Helgeson, Beale claim Men's Tennis singles All-America honors
STANFORD, Calif. -- University of Texas sophomore Travis Helgeson (Overland Park, Kan.) and senior Callum Beale (Adelaide, Australia) each cemented singles All-America status Thursday afternoon when they posted round-of-32 victories at the NCAA Men's Tennis Singles Championships at Stanford's Taube Family Tennis Center. Beale also teamed up for an opening-round doubles win with freshman Miguel Reyes Varela (Cuernavaca, Mexico) to cap a perfect day for the Longhorns. Helgeson nailed down his second singles All-America honor in as many seasons by eliminating LSU's Ken Skupski, who, after dropping the first set in a tiebreaker, was forced to retire due to an injury sustained during the second set. Winning by a final count of 7-6 (3), 3-0, Helgeson became UT's first two-time All-American in six seasons. Former Longhorn Nick Crowell garnered his second All-America honor in 2000 after picking up his first in 1997. Beale collected a well-deserved singles All-America honor after rallying to defeat Rice's Robert Searle in three sets. Beale dropped the first set and saved three match points in the ensuing set to force a second-set tiebreaker, which he won, 7-3. Beale took Searle to another tiebreaker in the third set and emerged as the victor, taking the tiebreaker, 7-2. Beale and Reyes Varela teamed up for an upset of Mississippi's Erling Tveit and Eric Claesson in the doubles round of 32. The Longhorn tandem scored a 6-4, 6-3 win over the "5-8"-seeded Rebel duo to move on to the round of 16, where it will face Michigan's Brian Hung and Matko Maravic. A Texas victory would make Beale and Reyes Varela doubles All-Americans. It was an exciting day," said UT coach Michael Center. "We played well in the doubles, Travis (Helgeson) won easily to become a two-time All-American, and Callum (Beale) played about three hours in his singles match to become an All-American. And, Callum and Miguel (Reyes Varela) continued to improve in doubles play. It was a great day for all three guys." Helgeson will take on Illinois' "9-16"-seeded Ryler DeHeart in the round of 16, while Beale will meet California's sixth-seeded Conor Niland.The start times have yet to be announced.Live scoring will be available at GoStanford.com. In other news, Miguel Reyes Varela earned a selection to the NCAA All-Tournament Team after posting a perfect 3-0 mark at No. 5 singles during the NCAA Championships. Reyes Varela defeated Ole Miss' Robbye Poole, Ohio State's Dennis Mertens and Pepperdine's Richard Johnson to help the Longhorns to a pair of wins. Notably, Reyes Varela rallied from a 5-2 third-set tiebreak deficit to defeat OSU's Mertens and send Texas into the NCAA semifinals. NCAA Men's Tennis Singles Championships - Stanford, Calif. NCAA Men's Tennis Doubles Championships
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