Millersville

Matt Helsel has rebuilt both the men's and women's tennis teams into two of the top programs in the PSAC. The build began in 2016-17 and the winning ways he exhibited with 14 conference championships and 11 NCAA Tournament appearances in 15 seasons at Elizabethtown College have carried over to Millersville where he has led the women's program to a PSAC title match, three PSAC East titles and the men's team to three-straight years of postseason appearances and regional rankings, while also making the NCAA Regional Tournament with both teams in 2024. Millersville is the only PSAC program to have both the men's and women's teams advance to the PSAC Semifinals in each of the last four seasons. 

Helsel is a three-time PSAC East Women's Tennis Coach of the Year, winning the award in both 2021, 2022, and 2024. His 2021-22 women's team won the program's first PSAC East title with Jasmine Morris winning the PSAC East Athlete of the Year award, and on the men's side, Carlos Martinez-Lucas won PSAC Athlete of the Year award for the second time while also teaming with Frank Yanni for a PSAC Doubles Championship. In 2023-24, his women's team dominated through conference play, boasting a perfect 7–0 record and earning multiple conference awards in the process, such as PSAC East Coach of the Year for himself, PSAC East Athlete of the Year for Noelle Htwar, and four other athletes earning at least one All-PSAC honor.

Both programs were regionally-ranked in the pandemic-shortened season of 2019-20. That momentum carried on into the spring of 2021 where the women made a memorable run to the PSAC Championship match for the first time since 2004, and the men's team reached the PSAC Tournament semifinals. 

In eight seasons with the Marauders, Helsel has coached the women's program to 30 All-PSAC honors. The men's team had a breakthrough season in 2018-19 with Martinez-Lucas winning the PSAC Athlete of the Year award--Millersville's first since 2002. 

The programs' community service efforts also landed the men's and women's teams the ITA Community Service Award in 2018, and the women's team won it again in 2019. Additionally, men's tennis player Ben Fellman won the PSAC Champion Scholar Award three years in a row from 2019-2021. He was the first PSAC athlete to win the award three times in a row. Coaching his athletes to be the best student and player they can be, Sophie Lanius, former PSAC East Freshman of the Year, was awarded the PSAC Champion Scholar Athlete in 2024. Kelsey Heckert was recognized for her academic and athletic achievement in 2022 by being named CoSIDA Academic All-District. Two members of both programs received the academic award in 2022-23. 

Helsel, also the winningest coach for both programs at Elizabethtown and a 12-time conference coach of the year award winner, led the women’s program to seven consecutive championships, 10 overall and a 188-61 record. Helsel’s men’s teams won four conference championships while posting a 142-100 record.

Arriving in 2001-02, Helsel led the women Blue Jays to a 14-0 record in his third season on the job. Since then, his women’s program finished as one of the top two teams in the league 12 seasons in a row, posting a 77-9 league record and reaching the NCAA Tournament eight times. On the men’s side, his program finished as league champs four times, conference runner-up four times, and the team reached the NCAA Tournament in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
 
Helsel won nine coach of the year awards while leading the women’s program and three more on the men’s side. Eight of his athletes won the Commonwealth Conference Rookie of the Year Award and three men and two women were named Commonwealth Conference Player of the Year. Helsel has coached the top 10 winningest players in Elizabethtown men’s and women’s tennis history.
 
In addition to serving as the head coach at Elizabethtown, Helsel was the head tennis professional at Hempfield Sports Complex from 2002-2010.
 
Helsel began his collegiate career at Millersville in 1992 and completed his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Elizabethtown in 2007, graduating magna cum laude.