Bloomsburg Athletics

Rebecca Helt was named the head men's and women's tennis coach at Bloomsburg University in July of 2019 and will be entering her eighth season at the helm of both programs this year. Helt replaces Marty Coyne who retired following the 2018-19 season after guiding both teams for a quarter of a century.

Last season, the Huskies continued their success with a postseason berths for the men's and women's teams. On the women's side, Nicole Ilkovic was crowned the PSAC East Women's Tennis Athlete of the Year. Ilkovic was joined on the All-PSAC East First Team Singles by Lily Sierka. Ilkovic also claimed a First Team Doubles nod alongside Dasha Nakonechna. The men's team made its second consecutive run to the NCAA Tournament after a 7-9 season. Jack Seaborn became the third-straight Husky to claim the PSAC Freshman of the Year title. Dementev earned his third-career All-PSAC First Team award while getting nod on First Team Doubles with Sergio Dilan. 

In 2024-25, the men's and women's programs each earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament. the men's program finished as the PSAC Runner-Up and held a record of 11-4 on the season. Alex Higuera's Freshman of the Year award highlighted a handful of post season awards for the Huskies. Denis Dementev and Vishesh Patel each earned All-PSAC First Team singles awards while Iu Casamitjana earned a spot on the Second Team. Dementev and Casamitjana were named All-PSAC First Team Dobules while Patel and Sergio Dilan were named to the Second Team. On the women's team, the Huskies made a run to the NCAA Atlantic Regionals while finishing with a record of 13-4. Nicole Ilkovic and Lexi Quackenbush earned All-PSAC East First Team Singles honors while Jen McDonald and Lia-Sophie Seele were named to the Second Team. In doubles, Dasha Nakonechna and Seele earned first team recognition alongside the duo of Ilkovic and Quackenbush.

The 2023-24 season saw both programs make the PSAC Tournament. The men's side finished the season with a 7-9 record while making it to the PSAC Semifinals. Denis Dementev was named PSAC Freshman of the Year while claiming a All-PSAC First Team selection. The duo of Sergio Dilan and Vishesh Patel earned All-PSAC Second Team Doubles recognition. On the women's side, the team made it to the PSAC Quarterfinals while holding a 13-9 record on the season. Lexi Quackenbush and Nicole Ilkovic earned a All-PSAC First Team Doubles nod while Quackenbush and Lia-Sophie Seele were named All-PSAC Second Team Singles.

In 2022-23 the men's and women's tennis programs qualified for the opening round of their PSAC Team Championships. The women's team finished the 2022-23 season with an overall record of 5-11 and made an appearance in the PSAC Quarterfinals. Following the season, Lexi Quackenbush was named to the all-conference team after going 5-10 in singles competition. The men's team reached PSAC Semifinals after closing out the regular season by winning four of their final contests to qualify for the postseason. The men's team finished the year with an overall record of 4-12.

In 2021-22, Helt guided the men's and women's programs to a berth in the PSAC Championships. The women's team made it to the PSAC Quarterfinals after posting a 5-3 conference record and 8-10 overall record. The men's team made it to the semifinals after earning a No. 4 seed with a 3-2 conference record. In addition, Oliver Wisemann was selected as the PSAC Champion Scholar Athlete for men's tennis after having the highest grade point average out of the competing athletes at the conference championships. 

During Helt's first season guiding both programs, the men appeared in the PSAC semifinals and the women made it to the quarterfinals. The women closed out the season with an even 4-4 record while the men were 5-3 overall and 4-2 in PSAC play. 

Helt brings a substantial resume with her as she comes to Bloomsburg following a 22-year stint as the head coach of the women's tennis team at Bucknell University. Helt leaves Bucknell as the all-time winningest coach in program history, compiling an overall record of 241-220. While at Bucknell, Helt also served as the coordinator of tennis – a position she assumed in December of 2013. She also coached the men's program from 2002-13 and guided Gregg Cohenca and Evan Zimmer to the NCAA Championships in doubles which marked a first in both Bucknell and Patriot League history.

Over the past 16 seasons, Helt's women's teams finished in the top three in the Patriot League standings on nine occasions and made six consecutive appearances in the championship match from 2005-10. In 2004, the Bison women appeared in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) national rankings for the first time in program history and were the only Patriot League team – and one of five in the Northeast Region – to appear in the rankings at that time. The 2005 campaign was also an historic one for Helt as she guided the Bison women to a program-record 17-5 overall mark.

During her impressive career at Bucknell, Helt coached two Patriot League Players of the Year and five Patriot League Rookies of the Year. She also guided 46 All-League selections (34 women, 12 men) and had seven Academic All-League honorees.

A 1990 graduate of Lock Haven University, Helt earned a bachelor of arts degree in journalism while competing for the Lock Haven tennis team. In 1991, Helt earned a teaching certification from the United States Professional Tennis Registry (USPTR) and worked as a teaching pro at West Branch Racquet Club in Williamsport, Pa., and the Doylestown Racquet Club in Doylestown, Pa., before starting her collegiate coaching career at Bucknell in 1997.

Updated on 5/25/2023