May 21, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Irish men’s tennis player Brett Helgeson (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley West) was defeated in the second round of the NCAA singles championship by second-seeded Oleksandr Nedovyesov of Oklahoma State 6-3, 6-4 at the Mitchell Tennis Center on the campus of Texas A&M University.
Helgeson had advanced to the second round with a first round win over Washington’s Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan 3-6, 6-4, 6-0. Nedovyesov knocked out Helgeson in the Round of 32 for the second time in as many seasons, having beaten Helgeson in 2008.
With his run at the NCAA Championships coming to a close, Helgeson concluded an impressive career with the Irish. He finished with a 69-33 dual season singles record; a 50-18 open season singles record and a 118-51 overall singles record. His 118 wins rank as the sixth-most in program history, while his 69 dual season singles wins rank as the 11th-highest total. Over the past two seasons, Helgeson racked up 29 wins at No. 1 singles, the fifth-most wins at No. 1 singles in the history of the program.
Helgeson was a unanimous selection to the 2009 All-BIG EAST team. He was also named to the BIG EAST All-Tournament singles team in 2006 and 2008, while being named to the All-BIG EAST doubles team in 2007 and 2008. For his efforts, he was named the BIG EAST Tournament’s Most Outstanding Performer in 2008. He has been ranked inside the ITA top-50 for the past two seasons and reached as high as 11th on ITA Rankings in his career.
Helgeson entered the Championship with a 13-10 record in 2009. All of his starts came at No. 1 singles for the Irish, where 16 of his 23 completed matches were played against nationally ranked opponents.
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.
— ND —