Sheeva Parbhu Men's Tennis Roster
Awards & Honors
ITA All-American (2005-06)
Team MVP (2004-05, 2005-06)
BIG EAST All-Tournament Team
(Singles: 2007; Doubles: 2007)
Impact player who was outstanding over his first three seasons, being named team MVP and co-MVP as both a freshman and sophomore … in 2006, became the first Irish men[apos]s tennis player to reach the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championship since 1959 … was the 16th different Notre Dame player to earn All-American status … one of the nation[apos]s top players … reached the NCAA Singles Championship each of the past two years … big forehand and serve and tremendous quickness are among his biggest weapons … great athlete who is very coachable … has made several improvements to his game since his rookie season, shoring up his transition skills and ability to finish points … also has learned how to construct points and has improved his second serve … two-time Nebraska state champion before joining the Irish … three-year monogram winner … entering 2007-08 season, owns career singles mark of 94-27 overall and 58-13 in dual matches … career mark of 57-44 in doubles and 35-35 in dual matches … ranks fourth all-time in match-clinching wins (12), ninth all-time in career singles winning percentage (.777), 10th all-time in singles victories and 12th all-time in combined victories (151).
AS A JUNIOR: Named to BIG EAST all-tournament team in both singles and doubles … reached the NCAA singles tournament for the second straight season … teamed with Ryan Keckley to participate in the NCAA doubles championship … finished with a 29-12 record overall, including a 19-5 mark in dual action … opened the year ranked 21st in the ITA national singles poll … went 2-0 at No. 1 singles and 17-5 at No. 2 singles … tied for the second-most clinching victories on the team (6) … went 11-10 against nationally ranked opponents … upended the following ranked players #77 Andres Osorio (Minnesota), #52 Brady Crosby (Western Michigan), #64 Drew Eberly (Ohio State), #42 Devin Mullings (Ohio State), #26 Jakub Cech (Fresno State), #49 Alexandru Cojanu (William & Mary), #100 Joey Atlas (Duke), #100 Nolan Polley (Wisconsin), #96 Milan Mihailovic (Texas), #73 Robbert Lathouwers (Auburn) and #52 Dejan Cvetkovic (USC) … all three matches (1-2) at the Polo All-Americans each went three sets … reached the finals of the ITA Midwest Regional Championship for the second straight year … fell short of the title losing to #1 Steven Moneke of Ohio State … knocked off four ranked players en route to the finals … two of three matches (1-2) went three sets at the ITA National Indoors … pushed eventual national singles champion Somdev Devarrman to three sets, including a third-set tie-breaker, in the first round of the NCAA Singles Championship … went 22-16 in doubles, including a 9-15 mark in dual action (7-12 at No. 1 doubles with Ryan Keckley and 2-3 at No. 2 doubles with junior Brett Helgeson) … teamed up with Keckley and opened the fall with 13 victories over their first 14 matches … captured the ITA Midwest Regional title … knocked off #24 Johnson/Radman of Louisville … went 3-1 at the ITA National Indoors … opened the preseason at #36 in the ITA poll and ascended as high as #7 … ended the year with Keckley ranked #28 … after dropping their first match of the event to #9 Dickhardt/Groh of San Diego State (8-5), upended a pair of ranked foes including #5 Cameron/Hensel of Tennessee and #30 O[apos]Brien/Cojanu of William & Mary … despite struggling through most of the spring season, still qualified for the NCAA Doubles Championship … dropped first round at NCAA in tough, three-set affair against Cancado/Srugo of Old Dominion (1-6, 6-2, 5-7) … defeated five nationally ranked opponents in doubles (all with Keckley) … dominated the Midwest region in both singles and doubles (17-6 in singles and 17-7 in doubles).
