College Tennis News - Simpson Set for NCAA Singles Championship

URBANA, Ill. – LSU’s No. 42 Chris Simpson is set for first round action of the NCAA Singles Championship as he will take on Texas’ No. 37 Soren Hess-Olesen on Wednesday, May 22 at 12:30 p.m. CT at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex/Atkins Tennis Center hosted by the University of Illinois.

Simpson and LSU are coming off a second round loss to No. 12 Pepperdine at the NCAA Team Championships in Malibu, Calif., on May 11. A member of the All-SEC Second Team, Simpson was also pegged as Player to Watch for the Southern Region by the ITA this past week.

The Derby, England, native holds a 12-13 record in singles on the season as he took down nine ranked opponents along the way. One of these victories was a dramatic three-set match-clincher over then-No. 3 Mikelis Libietis – the 2013 SEC Player of the Year and No. 1 seed of the Singles Championship – of then-No. 6 Tennessee. Another loss dealt to a ranked opponent by Simpson was to then-No. 15 Evan King of Michigan. Simpson also defeated John Morrissey of then-No. 40 Stanford in the first round of the NCAA Team Championships. All three of these opponents will be competing in the NCAA Singles Championships this week.

Hess-Olesen has notched a 12-9 singles record for the 2013 season. He went 11-8 on Court 1 and 1-1 on Court 2, and defeated two ranked opponents in the process, including then-No. 34 Japie De Klerk of Tulsa to help the Longhorns defeat the then-No. 17 Golden Hurricanes. Like Simpson, Hess-Olesen also faced off against Michigan’s King. However, King was able to overcome Hess-Olesen and defeated him 6-4, 6-1.

The winner of the match will take on the winner of Ole Miss’ No. 14 Nik Scholtz and Tulsa’s No. 56 Clifford Marsland on Thursday, May 24.

For up-to-date information and behind the scenes access on the Tigers, fans can follow the LSU men's team on Twitter @lsutennis, and follow head coach Jeff Brown @LSUCoachJBrown and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lsutennis.