Kentucky Kernel: April 6, 2023

Food Connection hosts fifth annual Kentucky Local Food System Summit

By Megan Leibold news@kykernel.com

The Food Connection, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and the Kentucky Center for Agriculture and Rural Development partnered to host the fifth annual Kentucky Local Food System Summit on March 29 at Kroger Field.

The mission of the conference is to bring in food producers, students, consumers and businesses from all around Kentucky to learn more

about creative strategies and partnerships to promote a more healthy and equitable food economy.

The Summit formed three breakout sessions consisting of “value chain coordination,” ”cultivating a just, equitable, and resilient local food system” and “growing further in the food industries.”

Krista Jacobsen, faculty director of the Food Connection, said the Summit focused on food production by farmers to buyers and all of the challenges in be-

tween. The Summit gives farmers opportunities to keep products local and connect with technical assistance resources.

“Over twenty percent of the food on UK’s campus is locally produced in the state of Kentucky,” Jacobsen said. ”What a lot of students don’t know is that a lot of the produce served at the dining halls — like vegetables, dairy, chicken — and food at the stadium are locally produced in Kentucky. ”

Jacobsen said Kentucky has

been a national model for focusing on getting produce from farm to university. The conference aimed to address the economics, logistics and investments brought on by the production of food, focusing on the technical and promotional side of production.

“This conference is really focused about where the challenges are and where the success is, so we come together on the challenges and focus on how to face them,” Jacobsen said.

Tanya Whitehouse, Food Connection program member who also helps with classes taught at The 90, expressed the importance of the conference and the impact it can have on how community members and professionals purchase meals.

“I’m thankful for the opportunity to gather in the same room with this many people working in food systems trying to improve the food that everybody needs,” she said.

During breakout session two, Creating Investments in an Equitable Food System, health and sciences mentor Christy Brady and Whitehouse discussed the importance of prioritizing nutritious food while also maintaining a practical cost.

Brady and Whitehouse spoke to attendees about how to create an affordable and nourishing food plan for themselves and families of all sizes without running out of produce or going over the monthly budget.

Like Whitehouse, Brady also expressed the importance of opportunities brought on by the summit. She discussed how to get people a bit more money by either lowering the cost of food or increasing the amount of money they have.

Brady and Whitehouse opened the floor to outside opinions, all discussing ways the food systems can improve to meet the different lifestyle needs of individuals and remain well-rounded.

“Teaching food as a social determinant of health can help recruit more advocates for a just and equitable food system,” Brady said.

CARTER SKAGGS | STAFF

Local restaurants showcased food for Kentucky Local Food Systems Summit participants to eat on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, at Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky.

Humans of UK:

Zach Sears branches out to stay fit

By Liberty Gilbert features@kykernel.com

This is Humans of UK, inspired by the Humans of New York Instagram series by photographer and author Brandon Stanton. This series dives into the individuals of UK as well as their stories, strifes and passions.

Most students have trouble finding the time to stay active on a college campus. For Zach Sears, the opposite is true.

Where one might opt to visit the gym to jog on a treadmill or lift weights, Sears takes to the outdoors, utilizing the environment around him and climbing trees to exercise and challenge himself.

Sears is a fourth-year student at the University of Kentucky studying chemical engineering. He said he has been climbing trees since before he can remember.

“My grandma would take me outside and like just encourage me to climb s**t and I would,” Sears said.

Most of Sears’ climbs around campus are unplanned — he said he sees a good tree and just goes for it. Sears explained the activity is a good stress reliever and offers him a different outlet to do the thing he enjoys most in his classes: solving puzzles.

“To climb a tree, it’s like a new challenge for every tree,

and you’ve got to think of a new way to get up,” Sears said.

Besides the mental stimulation, climbing in general works most of the major muscle groups, ensuring a fullbody workout in each climb. There's also the added benefit of not having to pay for a gym membership.

“I think it’s one of the best forms of exercise, not neces-

sarily trees but just climbing and using your full body… it keeps me very mobile,” Sears said.

Not only does Sears climb trees, he also climbs abandoned buildings and rocks and practices gymnastics and parkour.

In his hometown, Sears had friends that would accompany him on his climbs and join in. On campus, Sears said he has

friends who come, but he’s never had someone climb with him, mostly because they don’t know how.

There is an aspect of fear that comes along with climbing with no safety gear and being high off the ground.

