

  • Mike Conley hits the shot with time ticking down

    Mike Conley hits the shot with time ticking down, 05/04/2024

  • Rudy Gobert with the flush

    Rudy Gobert with the flush, 05/04/2024

  • Naz Reid with the big dunk

    Naz Reid with the big dunk, 05/04/2024