AS A SOPHOMORE: Participated with the 2006 USTA Summer Collegiate Team … one of six male players on the squad … second Irish men[apos]s player to participate with the group, following three-year team member Ryan Sachire (1998-2000) … named a singles All-American by the ITA, the 16th different Notre Dame player to be tabbed an All-American in the history of the program and first since Javier Taborga (singles and doubles) and Casey Smith (doubles) in 2001-02 … the second Nebraska native ever to be an All-American for the Irish in any sport, coincidentally joining another men[apos]s tennis player from Omaha, Bill Brown, who was a first-team selection (under the previous format) in 1967 … finished with a 33-8 record and was 28th in the final ITA national singles rankings after being the first Notre Dame men[apos]s player since 1959 to advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championship … led the Irish in singles victories, registering the most since current assistant coach Ryan Sachire was 37-9 in 1998-99 … went 14-3 in tournament action and shared the team lead in singles victories in dual matches with a 19-5 record … played most of the season at No. 2 … went 18-4 at No. 2 and 1-1 at No. 1 … tied for the team lead in match-clinching victories … posted one of the biggest victories of the season, a three-set triumph against Ohio State[apos]s Bryan Koniecko that handed a 5-2 defeat to the Buckeyes (their lone loss of the regular season) … recorded an 11-4 record against nationally-ranked players, including 5-3 vs. higher-ranked foes … opened season with 10 consecutive victories, was the runner-up in the ITA Midwest Championships (having his 17-match winning streak ended by a teammate in the final) and reached the round of 16 in the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships to soar to a career high of 14th in the rankings on Jan. 10 … was ranked among the top 35 all spring … defeated the following top-20 players: #19 Devin Mullings of Ohio State (6-1, 1-6, 7-5), #20 Jonathan Stokke of Duke (4-6, 6-4, 6-1) and #8 Scott Doemer of Pepperdine (7-5, 6-0) … went 19-5 indoors, 11-2 in tie breakers, 32-14 in close sets, 26-0 when winning the first set, 16-3 outdoors, 18-5 in close matches, 12-0 at home and 16-3 against the Midwest Region … went 15-14 in doubles, including a 12-11 mark in dual action … teamed up with five different Irish players … at No. 1 doubles, went 2-4 with Ryan Keckley and 1-0 with Eric Langenkamp … at No. 2 doubles, went 0-1 with Stephen Bass, 2-4 with Brett Helgeson, 4-1 with Barry King and 3-1 with Langenkamp … knocked off #60 Johnny Berrido and Damar Johnson of Louisville, 8-5.
AS A FRESHMAN: Impact player who led Notre Dame in combined victories (52) and was voted team MVP … was nearly unbeatable in singles, going 32-7, including 20-3 in dual action (3-0 at No. 3, 17-3 at No. 4) … posted 5-2 mark in three-set matches, including 2-1 when the dual-match outcome was still undetermined … finished 20-14 in doubles, 14-9 in dual matches (10-6 at No. 2, 4-3 at No. 3) … went 7-3 in close matches (8-6, 9-7, 9-8) … entered national doubles rankings with Langenkamp, at 60th on Feb. 22 … finished ranked 22nd in the Midwest Region in singles … was nearly an automatic point during the spring for Notre Dame … clinched 4-3 win over eventual NCAA quarterfinalist Florida State with 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Chris Westerhof … one of his rare defeats came 3-6, 7-6, 6-3 against Ikaika Jobe with the score tied 3-3 against Boise State in the Blue-Gray National Tennis Classic … only other spring losses came against top-10 teams, losing to Peter Rodrigues of #9 Duke and Monte Tucker from #3 Illinois … the Tucker loss (on March 17) was Parbhu[apos]s final of season, as he ended the campaign on seven-match winning streak … defeated another freshman phenom, Treat Huey of #2 Virginia, 7-5, 7-5 … has notable victories were wins against #18 North Carolina, Texas, Northwestern, Michigan State, William & Mary, Rice, Michigan, SMU, Ohio State and Louisville in the NCAA tournament … was 12-4 during the fall … one of just two rookies to reach the round of 16 in the ITA Midwest Championships … also advanced to semifinals in both the Midland Invitational and the A flight of the Crimson Tide Fall Championships … his run in the latter tournament saw him knock off #31 Derrick Spice of Wake Forest in straight sets … was 13-2 against the Midwest Region … had 10-2 mark in close matches and 19-6 record in close sets (6-4, 7-5, 7-6) … most common doubles partner was Langenkamp, with whom he was 13-7, playing mostly No. 2 … beat #32 Jeff Groslimond/Chris Westerhof of Florida State in final match remaining to clinch doubles point in 4-3 win over Seminoles … knocked off #23 Somdev Devvarman and Treat Huey from Virginia … had six-match winning streak in early spring that included wins against #18 North Carolina, Texas (tiebreaker) and #9 Duke … also had a win vs. William & Mary … paired to win the consolation title in the A flight of the Crimson Tide Fall Championships … finished season with Stephen Bass, going 4-3 at No. 3 … clinched the doubles point in both matches in the BIG EAST tournament … their first win together came against SMU … went 2-3 with King during the fall, including taking part in the ITA Midwest Championships … also went 1-0 with Keckley in the fall and 0-1 with Brent D[apos]Amico.
HIGH SCHOOL & PERSONAL DATA: Won Nebraska state championships as a sophomore and senior … four-year letterwinner as the No. 1 player at Millard North High School … finished with a record of 23-0 in his senior campaign … 2003 Nebraska Junior Player of the Year … three-time conference champion, regional champion and all-state performer … ranked 13th in USTA 18-and-under national rankings in 2004 after being ninth in the 16s in both [apos]02 and [apos]03 … top-ranked 18-and-under player in the Missouri Valley section in 2004 after being second in [apos]03 … captained his team as a junior and senior … took fifth place at the 2003 Easter Bowl … member of the National Honor Society … born July 30, 1986, in Iowa City, Iowa … son of Rekha and Kaiushik Patel … older of two children … enrolled in the College of Arts and Letters as a preprofessional studies major.