Email This   Larger Font      Print This   Smaller Font Advertisement   Girls tennis Athletes to Watch Marley Hughes, jr., Skyview; Maria Homnick, sr., Columbia River; Christina Le, so., Union; Stephanie Nicholson, jr., Camas; Christina Wang, so., Columbia River; Mackenzie Williams, so., Hockinson. Season Overview Olbrich and Hughes return to lead a solid team at Skyview, which should battle out for top honors in the 4A Greater St. Helens League with Mountain View and Prairie. With Le moving from Evergreen to Union, it leaves a race open for top singles spot in the 4A GSHL. With the addition of Le and Union, an interesting battle is set up in the 3A GSHL with perennial league favorite Columbia River. Williams leads  a young Hockinson program which look to compete against Ridgefield and Mark Morris in the 2A GSHL.   Abby Olbrich also is a standout in soccer and basketball at Skyview. But she hopes tennis will be her sport in college.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008
By Somer Breeze Columbian Staff Writer

Before Abby Olbrich became a three-sport athlete at Skyview High School, soccer was her favorite.

Next came basketball, and then tennis.

After her sophomore year with the Storm, the order flip-flopped, and Olbrich, now a senior, ranks tennis as her top sport.

Olbrich did not participate in soccer last fall so she could take private tennis lessons to prepare for this season, as well as beyond.

“It wasn’t really (a hard decision to forego soccer) because I knew I wanted to play tennis in college,” Olbrich said.

Olbrich took lessons in the summer, and then continued her instruction in the fall. But all the extra time she spent on the tennis court was sidelined once sport No. 2 picked up in the winter — basketball.

“She (took lessons) and then played basetball for four months,” Skyview tennis coach Mark Ray said. “The first time she came out practicing after she came back from state for basketball, it was like her mind wanted to hit the shot the way she knew how to hit the shot, but she couldn’t do it. Almost by the minute you can see her getting back in her tennis legs and tennis body and tennis mindset.”

But this time, she is in a different state of mind than the previous tennis seasons. For the last three years Olbrich has been a part of a district championship doubles team for the Storm, the past two seasons with Sarah Click.

Olbrich and Click placed fourth at the state tournament last year and Click went on to play for Linfield College.

Without Click for a partner, Olbrich is leaning toward playing singles.

“I still like doubles and I might play a couple matches during the season,” Olbrich said. “My doubles partner isn’t here, and I like playing with her. And just to get a change, since I’ve played doubles for three years.”

Olbrich and Click may very well play together again next season. Olbrich is looking into Linfield as her possible next step. But until then, she is focused on a different challenge.

“I’m so used to doubles that I need to get back to my singles game,” she said. “Doubles, you’re at the net the whole time. I just need to work on my game all-around.”

Ray said he has already seen an improvement in Olbrich’s playing due to the extra training. While she was already a key player, he said she is now putting a little more pop on the ball.

“She sees the court wonderfully well, and that’s how she beats a lot of players,” Ray said. “She doesn’t overpower them. She doesn’t have one particular weapon that she can use against them, but she’s just really tenacious.”

The Skyview coach said the level of play in singles at state is very high. But Olbrich has shown in past seasons that she can be competitive amongst top competition, despite having only a fraction of the experience.

Olbrich played some singles matches last year, facing eventual state champion Natalia Agarycheva of Prairie, and then-Evergreen’s Christina Le (third at state). While she didn’t win a match against either one of them, she raised her game.

“Abby has a way of going against strong players, and kind of morph her game to play up or against them and exploit some of their weaknesses very well,” Ray said. “She is really adaptable.”

After helping the Skyview girls basketball team bring home the program’s first ever state trophy this year, one more piece of hardware would is how Olbrich wants her career to end.

“Getting a (state) trophy in tennis would make my year,” Olbrich said.