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Boulytcheva Reaches Final At ITA National Indoor Tournament
Qualifies for ITA National Indoor Championships in November.
Oct. 23, 2005 SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - In one of the best matches of her collegiate career, BYU's Olga Boulytcheva defeated Aurelija Miseviciute of Arkansas in three sets to advance to the semifinals of the Regional Championships Saturday. Boulytcheva also won her semifinal match, advancing her to the final and qualifying her for the ITA National Indoor tournament. What made Boulytcheva's win so remarkable was whom she beat. Miseviciute, a freshman, came into the tournament ranked 280 in the Women's ITA world rankings and had won every collegiate match she'd played thus far. Many coaches thought she would be the one to win the regional tournament as well. That, however, didn't seem to phase the Cougar senior. After coming out on fire and taking the first set 6-3, Boulytcheva started to stall. Her second set was not pretty at all, as her opponent handled her in every game, winning 6-0. The win set the stage for an amazing and decisive third set, which Boulytcheva willed herself to win 6-4. "That was the hardest win," head coach Craig Manning said of the match. Following the emotional victory, Boulytcheva still found enough in the tank to beat Jessica Vanderdys convincingly 6-3, 6-1 and advance to the tournament's championship match. This triumph, though, carried more with it than a win in the victory column. By beating Vanderdys, Boulytcheva qualified for the ITA National Indoor Championships, which will be held in November. This marks the first time a Cougar has qualified for National Indoors in nine years. "This is awesome for Olga. It's so huge for her," Manning said. Although Boulytcheva advanced to the Championship match, she will not be playing in it. Because of BYU's decision to not play on Sundays, Boulytcheva withdrew from the final. Boulytcheva's success in the Regional Championships is only part of the story for BYU. Her Russian teammate Anastasia Sourkova played a great tournament as well, advancing side by side with Boulytcheva all the way to the quarterfinals where Arkansas' Jessica Vanderdys beat her 6-3, 6-1. Even though other members of the team were eliminated sooner than they had hoped, Manning said he is impressed with how well his team played in this tournament and during the fall season. "The whole team is doing really well," Manning said at the end of the tournament. "We're still learning, but we keep getting better and better and seem to keep heading in the right direction."
With the fall season in the books BYU will have some time to rest up and practice what they've learned. The Cougars' next match is their regular season home-opener Jan. 28 against Utah State.
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