When climbing, there's a lot to worry about: a ledge potentially breaking, a fear of heights and of course, the uneasy feeling that one wrong move could result in a fall and serious injury. According to Sears, you just have to get over that fear, be thoughtful about what you’re doing and still “flow.”

“My mom would get really nervous but my grandma was like ‘He’s doing it,’ and I would never fall,” Sears said.

Sears also said that he has never gotten hurt from climbing, but this isn’t to say that he hasn’t from participating in his other activities.

When interviewed, Sears was nursing a wounded foot. He said that while he is healing very fast, he’s been sure not to push himself because he doesn’t want to make the injury worse and climbing harder in the future.

Sears highlighted that the main aspect about climbing is to not only enjoy it and have fun but also be smart and safe at the same time.

“I’m always encouraging people to climb trees, I think everyone should,” Sears said.

Rayleigh Deaton, editor-in-chief editor@kykernel.com

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9 Blazer Dining University of Kentucky Lexington, KY 40506

On the front cover:

SAMUEL COLMAR | STAFF Demonstrators march during the Queer Youth Visibility March on Friday, March 31, 2023, in Lexington, Kentucky.

TRAVIS FANNON | STAFF

Zach Sears poses for a portrait on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, at the Gatton Student Center in Lexington, Kentucky.

Annual Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame and Creason Lecture celebrate accomplished journalists

By Justice McKinney news@kykernel.com

The Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame welcomed five new inductees on Friday, March 31 in the Gatton Student Center.

The Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame recognizes exemplary journalists who were born in Kentucky or have established themselves in Kentucky and whose work has benefited it in some way.

Before the induction ceremony, James Fallows delivered the annual Joe Creason Lecture.

Fallows is a known writer, editor and broadcast commentator. His many accomplishments include co-authoring the book “Our Towns” with his wife, Deborah, which was a national bestseller and the basis of an HBO Documentary of the same name.

The Creason Lecture is named for Joe Creason, a journalist and UK alum known for telling the stories of Kentuckians before his untimely death in 1974. It honors his memory by bringing prominent journalists to Lexington.

These events usually occur separately from one another, but UK College of Communication and Information Dean Jennifer Greer said she thought it made sense to combine them.

“This year we combined both of those because we thought the journalists in the room would love to hear Fallows speak and Fallows would love to see the accomplishments

of our journalists,” Greer said. “Bringing these two events together gives us a great forum to talk about the role of journalism in a democratic society and how what everybody in this room does impacts our daily lives”

Fallows focused on “the state of journalism today” in his 15-minute speech, referencing the State of the Union addresses he once wrote for President Jimmy Carter.

“The state of journalism now, I am here to tell you, is deeply troubled, and in rapid transition, and full of possibilities,” Fallows said. “That exact combination has been true of journalism at every single stage in its history. The question is how to recognize the troubles, recognize the transitions and seize the possibilities.”

Fallows touched on current issues regarding military, environment, economy and technology in relation to journalism in his speech.

“This is one of many times

when journalism has to do its job,” Fallows said. “The only way we know about the environment, the only way to have any sense beyond our own immediate sensory experience is if people in our business do our job.”

After Fallows delivered the Creason Lecture, this year’s Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame inductees received their awards and spoke to the crowd, reflecting on their careers and thanking those who helped them along the way.

UK Journalism Alumni Association President Duane Bonifer presented the awards.

“More than 200 individuals have been inducted into the hall of fame,” Bonifer said. “The hall recognizes journalists with and without formal ties to the University of Kentucky who practiced the craft of journalism and made it a true art. We are honored to recognize the members of this year’s Hall of Fame class.”

Sam Dick, Lexington’s longest-running evening anchor,

was the first to be inducted. Dick spent 34 years covering big stories, personality features and major disasters and events at WKYT-TV. He shared the values he stuck to over the course of his career in his speech.

“Honesty, fairness, balance, pursuit of the truth, holding the powerful accountable, respect and compassion: these are things that I try to live by in writing and being a broadcast journalist and also as a print journalist online,” Dick said.

John Fetterman was inducted posthumously and his award was accepted by his daughter, Mindy Fetterman. He was best known for writing “Pfc. Gibson Comes Home” in Louisville’s Courier-Journal, which won the Pulitzer Prize for local reporting. His daughter, also a working journalist, expressed respect for her father’s personal approach to journalism in her acceptance speech.

