Hall of Fame
Olga Hlushchanka was a three-year player for Vanguard which began in her sophomore year in 2003 through her senior season in 2005. She was a thee time All-GSAC player for the dominant women’s tennis program as well as earning NAIA All-American First Team her final two seasons. The most influential statistic of Olga’s career is 90 career singles victories compared to only three loses, all at the number one position on the court, where she faced off against the best singles player from the other squad each time.
She transferred to Vanguard from North Greenfield College, where she led that team to an NCCAA National Championship and a spot on both the All-Tournament Team for singles and doubles. She wasted no time getting her feet wet in the NAIA competition at VU, as she was a key piece of the Lions getting back to the national tournament for the first time since 1999.
Hlushchanka, originally from Minsk, Belarus, remained undefeated in singles play throughout the 2004 season and led the Lions to their first women’s tennis GSAC championship. She was the runner-up at the NAIA Region II tournament, which helped Vanguard to its third trip to the NAIA national tournament. In addition to her NAIA First Team All-America selection, the ITA also labeled Hlushchanka the “Player to Watch” for the NAIA. She helped Vanguard establish a school record with an overall record of 24-3. Brown, who was paired with Hlushchanka to form the top doubles team for Vanguard, was named to the NAIA Second Team All-American list. The duo led the Lions to a third-place finish at the 2004 NAIA women’s tennis championships, the highest finish for the women’s program.
Despite some injuries early in the 2005 season, the two-time NAIA All-American began the year with a 10-0 singles record as VU’s number one player, helping lead the Lions to a 14-0 team record to start the year and a #2 ranking in the NAIA.
The highly ranked Lions ran into a wall against NCAA Division II UWF, losing 6-3, and against NAIA Defending National Champion Auburn-Montgomery, losing 7-2. Although the Lions could not take down their southern opponents, Hlushchanka was as unstoppable as ever, defeating UWF’s top player 6-4, 6-1, and combined with Amy Brown for a 9-7 win in the number one doubles match. Against AUM, Olga came from behind to defeat AUM’s number one player 4-6, 6-1 (10-2) to keep her 41-match winning streak alive. During her senior season, she was the highest ranked singles player in the nation for the second straight year.
