Sophomore Brett Helgeson.

No. 7 Men's Tennis Reaches Blue Gray Classic Semifinals; Irish Beat No. 40 Auburn, 4-1

March 16, 2007

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MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The No. 7 Notre Dame men’s tennis team picked up its seventh consecutive victory with a 4-1 defeat of No. 40 Auburn Friday afternoon in quarterfinal action from the Blue Gray Classic. The Irish improved to 13-2 overall, while the Tigers fall to 9-4.

With the victory, Notre Dame moves into the Blue Gray Classic semifinals. The Irish will face Tulsa on Saturday afternoon at 11:00 a.m.

Due to an extended rain delay, Notre Dame and Auburn played the singles matches before doubles.

The Irish raced out to a 3-0 lead following victories by #12 senior Stephen Bass (Bronxville, NY), #107 sophomore Brett Helgeson (Overland Park, KS) and senior Barry King (Dublin, Ireland).

Bass was the first player off the court for Notre Dame. He knocked off Alex Schweizer, 6-3, 6-4, at No. 1. Bass improved to 23-8 overall and 12-2 in dual matches.

Helgeson gave the Irish a 2-0 advantage following his 6-1, 6-3, victory over Alexey Tsyrenov. He now stands 20-5 overall and 12-2 in dual action.

King made it 3-0 at No. 4 with another straight-set win. King upended Pawel Dilaj, 6-1, 6-4. He improved to 22-6 overall and 11-2 in dual matches.

After the Tigers drew within 3-1 following a victory at No. 5 singles, #57 junior Sheeva Parbhu (Omaha, NE) defeated Robbert Lathouwers, 7-5, 6-3. Parbhu dealt Lathouwers his first loss of the dual match season. He entered the match with Parbhu owning an 11-0 record.

Tomorrow’s semifinal contest can be followed in progress at www.bluegraytennis.com.

— ND —