“My dad didn’t focus on, you know, nailing somebody, but on the power of the personal, the stories of little people,” Fetterman said. “The journalism of John Fetterman is dated today. Few reporters just pull up a chair and sit on a porch and talk.”

Inductee Kimberly K. Greene is best known for her advocacy for the First Amendment and her creation of a Freedom of Information hotline, a tool journalists can use to get expert advice regarding law in journalism.

“I am so grateful for this recognition for doing something I

absolutely loved doing,” Greene said. “I’m really excited that this is happening right here on the UK campus where I went to law school, which was really kind of the beginning of all this for me.”

Dave Kindred was inducted for his commended work in sportswriting. His career began at the Courier-Journal in Louisville and is marked by accomplishments including being awarded the National Sportswriter of the Year in 1977 and the Best Sports Columnist in America in 1984.

Kindred shared anecdotes from his career, including many interactions with boxing legend Muhammad Ali.

William Warley was the last to be inducted posthumously on Friday night. He co-founded The Louisville News in 1912, which served the city’s Black community at a time when they were overlooked in the media.

Warley worked closely with I. Willis Cole, founder of the Black newspaper, The Louisville Leader. Cole’s granddaughter Nora Cole accepted the award for Warley, sharing the story of her grandfather and Warley working together to bring unjust legal lynchings to light in 1926.

“Warley was willing to jeopardize a relatively comfortable career to achieve racial equity,” Cole said.

At the end of the night, Bonifer thanked those who made the evening possible and all in attendance.

TRAVIS FANNON | STAFF

Inductees pose for a photo during the 43rd Annual Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame and Creason Lecture 2023 Friday, March 31, 2023, at the Gatton Student Center in Lexington, Kentucky.

William T. Young Library turns 25

By Jack Kolesar news@kykernel.com

William T. Young Library, affectionately known as “Willy T.” by the campus community, celebrated its 25th birthday on Monday, April 3.

The building has been a center of both social and academic life for thousands of UK students. The library was completed in 1998, following several years of construction.

According to UK’s College of Engineering website, a $5 million donation came from the man the library would be named after, William T. Young. The website calls the donation the “largest cash

gift ever given by an alumnus.”

Young, a wealthy UK graduate and Lexington local, made his fortune in the food industry and by breeding race horses.

According to an article written by Mike Fraser, an employee at Oxford University, the library cost a total of $58 million to build, the equivalent of over $100 million today.

The library opened on April 3, 1998. Jen Smith, a lecturer at the UK’s School of Journalism and Media, was the editor-in-chief for the Kentucky Kernel when Willy T. opened.

Noting UK’s national basketball championship victory occurring only a

few days before the opening, Smith recalls the significance of the opening of the library on campus calling it a “crazy cool time to be a student at UK.”

Smith described the old library options on campus, saying “it was dark, it was impossible to find anything, it was tiny, it was cramped.” With the opening of Willy T., this all appeared to change.

“It really just made our campus more welcoming,” Smith said. “It made it more inviting and definitely made it a place where it was cool to study.”

In a distinct octagonal shape, the building has five floors and a basement. According to the UK Libraries website, there are over a million volumes within

the library. The website also said Willy T. is home to the largest Starbucks in the commonwealth.

It can seat thousands of students, along with having dozens of study rooms, conference rooms and classrooms. To note the library reaching the quarter-century mark, UK Libraries hosted a celebration on Monday on the library's front lawn.

Dozens of students attended the event. Free pizza and a variety of desserts, along with cold drinks, were available to all on the warm spring day. Students and faculty alike enjoyed the scene in front of the 25-year-old Willy T., with many sitting in the grass or on blankets.

UK Libraries hosted a photo booth, as well as two therapy ponies for attendees to pet.

Though UK student Andrew Mortimer just happened to stumble upon the celebration, he said he enjoyed the “cool touch” of the therapy horses.

Many people on campus have their favorite spots to work within Willy T. Mortimer said he is usually in Willy T. at least four or five times per week to study.

“It's either the basement or if I'm on my own, I'll be up on the fourth floor,” he said.

Riley Steffey, an attendee at the celebration and UK student, said her favorite part of the library is the third floor. “I like the balconies,” said Steffey of the third floor.

