Lander to battle for peach belt crown - Lander University

Bearcats looking to return as a national title contender
I think we played well in the fall and I think teams saw that
Lander will definitely be a competitive team."
Arrigoni is Lander's highest ranked player, being 19th nationally
and No. 7 in the region. The All-American was 17-3 in singles last
year, including 7-1 in Peach Belt Conference matches. He was 16-3
in the number one singles slot and was 4-0 against nationallyranked
opponents.
"Arrigoni has proven himself as one of the best players in the
conference," Simpson said. "He has been working hard. He
doesn't take anything for granted. He knows everyone is going
out there to try to beat him. He has no easy matches in that
number one (singles) position.
"We are looking for good things from him. Really, we are going
to be pretty solid throughout the lineup. I think this is the best
depth that we've had in the last few years."
Willers is ranked 40th nationally and No. 16 in the region, and
Marques is 19th in the region. Willers was 4-8 in singles in 2010,
including 3-5 in the No. 3 singles slot. Marques was 5-0 in singles.
"Carlos had a remarkable fall and probably has improved more
than anybody on the team," Simpson said. "He got his first
regional ranking as a senior and that's a testament to his hard
work and commitment."
Manrique finished 13-4 in singles play last season, including 6-
2 in the Peach Belt. He was 6-1 in number four singles action. But
more impressively, he participated in the Pearson National
Economics Insider Symposium in Washington, D.C., last June.
The senior business administration major was one of 12 under-
graduate and graduate students chosen as national finalists in
competition that involves submitting a paper explaining how they
would change an aspect of the economy for the better.
Desmars posted an 11-1 singles record last season and won all
six of his matches at the No. 5 slot. Mattsson finished 12-6 in
singles, including 6-3 in the conference.
The newcomers have promise for the future and hope to make
an impact. Axelsson was a top flight player in Sweden, Armstrong
is a transfer from Montgomery Junior College in Maryland, and
Perman played one year at Virginia Commonwealth University.
"It's going to be very competitive to even make the lineup,
which is a good sign for the team," Simpson said. "I think our
depth at the bottom of the lineup will help us win a lot of matches.
We have a lot of guys vying for the top six. It's probably going to
take four or five matches before we initially sort it (a lineup) all
out."
As is usually the case this time of the year, the doubles
combinations have yet to be sorted out. But it's a very important
part of the team as doubles results count as the first three points
in every match.
"We've been trying different combinations, different than the
fall," Simpson said. "Whoever I choose to play against Francis
Marion (Feb. 18) will definitely be the guys."
The tennis team will not be opening at the Jeff May Athletic
Complex this week and Simpson said he isn't sure if that will
happen this spring.
Henrik Willers enters his final season ranked No. 40 in singles.
Carlos Marques enters his senior season in 2010-11.