Q&A With Women's Tennis Star Olga Khmylev
October 29, 2009 | Women's Tennis
Oct. 29, 2009
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - With the end of the fall tennis season now here for the Boston College women's tennis team, bceagles.com caught up with freshman Olga Khmylev to talk about all things tennis, and to see how it feels playing tennis against a BC linebacker.
How would you rate your performance in your first semester of collegiate tennis now that the fall season is officially over?
"I feel that my first semester of tennis as a freshman went pretty well. Alex Kelleher and myself reached the finals of the USTA Invitational, and the quarterfinals at the ITA Regional Championships. I think a lot of this first semester was nerves. When I came out on the court I really wanted to perform, and I think that hindered my play at times. Overall, I was happy with my play, and now that I got the jitters out of the way so I am expecting good things in the spring season."
What would you say is the biggest adjustment going from high school tennis to the collegiate level?
"The biggest adjustment for me was not having my parents there to push me. I had to push myself in tennis and in academics. Also, the competition and talent level in college is far superior. The high school level you have some good players, and also some bad ones as well. With college tennis, especially in the ACC, you always play against top-talent players."
You came into BC as a five-star recruit and you were ranked 25th in the nation your senior year of high school. What was that like as a highly recruited athlete going through that whole process of choosing what school you wanted to spend your next four years at?
"It was a good experience being a highly recruited athlete. All my friends kept telling me I was so lucky because I could go anywhere I wanted for college because of tennis. I did have a lot of options when I was recruited, but in the end I knew it was my decision on what school I wanted to spend my next four years."
Why did you choose to come play tennis at BC?
"I wanted to be close to a big city, and go to a school with good hockey because I am a huge hockey fan. My head coach Nigel Bentley was really helpful when he recruited me, and he was really nice so that made my decision a lot easier. I knew some of the girls on the team, and I really like how BC balances academics, athletics, and social life as well."
BC has always stressed being a student first and an athlete second. Has it been hard to balance the academics with tennis so far?
"For me to be honest it hasn't been hard at all. In high school I took weeks at a time off from school to travel for tournaments. This would require me to do homework in airports or a hotel room. I think that has helped me adjust balancing my academics with athletics now in college."
What are your individual goals for the season, and the teams' goals as well going into the spring season?
"Individually, I want to play high up on the team, and I would like to get some quality ACC wins. I would like to play well enough to get an individual NCAA ranking as well. As for the team we really want to get a top 50 National Ranking which would be a great accomplishment."
I heard that you just recently played a little pick-up game of tennis with Boston College Linebacker Mark Herzlich. How was this match set-up, and how did it go?
"Well we met in the Learning Resources Center, and he mentioned he'd like to play sometime. So when we did play I was really surprised because I wasn't expecting much. His forehand was very impressive, but his backhand needed a little work. Overall, he played pretty well. It was a really fun experience, and he is a nice guy so I wish him nothing but the best with his recovery."
If football doesn't work out for Mark do you think he has a future in tennis?
(Laughing) "He is a really good person but I think he should stick to football."