Carter Brown also studies frequently at the library, for an estimate of two visits per week. He mainly utilizes the “little private areas” in the basement to satisfy his studying needs.

Brown said he enjoyed the front lawn celebration and was happy he attended.

“I like how there are horses … I like the food, I like the drinks,” he said.

TRAVIS FANNON | STAFF

The William T. Young Library on Monday, April 4, 2022, at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky.

‘Trans people are not a threat.’ Some UK students won't stand for Senate Bill 150

By Alexis Baker news@kykernel.com

According to the Kentucky General Assembly, Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of Senate Bill 150 was overridden on Wednesday, leaving some UK students unhappy.

The bill sets guidelines for the study of sexuality and rules regarding biological sex in primary and secondary school.

The Lexington Herald-Leader said that the bill will not only ban puberty blockers, hormones, and surgeries for individuals under the age of 18, but it also bans education about gender identity and sexual orientation, prevents transgender students from using the bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity and stops school districts from requiring teachers to use student’s pronouns if they are different than their sex assigned at birth.

According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, the bill has been called the most “extreme” and “worst” anti-LGBTQ piece of legislation in the country by pro-LGBTQ rights groups including the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky (ACLU) and the Trevor Project.

The ACLU released a statement on the veto override Wednesday which called Senate Bill 150 a “shameful attack on LGBTQ youth.”

“To the commonwealth: we

will see you in court,” the statement said.

Some UK students had similar negative reactions.

“When I hear about the continued attacks on nonbinary and trans people the only word I feel like I can use is devastation,” Madison Mclean, a sophomore English major, said.

“Especially being from Kentucky. I love this state; I don’t want to leave this state.”

Multiple students collectively agreed that Kentucky

legislators should be focusing on solving issues rather than infringing on LGBTQ rights.

Cassie Hahn, a senior environmental studies and English major who serves as an officer for UK’s Gender Sexuality Alliance, said the legislative priority should be the protection of children from gun violence.

“A lot of these laws, they are framed in ways that are trying to portray that they're helping children or protecting them from some evil,” Hahn said.

“When in reality, it literally just happened a couple days ago, there was a shooting in Nashville. Legislation needs to be passed on those kinds of things and not the supposed threat of trans people, because trans people are not a threat.”

Andrea Dubon, a sophomore human health sciences major, said the forefront of the legislature should be the censorship of media.

Dubon said that the “TikTok ban,” a controversial piece

of legislature on college campuses across the nation, should not be as narrow. They said that VPN’s and applications used in other countries should apply to the ban as well.

“It’s a little bit hypocritical that that’s (Senate Bill 150) something we’re addressing in legislature when there are so many other problems in education and health reform that we have to deal with,” Dubon said. “It shouldn’t be our priority.”

SAMUEL COLMAR | STAFF Demonstrators gather during the Queer Youth Visibility March on Friday, March 31, 2023, in Lexington, Kentucky.

Nashville school shooting highlights need for strict and immediate gun reform

By Reaghan Chen opinions@kykernel.com

I was scrolling through Instagram when I saw the news. There was a shooting at a school in Nashville, Tennessee on March 27.

There was a moment of relief when I read it was the Covenant School and not the inner-city elementary school my mom teaches at, but that relief instantly turned to sadness, anger and fear.

About 10 minutes from my house, six people were shot and killed at this private Christian school, including three 9-year-olds.

Six people’s lives were cut short in what they thought to be another day at work and another day at school.

Throughout the day, my social media pages started to flood with prayers for the families, pictures of elementary students in uniforms and the victims’ names and ages, just like it had before in February after the Michigan State University shooting.

This cycle of our generation coming together on social media happens time and time again after tragedy and death, but what can stop these situations from turning into graphics people repost on their Instagram stories?

Some people point to guns and some point to mental health, while others fight to defend the Second Amendment.

I like to point at reality.

The likelihood that guns will be banned from America is low, but that doesn’t mean reform can’t happen.

I think when some people hear the words gun reform, they get defensive very quickly about their rights as an American citizen, yet if you look closely, gun reform does not equate to “No more guns.”

For instance, one proposed reform bill focuses on magazine capacity, specifically limiting the capacity to no more than 10 rounds.

According to EveryTown, a national gun-violence prevention organization, “between 2009 and 2020 … high-capacity magazines led to 5x as many people shot per mass shooting.”

