TULSA, Okla. – Georgia senior Travis Helgeson recorded another win Thursday to advance to the round of 16 at the NCAA Singles Championships in Tulsa. Senior Kelley Hyndman fought hard against a former NCAA Champion but fell in a tough three-set effort.

Helgeson, the No. 4 seed, quickly took down the first set, 6-2. Hensel then rebounded to win the second set in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-5). After trading service holds with Hensel, the Volunteers’ No. 1 singles player, for the first 11 games of the third set, Helgeson was ahead 6-5 and broke serve to end the match and take the victory by a final score of 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5. Helgeson’s win avenges an earlier loss to Hensel in the regular season, as he previously lost in three sets in the final match of the year in Knoxville.

“Travis is playing great tennis,” said Georgia men’s head coach Manuel Diaz. “The biggest challenge he is facing is that the guys he has to play are so much fresher than he is. Hopefully he can start bouncing back in the next day or two from the fatigue of the team tournament. His arm and his legs are a little tired, but I am so proud of the way he has gotten through the first two days following the team tournament. The hardest part physically is having enough gas in tank after playing five team matches in six days. Travis had a match point in the second set today which didn’t go his way, so the match was extended for another hour or so. He could have benefited from that extra bit of rest, but we were glad to see he found the fortitude to keep pushing on and win.”

Helgeson, who will be named an ITA All-American for the fourth straight year, is looking to post a career-best tournament effort. For two years running, he has reached the quarterfinals of this event, and hopes to surpass that mark in his final NCAA Singles Championships appearance.

Helgeson get back into action Friday at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center as he takes on the winner of 37th-ranked Bassam Beidas of Pepperdine and 52nd-ranked Nestor Briceno of Florida.

On the women’s side, Georgia’s 58th-ranked senior Kelley Hyndman fell to 25th-ranked Zuzana Zemenova of Baylor, the 2005 NCAA Women’s Singles Champion, in the second round. Hyndman got out of the gates quickly by earning an early break, then went on to take the first set, 6-2. Zemenova then bounced back to take the next two sets, both by 6-2 scores.

“This was a tough match,” said Georgia women’s head coach Jeff Wallace. “Kelley played very well yesterday, winning a third-set tiebreaker to get here and her opponent today has won this title before. Kelley won her first set and got out to a great start, and we were really excited about the possibility of her becoming an All-American. But, Zemenova showed why she has won this thing before, she kept the ball in play and played a great match.

“Kelley had a great senior year and a great career for us,” Wallace continued. “She led us a lot of victories and won two SEC Tournament titles. She has done a lot of great things for our program in her four years here.”

The Georgia doubles team of sophomore Jamie Hunt (San Antonio, Texas) and sophomore Nate Schnugg (Medford, Ore.), ranked No. 17, takes on 29th-ranked Clancy Shields and Luke Shields of Boise State, this evening at 7:30 p.m. eastern. Please stay tuned to www.georgaidogs.com for the results of that match, forthcoming upon completion.

Men’s Singles – Round of 32

[4] Travis Helgeson (UGA) def. Kaden Hensel (UT), 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5

Women’s Singles – Round of 32
Zuzana Zemenova (BU) def. Kelley Hyndman (UGA), 2-6, 6-2, 6-2

Schedule – Friday, May 23

Men’s Singles – Round of 16

[4] Travis Helgeson vs. winner of Bassam Beidas (PEP) and Nestor Briceno (UF), TBA