Lander to battle for peach belt crown - Lander University

Coach Brett Simpson
Brett Simpson
begins his
fifth year as
head men’s and
women’s tennis
coach at Lander
University after
serving as the
head coach at
Coach Brett Simpson
Anderson
University for eight years.
A three-time All-American at Lander,
Simpson was a part of four consecutive
national championship teams from
1991-94. He was the 1993 Peach Belt
Conference Player of the Year, Rolex
Southeast singles champion and Rolex
national singles finalist. In 1994 he was
part of the NCAA Division II doubles
championship team.
Simpson was inducted into Lander’s
Athletic Hall of Fame in June 2002.
After taking over the program at
Anderson University in July 1997,
Simpson was able to re-establish the
tennis program to national prominence
with two trips to the NCAA Sweet
Sixteen and six consecutive NCAA
Regional Tournament berths. His men’s
team at Anderson dominated the now
Conference Carolina’s with a 65-5
conference record, which included four
regular-season and three tournament
conference championships in six years
of conference play. During this time
Simpson was named Conference Coach
of the Year in 2002 and 2004, Region
Coach of the Year in 2001 and South
Carolina Coach of the Year in 2002.
During his four years at Lander,
Simpson posted a 62-26 record with the
men's team including a 23-7 Peach Belt
Conference record. Simpson started the
women’s program in 2007 and their
three-year record is 30-31.
The men’s team has captured one
regular-season conference title and has
reached the NCAA regional tournament
all four years, finishing as high as No. 9
nationally in 2008.
Simpson, a native of Sydney,
Australia, earned his bachelor’s degree
in business administration from Lander
in 1994.
He resides in Greenwood with wife
Paula and son Graeme.
Lander to battle for Peach Belt crown
Coach Brett Simpson believes the Lander men's tennis team has more experience and
depth than in recent years, and he hopes that will help the Bearcats advance further in
NCAA Division II post-season play in 2011.
Lander, ranked No. 16 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll, begins its
spring season Tuesday afternoon against Newberry College.
"We should be an improved team from last year," Simpson said. "Where it takes us, you
never know. But I think we have the experience and talent to make a good run."
The Bearcats will be
chasing their sixth consecutive
NCAA Regional
appearance. Of the last five
years, Lander has fallen
one victory shy of
advancing to the national
tournament three times
(2006-2008).
The Bearcats finished
16-7 last season, losing to
Georgia College & State in
the semifinal round of the
Southeast Regional
tournament. Lander was
ranked No. 16 in the final
poll.
Seven of the top 20
teams in the latest poll are
from the Peach Belt
Conference, including
Armstrong Atlantic No. 3,
Columbus State No. 9,
Georgia College No. 12,
Francis Marion No. 14,
Lander 16th, Flagler No. 17,
and Augusta State 18th.
All are on Lander's
schedule this spring.
The Bearcats open their
PBC schedule at Francis
Marion Feb. 18 and host
Armstrong Atlantic April 2.
Sophomore Paul-Henri Arrigoni, a 2010 first-team ITA All-
American, entered the season as the No. 11-ranked player in the
country.
When Lander ended a string of 12 national championships with eight consecutive
Division II titles from 1993-2000, it forced the rest of the Peach Belt to get stronger. And
Simpson said the trend continues.
"In fact, I think more teams are getting stronger (from top to bottom)," he said. "The
national champion has come out of our conference 10 times in the last 18 years. There are
going to be two or three teams in our conference that will be top 10 teams in the nation and
three or four teams just outside the top 10. It's just part of being in the Peach Belt.
"That's why you try to recruit the best players, practice hard, and do everything you can
to make sure you are going to be competitive."
Returning players include seniors Henrik Willers (Lund, Sweden), Carlos Marques (Uba,
Brazil) and Juan Manrique (Bogota, Colombia), juniors Paul-Henri Arrigoni (Bordeaux,
France), Gary Bertoldo (Mareeba, Australia) and Maxime Desmars (Coueron, France), and
sophomore Christopher Mattsson (Gothenburg, Sweden).
Newcomers include sophomores Oscar Perman (Lund, Sweden), and Ross Armstrong
(Johannesburg, South Africa), and freshman Oscar Axelsson (Smalandsstenar, Sweden).
"We are returning a good crop of players," Simpson said. "We have eight returning and
three new guys. That's a good sign as far as experience. The majority of our top guys have
been playing here for a while, and that counts for a lot especially in the big matches.