The reality is that providing access to large magazines can mean giving access to those who may choose to hurt innocent lives.

The bill is not declaring that all gun owners cannot be trusted with large magazines, but it could save lives.

Fourteen states have already implemented this policy, but states including Tennessee, Michigan and Kentucky have not.

Along with state policies, there are also national standards that could be improved with background checks.

As of now, federal law does not require unlicensed sellers to run background checks on their buyers. This is a major loophole in the firearm industry that can have terrifying outcomes.

“Around 80% of all firearms acquired for criminal purposes are obtained through transfers from unlicensed sellers,” according to Giffords

Law Center.

It is unsettling how people can sell firearms, legally, without any knowledge about what type of person is behind the trigger.

Now, of course, there are a number of other policies and ideas, including the ban on assault weapons, that are circulating the political atmosphere of our country.

I encourage you to do your own research and find the reality you point to when conversations regarding gun violence come up, and hopefully one day our reality will not become another Instagram story someone reposts.

PROVIDED PHOTO BY RAY DI PIETRO

Manzura Avazova, 14, a student at MLK Magnet High School, holds a sign “am i NEXT?” and chants “Gun Control Now!” at the Tennessee State Capitol outside the State Representatives chamber on March 30, 2023, in Nashville, Tennessee. Avazova chants with fellow Tennessee school students as they fill the Capitol building during the Parents and Kids Rally in response to the Covenant School shooting.

Brevede Coffee Co. opens new location

By Olivia Tader opinions@kykernel.com

Brevede Coffee Co. opened a second location in Lexington on March 28, joining their popular existing location in the Distillery District.

Just a few doors down from Chevy Chase Hardware, the new building turned from house to coffee shop on East High Street.

With both a hidden sign and smaller parking lot, the newer location can make visits less appealing, except all else changes once you step through either one of their entrances.

Customers have the option of using the front door or the back door located adjacent to the parking lot next to the house, instantly indulging the customer with a cozy and homey environment.

While venturing to the counter, you’ll walk through all the different rooms in the house adorned with photography and artwork, each room having different purposes and seating.

Lining the walls are windows with individual seats and a counter, perfect for getting work done by yourself.

If you’re looking for a shift from productivity to comfortability, one of the many rooms displays a fireplace and comfy chairs, my personal favorite. This is a perfect space to chat with friends or read a book.

Although there is another room with more private seating options, I found that there are less seats than the Distillery District location which has much more of an open concept and communal seating. The East High Street location is more suitable for individuals or smaller groups.

Unlike the seating options, when ordering your drink and

food, there are endless possibilities with the menu being similar to the original locations.

They have many pastries and breakfast options ranging from croissants, bagels, danishes and beyond, all being great options, but the chocolate croissant I had was so sweet and just melted on my tongue.

As for drinks, they had everything

one could want on a coffee menu: lattes, cold brew, chai, mocha and more.

The coffee was both strong and rich, and you can’t go wrong ordering a caramel latte if you are looking for something simple but also flavorful.

Displaying affordable and reasonable prices, the coffee and pastries are very similar to other local coffee shops in Lexington.

Brevede’s East High Street location also has a room full of jewelry and other knick knacks available to purchase, much like its Distillery District location, once you first walk in.

Being packed with excited customers and friendly staff, the closer shop to campus is a great alternative to the further location to study or to just grab coffee with your friends.

CARTER SKAGGS | STAFF Brevede Coffee Co. on East High Street offers indoor and outdoor seating on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, at Brevede Coffee Co. in Lexington, Kentucky.

A really big dill: Pickleball sees national and local success

By Courtney Suber features@kykernel.com

The fastest-growing sport in America isn’t one played in stadiums or broadcast to millions of homes across the country.

This sport, Pickleball, is seeing spiking popularity at a local, national and global level, its small-scale courts and inviting energy drawing in heaps of new participants.

Invented in 1965 by three dads aiming to alleviate their children’s summer boredom, pickleball has since then evolved far beyond a family project.

Often described as similar to tennis by participants, pickleball is characterized by the use of paddles and a lightweight wiffle ball. The sport is played by two to four players who hit the ball back and forth with the paddles. There is a net in the middle which separates players, and they stand in boxes that designate their position on the court.

One of the key differences between tennis and pickleball, though, is the scoring system.

