.png&type=webp)
University of Massachusets Athletics
Double Major; Singles Tennis Player
May 28, 2002 | Tennis
by Seth Gerard
The Maroon & White
While most University of Massachusetts students have trouble trying to balance five classes a semester, their social life and an occasional extra-curricular activity or two, Minutewoman tennis standout Helena Horak does the work of four students.
The senior from Westlake Village, Calif., will graduate this month as a double major in Biochemistry and Biology with a double minor in chemistry and anthropology. In her spare time, Horak participates in the University's Citizen Scholar Athlete Program and the Lewis International Program, while volunteering at least 60 hours a semester toward community service work. And, oh by the way, she is also co-captain of the Massachusetts women's tennis team.
"There are many pressures associated with playing a Division I sport," Horak said. "It turns into one big balancing act between classes, labs and practice. On one hand, I know that I have to perform well on the court to keep my starting spot in the rotation, but on the other hand, I have to go to class regularly and maintain my grades or risk the chance of losing my scholarship. I try to focus on one thing at a time and do the best that I can."
Horak has definitely not had a hard time balancing all of her activities. She has maintained a 3.94 gpa and accumulated 47 singles and 51 doubles victories in her career. The singles win total ranks sixth all-time in school history, while her doubles tally is tied for second most.
"Helena's game is basically an all-court game," said UMass head coach Judy Dixon. "She is a very patient player who loves to compete. For the last four years, I know that she is one of the few players who likes being out on the court each match. One of the things that she has given to the team has been her consistancy. Helena's ability to get along with everybody on the team and academic excellence makes her a great leader and valuable asset to the team."
Because of her diligence and patience, Horak and her opponent are often the last to finish and therefore become the deciding factor in a close match. In her sophomore season, Horak won a closely-contested, three-set match against George Washington's Ghada Skaff in the Atlantic 10 Tournament to clinch the victory for the Minutewomen. Their third-place finish that season was the school's best to-date.
Horak's demeanor on the court is the same as her approach to a heavy school workload.
"Helena is not flappable," said Dixon. "While her opponent is going through a lot of histrionics, Helena has this way of just being even throughout the match, no matter how important it is. Pressure is always something that Helena has embraced rather than succumb to."
A versatile player who has bounced around nearly every spot in the lineup at one point or another in her career, it's her ability to get along with people that easily made her a shoe-in for co captain.
After a successful 2000-01 campaign in which the Minutewomen captured the school's first Atlantic 10 tennis championship and earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament, the Minutewomen fell upon hard times this past season. Injuries and the ineligibility of a top freshman left the Minutewomen with a thin squad for the spring season. While some may have thrown in the towel, Horak took it all in stride.
"It was pretty tough with all the unexpected things that happened last fall," said Horak. "We came back expecting a strong team and that is why Judy put together such a challenging schedule. It was really disappointing when we struggled, but in the end, we developed a lot of great personal relationships. The fact that we were so close together as a team helped us to pull together through the difficult time."
Off the court, Helena has enjoyed success, too. Last February, she was named to the prestigious USA Today All-USA College Academic First Team. This is an honor that only 20 students are selected for from around the nation. Horak was honored in a ceremony during halftime of the men's basketball game at the Mullins Center, Feb. 27. The team was selected from a group of 600 students in 46 states and the District of Columbia. Each student received a $2,500 cash reward.
"Receiving that award was a real honor," said Horak. "They just don't give awards like that to anyone. I read through the profiles of the other winners and they are amazing people. One student had six majors, while another was handicapped and competed athletically. I am very grateful that all of the work I have done at UMass and all the organizations is considered to be on par with these exceptional students."
As part of the Citizens Scholar Program at UMass, Horak is required to take at least 60 hours a semester of community learning classes. She spends her time with numerous charities and organizations such as the Red Cross, Amherst Survival Center, various soup kitchens and boy scout troops, just to name a few.
"When I recruited Helena, I knew that she was a stand-out academically," said Dixon. "It was apparent that I was going to have to allow Helena to miss a practice or two along the way so she could meet the rigors of her demanding schedule. Normally, I make the kids practice every day, but I understand that occasionally Helena will have to miss it to attend to an academic need."
As an Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation Scholar, Helena is investigating reproductive neuroendocrinology in the lab of Sandra L. Peterson, professor of Biology at UMass. Last summer, Horak won a National Institutes of Health Biomedical Research Fellowship and studied nuclear proteins associated with drug-resistance in ovarian cancers at the National Cancer Institute, located just outside of Washington, D.C.
"I spent my summer basically looking at different proteins in cancer cells and seeing where they go when you induce damage," said Horak. "This kind of work has never been done before. People have looked at proteins, but they have not looked to see where they go inside the cell. Hopefully, this work is going to be published in nature and I am really excited."
If Horak is carrying too heavy a load, she certainly does not show it.
"One of her strengths is to not get frustrated and overtaxed, even with the amount of work that she has in front of her on a daily basis," said Dixon. "She goes about her business very quietly and never complains about anything. When talking with her, you would be hard-pressed to know that she has all of these things on her plate. She is the only person that I know who will sit on the van during road trips and read the Wall Street Journal."
While Horak enjoyed her time on the tennis team immensely, the one thing that she regretted was not being able to study abroad.
"Tennis has always been my way of seeing the world," said Horak. "As a junior I played in national tournaments and we got to go to Arizona for the NCAA Tournament, but I wished that I could have seen more. We had a chance to visit some great campuses for tennis, but never usually saw anything other than the hotel or the tennis courts. I am really excited about leaving the United States and going overseas to work on an exciting project that I love to do."
Horak has received a full right (grant) and will go to Singapore after graduation to conduct medical research developing genetic profiles of cancers.
"What I am really interested in is understanding how different aspects of a person's life affect their health," said Horak. "I want to find out how things like genetics, environment and background affect one's overall well-being. I am also interested in understanding differences between cultures. The project will be using new technology and I think there is a real potential to understand a lot of new things."
As she heads down the home stretch of her collegiate career, Horak looks forward to the future and hopes that she will be able to continue doing the things that she loves to do.
"Each activity that I get involved with, I have a special connection to," said Horak. "I get involved because I am really interested and feel that it is important. The fact that I am doing what I love to do, and usually get paid for it, makes me one of the happiest people."
The Maroon & White
While most University of Massachusetts students have trouble trying to balance five classes a semester, their social life and an occasional extra-curricular activity or two, Minutewoman tennis standout Helena Horak does the work of four students.
The senior from Westlake Village, Calif., will graduate this month as a double major in Biochemistry and Biology with a double minor in chemistry and anthropology. In her spare time, Horak participates in the University's Citizen Scholar Athlete Program and the Lewis International Program, while volunteering at least 60 hours a semester toward community service work. And, oh by the way, she is also co-captain of the Massachusetts women's tennis team.
"There are many pressures associated with playing a Division I sport," Horak said. "It turns into one big balancing act between classes, labs and practice. On one hand, I know that I have to perform well on the court to keep my starting spot in the rotation, but on the other hand, I have to go to class regularly and maintain my grades or risk the chance of losing my scholarship. I try to focus on one thing at a time and do the best that I can."
Horak has definitely not had a hard time balancing all of her activities. She has maintained a 3.94 gpa and accumulated 47 singles and 51 doubles victories in her career. The singles win total ranks sixth all-time in school history, while her doubles tally is tied for second most.
"Helena's game is basically an all-court game," said UMass head coach Judy Dixon. "She is a very patient player who loves to compete. For the last four years, I know that she is one of the few players who likes being out on the court each match. One of the things that she has given to the team has been her consistancy. Helena's ability to get along with everybody on the team and academic excellence makes her a great leader and valuable asset to the team."
Because of her diligence and patience, Horak and her opponent are often the last to finish and therefore become the deciding factor in a close match. In her sophomore season, Horak won a closely-contested, three-set match against George Washington's Ghada Skaff in the Atlantic 10 Tournament to clinch the victory for the Minutewomen. Their third-place finish that season was the school's best to-date.
Horak's demeanor on the court is the same as her approach to a heavy school workload.
"Helena is not flappable," said Dixon. "While her opponent is going through a lot of histrionics, Helena has this way of just being even throughout the match, no matter how important it is. Pressure is always something that Helena has embraced rather than succumb to."
A versatile player who has bounced around nearly every spot in the lineup at one point or another in her career, it's her ability to get along with people that easily made her a shoe-in for co captain.
After a successful 2000-01 campaign in which the Minutewomen captured the school's first Atlantic 10 tennis championship and earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament, the Minutewomen fell upon hard times this past season. Injuries and the ineligibility of a top freshman left the Minutewomen with a thin squad for the spring season. While some may have thrown in the towel, Horak took it all in stride.
"It was pretty tough with all the unexpected things that happened last fall," said Horak. "We came back expecting a strong team and that is why Judy put together such a challenging schedule. It was really disappointing when we struggled, but in the end, we developed a lot of great personal relationships. The fact that we were so close together as a team helped us to pull together through the difficult time."
Off the court, Helena has enjoyed success, too. Last February, she was named to the prestigious USA Today All-USA College Academic First Team. This is an honor that only 20 students are selected for from around the nation. Horak was honored in a ceremony during halftime of the men's basketball game at the Mullins Center, Feb. 27. The team was selected from a group of 600 students in 46 states and the District of Columbia. Each student received a $2,500 cash reward.
"Receiving that award was a real honor," said Horak. "They just don't give awards like that to anyone. I read through the profiles of the other winners and they are amazing people. One student had six majors, while another was handicapped and competed athletically. I am very grateful that all of the work I have done at UMass and all the organizations is considered to be on par with these exceptional students."
As part of the Citizens Scholar Program at UMass, Horak is required to take at least 60 hours a semester of community learning classes. She spends her time with numerous charities and organizations such as the Red Cross, Amherst Survival Center, various soup kitchens and boy scout troops, just to name a few.
"When I recruited Helena, I knew that she was a stand-out academically," said Dixon. "It was apparent that I was going to have to allow Helena to miss a practice or two along the way so she could meet the rigors of her demanding schedule. Normally, I make the kids practice every day, but I understand that occasionally Helena will have to miss it to attend to an academic need."
As an Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation Scholar, Helena is investigating reproductive neuroendocrinology in the lab of Sandra L. Peterson, professor of Biology at UMass. Last summer, Horak won a National Institutes of Health Biomedical Research Fellowship and studied nuclear proteins associated with drug-resistance in ovarian cancers at the National Cancer Institute, located just outside of Washington, D.C.
"I spent my summer basically looking at different proteins in cancer cells and seeing where they go when you induce damage," said Horak. "This kind of work has never been done before. People have looked at proteins, but they have not looked to see where they go inside the cell. Hopefully, this work is going to be published in nature and I am really excited."
If Horak is carrying too heavy a load, she certainly does not show it.
"One of her strengths is to not get frustrated and overtaxed, even with the amount of work that she has in front of her on a daily basis," said Dixon. "She goes about her business very quietly and never complains about anything. When talking with her, you would be hard-pressed to know that she has all of these things on her plate. She is the only person that I know who will sit on the van during road trips and read the Wall Street Journal."
While Horak enjoyed her time on the tennis team immensely, the one thing that she regretted was not being able to study abroad.
"Tennis has always been my way of seeing the world," said Horak. "As a junior I played in national tournaments and we got to go to Arizona for the NCAA Tournament, but I wished that I could have seen more. We had a chance to visit some great campuses for tennis, but never usually saw anything other than the hotel or the tennis courts. I am really excited about leaving the United States and going overseas to work on an exciting project that I love to do."
Horak has received a full right (grant) and will go to Singapore after graduation to conduct medical research developing genetic profiles of cancers.
"What I am really interested in is understanding how different aspects of a person's life affect their health," said Horak. "I want to find out how things like genetics, environment and background affect one's overall well-being. I am also interested in understanding differences between cultures. The project will be using new technology and I think there is a real potential to understand a lot of new things."
As she heads down the home stretch of her collegiate career, Horak looks forward to the future and hopes that she will be able to continue doing the things that she loves to do.
"Each activity that I get involved with, I have a special connection to," said Horak. "I get involved because I am really interested and feel that it is important. The fact that I am doing what I love to do, and usually get paid for it, makes me one of the happiest people."
Tennis Highlights vs. Binghamton (01/26/20)
Sunday, January 26
Tennis Highlights vs. Fordham (04/19/19)
Friday, April 19
UMass vs. Rhode Island Tennis Highlights (04/18/19)
Thursday, April 18
Tennis Highlights vs. GW (03/30/19)
Saturday, March 30