May 19, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Irish men’s tennis player Brett Helgeson (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley West) will represent the Irish in the NCAA Singles Championship on Wednesday, May 20 at the Mitchell Tennis Center on the campus of Texas A&M University. Helgeson will take on Washington’s Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan at 3:00 p.m.
Nedunchezhiyan is a 5-8 sophomore from Chennai, India. Ranked 43rd, he posted an 11-2 mark at first singles for the Huskies this past season. He also went 5-1 at No. 2 singles, giving him a 16-3 record for the 2009 Dual season.
Helgeson is making his second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Singles Championship. In 2008, he defeated Harvard’s Chris Clayton 6-3, 6-1 to advance to the Round of 32. But in the second round, he fell to Oleksandr Nedovyesov of Oklahoma State, 6-3, 6-2.
Helgeson finished with a 13-10 record in 2009. All of his starts have come at No. 1 singles for the Irish, where 16 of his 23 completed matches were played against nationally ranked opponents. The recently graduated finance major was a unanimous selection to the 2009 All-BIG EAST men’s tennis team.
Currently ranked 31st, Helgeson’s at-large selection for the 2009 draw gives Notre Dame 15 all-time competitors in the event who have combined for 24 appearances. He joins former teammates Stephen Bass and Sheeva Parbhu (2006-07), as well as current associate head coach Ryan Sachire (1997-00), Mike Sprouse (1995-96), Andy Zurcher (1992 & 1994) and David DiLucia (1990-92) as players to appear in the singles championship on more than one occasion for the Irish. In 2006, Parbhu earned Notre Dame’s best finish, as he was able to reach the quarterfinals.
Live stats will be available at www.aggieathletics.com and complete results can be found at www.und.com following each Irish match.
— ND —