“In pickleball, the scoring is a lot closer to badminton or maybe ping pong where you’re just scoring zero, one, two, three, four,” said Brandon Mackie, co-founder of national pickleball platform Pickleheads.

The once niche sport has seen an extreme boom in participants in recent years thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, with individuals living in isolation turning to pickleball to stay active and social.

“I think one reason pickleball grew so quickly during that time is that it can be played outdoors with proper social distancing. It be -

came one of the few social things that we could still safely do with a pandemic going on,” said Dan Ewing, president of the Kentucky Pickleball Association.

The sport has also been praised for its creation of friendship and social connections.

“I’m starting phase retirement. I need more community, and you gotta talk when you play pickleball and hang out with people. Playing sports is an amazing social connection as well as an amazing form of exercise,” said Dan Stone, the faculty advisor to the UK Pickleball Club.

Founded by Conor Day and Tamm Omar, the UK Pickleball Club is home to players at the uni -

versity. The club organizes casual pickleball play, as well as tournaments against other schools.

While the sport shot to popularity during quarantine, it has not faltered since then in any manner. With such a large increase in players organizations have been created to report on pickleball events, connect players, and engage new players.

Addressing the large increase in pickleball players nationwide, online platforms like Mackie’s Pickleheads — founded last year — help to schedule games between local players, map out playable courts and keep players in the loop of future happenings.

“Our system has almost ev -

ery court in the country. We have a page for it and on there you can see the open play times, when you could also come out and play, and you can also see in some cases tournament information,” Mackie said of Pickleheads.

Ewing expressed excitement about pickleball’s boost in participants across the Bluegrass.

“The growth of pickleball over the last couple years has been nothing short of amazing. A few years ago, we had maybe 200 players in Lexington. I think that number has doubled every year since COVID hit,” Ewing said.

According to Pickleheads, Kentucky has over 100 functioning courts in the state. This makes it the 34th state where pickleball is played the most.

Across the Commonwealth, the cities where pickleball is the most popular include Louisville with 20 courts, Lexington with 13 courts and Owensboro with 10 courts.

UK’s Spindletop Hall, a country club in Lexington, has adopted pickleball into its athletics amenities roster.

“We promote [pickleball] by having people join, take a beginner clinic and I make all the beginner clinics free. We provide the paddles, we provide the balls,” said Jack Ebel, the director of outdoor facilities and recreation at Spindletop.

Lexington’s pickleball Facebook group now has over 1,300 members, and with several ways to join in on the sport’s international phenomenon in the region’s active community, pickleball’s growth is showing no sign of slowing down.

“I’m thrilled to see it grow,” Ewing said.

PROVIDED PHOTO BY ANDREA HICKS Members of the University of Kentucky Pickleball Club play a game at Kirklevington Park on Thursday, March 30th, 2023, in Lexington, Kentucky.

Kentucky mens tennis nears end of season with championship ambitions intact

By Sara Gibson sports@kykernel.com

Kentucky tennis began its season strong, going a perfect 12-0 before dropping its first match of the season to TCU in the semifinals of ITA National Indoor Championships.

After the tournament conference play began for the Wildcats, with South Carolina being their first opponent, the Gamecocks gave them their second loss of the season.

Following the backto-back losses, Kentucky would go on a dominant seven-match win streak led by senior Liam Draxl and junior Josh Lapadat.

Lapadat is currently 17-3 in singles play this season and half of the No. 66 doubles pair in the country with partner JJ Mercer. The duo has gone 10-4 in doubles play on the year.

Draxl, the 2021 national player of the year, is 16-4 in singles play this year and 13-5 with doubles partners Alafia Ayeni or freshman Jaden Weekes.

Over the seven-match stretch, the Wildcats took down No. 22 Auburn and No. 12 Mississippi State, with multiple Wildcats taking home SEC accolades.

Draxl earned the fourth SEC Player of the Week award of his collegiate career for his sweeping victories

over Ole Miss and Mississippi State, adding his seventh ranked win of the season.

Weekes earned his first SEC Freshman of the Week honors after his performance against LSU and Arkansas, going an impressive 4-0 on the weekend without dropping a single set.

“We’ve done a great job, but we have to stay humble and keep working to reach our end goal,” Weekes said following the team’s win over Mississippi State. “(Our goal) is to win SEC’s and hopefully even NCAA’s.”

