Khmylev wins first ECIC singles crown
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

Williamsville East's Olga Khmylev finished the regular season undefeated at first singles. Khmylev won the ECIC Singles Tournament last weekend at the Village Glen Tennis Club. Photo by Joe Eberle Purchase color photos at www.BeeNews.com

Olga Khmylev had never tried out for the Williamsville East girls tennis team prior to the 2007 season, but she's sure glad she has.

The East junior is having a great season, dropping only four games on route to her first ECIC singles championship on Saturday at the Village Glen Tennis Club.

After a first round bye, Khmylev blanked Depew's Nickie Mang, East Aurora's Alaina Reukauf, and Orchard Park's Catie Wickline, 6-0, 6-0, in the next three rounds, before defeating three-time ECIC champion, sophomore Tina Miller of Williamsville North, 6-2, 6-2, in the final.

Coming into ECICs, Khmylev was 12-0 at first singles and dropped only two games all year, beating Hamburg's Becky Tobias, 6-1, 6-1, in a league match.

"I went into the tournament kind of upset because I lost two games to Becky," said Khmylev. "My goal was to win all league matches without losing a game. So I thought if that didn't happen in the league, why not shoot for doing that in the tournament? I was focused on winning every single point."

Williamsville North's Tina Miller, left, and Andrea Lovrincevic qualified for the Section VI Singles Championships at the end of the October.

"I thought I played really well and did everything I needed to do," she continued. "The competition was pretty good. I was a little disappointed I lost four games in the final, but I'll take a win."

North coach Hillary Nichols said Miller won two games in the first set, but forced multiple unforced errors.

"Even with her serve strong, Miller was unable to get the first set," said Nichols. "Knowing that she had won ECICs in the past, she did not give up. She was able to play Khmylev close, including being up at one point in the second set."

"I lacked a little concentration at times, but she came out and hit good shots and moved well," said Khmylev.

Khmylev had never competed for East in the past because she played tournaments on the United States Tennis Association national junior circuit. USTA.com ranks Khmylev fourth in the Eastern section 16s.

"I was asked why I never played high school tennis so I thought it would be a good opportunity to not only represent the school, but to be in a good social environment," said Khmylev.

Khmylev's ECIC crown qualifies her for the Section VI Championships at the Miller Tennis Center on Oct. 26 and 27.

"I have no idea what the competition will be, but I'm hoping to come out on top," said Khmylev.

East was ECIC Division II champions with a 10-0 record and is 12-0 overall. The Lady Flames do have one more regular season match this Thursday at Orchard Park. OP, the ECIC I champions, is also undefeated.

"All matches were 5-0," said East coach Mike Vendetti. "No singles players dropped a set. We only surrendered two sets during the season at doubles against Williamsville North and Clarence."

East will have three doubles teams competing at the ECIC doubles tournament. Monica Vieth and Miranda Podlas are seeded first. The duos of Justine Rusk and Emma Manuel, as well as, Kristina Lazzaro and Alyssa Drozynski will also see action.

Williamsville North

Tina Miller earned a bye in the first round of ECICs and used consistent ground strokes to beat OP's Jenny Waris, 6-1, 6-2, in the second round, said North coach Hillary Nichols.

Miller then played a well-rounded game and defeated Ashley Chevalier from Division IV champ Alden, 6-1, 6-1, in the quarterfinals.

In the semifinals, Miller faced OP's Caroline Bristol. Nichols said Miller had lost to Bristol, twice during the regular season but proved difficult to be shut down when it counted and won 6-4, 6-3.

Miller is not the only Lady Spartan to qualify for sectionals. Junior Andrea Lovrincevic clinched the fifth spot for sectionals after beating Alden's Ashley Chevalier, 4-2, 4-1, in the loser's bracket.

Lovrincevic, playing second singles all season, opened the tournament with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Starpoint's Nina Lenhard. In the second round, Nichols said Lovrincevic used a never-give-up attitude and mix-it-up style to defeat divisional rival Hayley Clover of Clarence, 6-1, 6-2.

After a long day of tennis and some down time spent waiting, a fresh-legged Caroline Bristol of Orchard Park awaited Lovrincevic, said Nichols. Bristol's patience from the baseline paid off and beat Lovrincevic, 6-0, 6-0.

Nichols said Lovrincevic still had a chance to place anywhere from fifth to eighth in the playback round on day two.

In her first mini-set match of the day she faced Becky Tobias, Hamburg's No. 1 player. It was a very close first set with Lovrincevic coming away with a 5-4 tiebreaker victory. Her momentum carried her to a 4-2 second set win. That set up Lovrincevic's victory over Chevalier.

During the regular season, North finished second behind Orchard Park in ECIC Division I with a 8-2 record and 11-3 overall mark.

"With the weather cooperating, the girls played a busy schedule, facing some good non-league competition such as Nichols, Williamsville East and Amherst," said Nichols. "Looking for a banner for the gymnasium (potential ECIC Division I champions), we faced a tough Orchard Park team, but could not overcome their depth. A match that could have easily been 3-2 both times ended 4-1 and 5-0."

Nichols said the only position to gain a victory from Orchard Park was the first doubles team of freshman Maddie Robinson and sophomore Kelley Matthews, who won 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 and 8-6.

"Consequently, the duo earned a seat for the doubles tourney this coming weekend (at the Village Glen)," said Nichols. "It will be a strong draw, including East and Orchard Park's powerhouse singles players pairing up for doubles."

Amherst Central

Senior Liz Greco won her first round match over West Seneca West's Lisa Kowalewski, 6-0, 6-2, but lost to Alden's Ashley Chevalier, 6-1, 6-1, in the second round.

Sweet Home

Sophomore Jesse Lewandowski lost to Starpoint's Jenna Mauldiner in the first round.

e-mail: pnagy@beenews.com