RIO DI JANERIO, Brazil --- Senior Travis Helgeson of the University of Georgia men’s tennis team advanced thru the Round of 64 Monday at the Pan-American Games in Rio with a win over Kristepher Michael Elien of the Virgin Islands, 6-1, 6-3. Helgeson will now face No. 8-seeded Carlos Andres Salamanca of Columbia Tuesday in the Round of 32.

“I know Travis is very excited about the opportunity to represent our country,” said Georgia head coach Manuel Diaz. “He is certainly off to good start. By now I’m sure he is used to the conditions and the surface, and hopefully he is ready to play another good match tomorrow. This is a great experience for him and all of the American collegiate players who are there.”

In his first game as a representative of the U.S., Helgeson broke Elien’s serve and never looked back. After Helgeson held serve in the second to go up 2-0, Elien held his own serve to cut the deficit to 2-1, but that was as close as Helgeson would allow. He then held serve to go up 3-1, broke Elien at 4-1, held to make it 5-1 and then broke to win the set, 6-1.

After getting broken in the first game of the second set, Helgeson broke right back and then held serve to take a 2-1 lead. The two players then exchanged service holds before Helgeson picked up a break in the sixth game to go up 4-2. Helgeson then won his next two service games to close out the match for a final score of 6-1, 6-3.

Helgeson will be joined in the Round of 32 by fellow American collegians Stephen Bass of Notre Dame and Todd Paul of Wake Forest. Bass defeated Marvin Rolle of the Bahamas, 6-2, 6-2, while Paul topped Gustavo Ramirez of Paraguay, 6-1, 6-3. Bass will take on No. 9-seeded Michael Quintero Aguilar in the second round while Paul will face Marcelo Arevelo of El Salvador.