Ayeni, a senior, steppedup during SEC play, winning five straight singles matches along with six straight doubles matches with partner Taha Baadi. The dominant stretch earned the duo a No. 25 ITA ranking.

Despite that, Kentucky’s win streak abruptly ended with a road loss in a top 10 showdown against No. 8 Georgia.

After dropping the doubles point and seeing the highest ranked Wildcats — No. 20 Draxl and No. 34 Ayeni — fall, Kentucky was unable to make a comeback and lost 5-2.

Just two days later, No. 14 Tennessee handed the Wildcats their fourth loss of the season in sweeping fashion.

For the first-time all-season Kentucky was held score-

less, losing the doubles point and falling in straight sets for all three singles matches. Following the two losses, Kentucky is now 19-4 overall and 7-3 in conference play, having dropped from No. 4 in ITA rankings down to No. 6, with South Carolina being the only

SEC school ahead of them at No. 5.

Only two matches remain in the regular season for the Cats: senior day on April 9 against Vanderbilt and a rematch with No. 19 Florida.

Kentucky faced off against Florida in the first round of ITA National Indoor Cham-

pionships in February, where the Cats won 4-1.

The SEC tournament will follow the regular season beginning on April 19 in Auburn, Alabama, before Kentucky will look to take it one step further than it did in 2022 when it lost in the championship game to Florida.

TRAVIS FANNON | STAFF

Kentucky Wildcats senior Liam Draxl celebrates his win during the No. 6 Kentucky vs. No. 33 Ole Miss Tennis Match Friday, March 24, 2023, at Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center in Lexington, Kentucky. Kentucky won 4-0.

Kentucky baseball prepares for grueling road gauntlet as top 10 team

By Cole Parke sports@kykernel.com

No. 10 Kentucky mens baseball defeated Dayton 13-6 at Kentucky Proud Park on Tuesday, with the win marking the last time Kentucky will play at home until April 18.

Prior to that home game against Xavier, Kentucky will endure a grueling seven-game stretch on the road that will likely see the “Bat Cats” take on their toughest test of the season.

Kicking things off on Friday, April 7, the Wildcats travel to Athens, Georgia, for a three-game series against the Georgia Bulldogs.

Kentucky had yet to lose a conference series thus far this year, but Georgia is not one to take lightly, despite standing at 1-8 in conference play.

The Bulldogs were swept by both the No. 6 South Carolina Gamecocks and the No. 4 Vanderbilt Commodores.

The only conference series against an unranked opponent for the Bulldogs was a 2-1 series loss against Auburn.

Despite the poor form, Georgia battled close with South Carolina in game one, falling just 5-4, suffering both losses to Auburn by three or less runs, including a 7-6 loss in extra innings, before obliterating the Tigers 24-7 for its lone SEC win.

On top of that, it managed to hold Vanderbilt to just four runs in the series finale against the Commodores.

All of the results come together to demonstrate that, while Georgia

may be alone at the bottom of the SEC East, the Bulldogs are capable of performing against ranked opponents and should not be underestimated by Kentucky.

Following the series in Athens, Kentucky is set to travel to face its biggest rivals on Tuesday: No. 18 Louisville at Louisville.

The Cardinals will enter the game after a series against No. 9 Boston College, meaning that the team will either be facing Kentucky on a three-series losing streak and will be looking for a key bounceback opportunity, or it will be en -

tering the game red hot after stunning a top 10 opponent.

Either way, Kentucky won’t be able to take it lightly, having gotten into a bit of trouble in its recent midweek games, being tied with Dayton until explosive late innings and needing a rally to overcome Western Kentucky 10-8.

Heading into the weekend post-Louisville, things will only get harder for the Cats, who travel to Baton Rouge to face off against No. 1 LSU.

The Tigers have yet to lose a conference series, overcoming for-

merly ranked Texas A&M 2-1, No. 5 Arkansas 2-1 and No. 11 Tennessee 2-1.

While LSU has yet to sweep an SEC series, it has recorded dominant wins in the process, beating the Aggies 9-0 in game one, Arkansas 12-2 in seven innings and 14-5 in games two and three and Tennessee by a combined 11-6 in games one and two.

Outside of conference play, LSU also defeated No. 21 Texas 3-0 in late February, further adding to its legitimacy.

Suffice to say, Kentucky has a difficult road ahead of it if it wants to rebuild what was once the longest winning streak in Division-1 baseball.

