Chidekh Earns Top-16 Seed For Singles Championship

SEATTLE -- One day after the Huskies learned they were in the field of 64 for the NCAA Team Championships, the team's leader Clement Chidekh earned a top-16 seed for the NCAA Singles Championship, which will be contested immediately after the team tournament concludes. Chidekh's status as one of the sixteen seeded singles players clinches an ITA All-America honor at year's end.

The singles and doubles competition will be conducted May 23-28 at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex in Champaign, Illinois, after the conclusion of the team championship. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will serve as host.

Chidekh, ranked No. 7 nationally in the most recent ITA singles poll, was named as a 9-16 seed. The Lyon, France native has gone 28-4 this year and in dual matches this winter and spring, he has gone 17-1 at No. 1 singles. He made the semifinals in the fall at both the ITA All-America Championships and the ITA National Fall Championships, the two individual collegiate majors aside from the NCAA Championships.

Chidekh will be the first Husky in the singles tournament since Jake Douglas in 2018. His seeding satisfies one of the three requirements to earn All-America honors, and will make him the first Husky All-American since Kyle McMorrow in 2013.

Washington will start its NCAA Championship quest this Friday on the East Coast, where it will face Pepperdine in at 7 a.m. Pacific first round battle. The University of South Carolina is the host and the No. 10 seed in the tournament, and will play South Carolina State in its first round match following UW-Pepperdine.