NorCal's Volynets can make history with title

Katie Volynets could become the first girl to win
the Eddie Herr and Orange Bowl 16s titles in
the same year. 2015 photo by Paul Bauman

   Katie Volynets of Walnut Creek in the San Francisco Bay Area can become the first girl to win the Eddie Herr and Orange Bowl 16s titles in the same year.
   Volynets dismissed Angelica Blake of Boca Raton, Fla., 6-2, 6-3 on Friday in a semifinal matchup of unseeded players in the Orange Bowl on clay in Plantation, Fla. It was Volynets' 11th consecutive singles victory.
   Volynets defeated Blake 0-6, 7-5, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of last week's Eddie Herr International Championships en route to the title of the hardcourt tournament in Bradenton, Fla.
   Volynets will face 14th-seeded Imani Graham of Saint Johns, Fla., today at 7 a.m. PST. Graham beat qualifier Arabella Koller of Austria 6-1, 7-6 (4).
   Both finalists will turn 15 this month.
   Volynets defeated Graham 6-3, 6-4 in the second round in Tulsa, Okla., in October.
   In the boys 18 quarterfinals, unseeded Sebastian Baez of Argentina overwhelmed 13th-seeded Sam Riffice of Roseville in the Sacramento area 6-0, 6-0.
   Baez won the 16s title last year. Riffice swept the Eddie Herr and Orange Bowl 16s crowns two years ago.