Despite the challenge, it’s far from all doom and gloom for the Cats, who have handled every team that has come their way, resulting in UK holding the second highest win percentage in Division-1 baseball (.897), the fourth highest on base percentage (.442) and the fifth lowest ERA across pitchers (3.11).

The efforts all led to Kentucky being ranked within the top 10 in the D1Baseball Top 25 on Monday.

Now, with momentum on its side, one question remains for Kentucky: now that it’s been given the respect of earning a top 10 ranking, can it continue to prove that it belongs there and that it can truly compete with the best of the best?

Game one against Georgia is set to begin at 6 p.m. EST on Friday, April 7, at Foley Field in Athens, Georgia. The game is set to air live on the SEC Network+.

TRAVIS FANNON | STAFF

Kentucky Wildcats pitcher Seth Chavez (10) pitches the ball during the No. 18 Kentucky vs. No. 25 Missouri baseball game on Saturday, April 2, 2022, at Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington, Kentucky.

By Parker Scott sports@kykernel.com

Slightly more than halfway through the regular season, No. 16 Kentucky softball (22-9-1) stands at fifth place in the SEC. Although the Wildcats lost their last two conference series, they remain in the top half of the conference standings and are in a good position to make a potentially memorable postseason run.

Kentucky softball players shine ahead of crucial SEC stretch

The power trio of graduate student catcher Kayla Kowalik, junior infielder Erin Coffel and junior outfielder Vanessa Nesby has helped carry Kentucky offensively, with all three having batting averages over .400, which is noteworthy considering the number of games played.

Coffel herself has hit half of the Wildcats’ 24 home runs so far this season, leaving opposing pitchers so intimidated that

they often have no choice but to intentionally walk her.

Kowalik currently leads the team in batting average, hits and stolen bases, which is all on top of the fact that she has also broken and widened the gap of many school records.

“She has such high character,” head coach Rachel Lawson said of Kowalik. “The thing is, she brings her A-game every single day. When she gets in the box, you know something good

can happen, and if it doesn’t, it’s not because she didn’t give you that effort.”

Although Nesby only has one extra base hit on the season, she is a close second on the team in batting average with .444 and has proven to be fast, having scored 29 runs with nine stolen bases.

Another emerging hitter for Kentucky is junior infielder Grace Lorsung, who is second to Coffel in home runs with six, including two in the first game of the series against Texas A&M.

Sophomore infielder Margaret Tobias, who has started every game for the Cats this season, has been another powerful player on both sides of the ball, earning applause from Coach Lawson.

“She’s somebody that’s kind of going under the radar,” Lawson said. “She’s gotten us a lot of outs when in key situations and you know, she’s done a good job at the bottom of our own order flipping it over.”

The pitching staff has been efficient all season as well, with junior Stephanie Schoonover and sophomore Alexia Lacatena being the main starters for Kentucky.

Schoonover has cemented her role as the team’s ace as both a starter and a reliever, amassing a 12-1 record, 1.45 ERA, eight shutouts and three saves.

“I love starting. I love being a starting pitcher, that’s my fa-

vorite thing,” Schoonover said following the final game of the series against Texas A&M. “But I also love coming in when my team needs me. I feel like I enjoy the pressure, I enjoy knowing that (Lawson) has all the confidence in me to trust me in those situations.”

Even with her dominant pitching, though, Schoonover has made sure to give credit to her teammates who not only are explosive forces at the plate, but also are amazing teammates off the field and, as she said, a “family.”

“Pick one person on the team and they’re going to tell you we play as a team,” she said. “We play as a family, we love each other on and off the field and I feel like that helps a ton.”

Lacatena, a sophomore who has an 8-3 record in fourteen appearances, has been the other main dominant pitcher for Kentucky this season.

The variety of talent will be integral for Kentucky going forward, as staying consistent from all aspects of the game will be the key to high performance in the stretch of SEC series that the team will face for the remainder of the regular season.

Kentucky will begin its series against Ole Miss on Friday, April 7, at 6 p.m. EST at the Ole Miss Softball Complex in Oxford, Mississippi, where it will look to earn its first SEC series win since sweeping Missouri in its first conference set.

JACK WEAVER | STAFF

Kentucky Wildcats catcher Kayla Kowalik (99) catches a pitch during the No. 16 Kentucky vs. Louisville softball game on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky.