By Shannon Russell
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Two years after winning the Thomas E. Price Cincinnati Metropolitan Tennis Championship, top-seeded women's singles player Tania Luzhanska made a quiet return to the Lunken Playfield clay courts Thursday afternoon.

After waiting out a first-round bye and a second-round win by default, the 18-year-old Ukrainian-born player competed in her first Met tournament match as a quarterfinalist - and she didn't disappoint.

Luzhanska ousted unseeded Michelle Evans 6-2, 6-1 in less than an hour to advance to Saturday's semifinals. She'll play No. 3 seed Lyndsey Molony.

But Luzhanska said her tennis hasn't been in sync since she learned her first opponent withdrew and her Tuesday match was erased.

"The thing is, when you know you're supposed to play on Tuesday, you set your mind to it. Then it's off and you lose something," Luzhanska said. "Now I'm playing and it's almost the end of the tournament."

She lives in Florida most of the year and attends the International Tennis Academy in Del Ray Beach. Her mother, Vicky, lives in Sharonville.

When she's not playing in 20 annual tournaments, Luzhanska is earning her high school diploma online. Her classwork includes algebra, history, English and personal fitness. She expects to graduate in two months.

Luzhanska, who sat out last year's Met to recover from right shoulder and left wrist surgeries, plans to make the tournament an annual tradition.

"I always feel like a queen here," Luzhanska said.

STAYING ALIVE: Top-seeded men's singles player Cedric Kauffmann beat Walnut Hills standout Eric Thomas 6-2, 6-2 before the tournament's largest crowd. Kauffmann said the 100-plus fans, most of whom were cheering for eighth-seeded Thomas, didn't faze him.

"It's great to have fun with it," Kauffmann said. "If I got mad, it would make things worse."

DEBUT: Kara Molony-Hussey, the women's No. 2, defeated Kelly Fischer 6-0, 6-2 Thursday. Molony-Hussey advanced to the quarterfinals via a first-round bye and second-round withdrawal.

WHEW! Fourth seed Isaac Yarrell outlasted No. 13 Rob Altenau 6-4, 7-5 to qualify for his third straight Met semifinal.

He won't face defending singles champ Rey Puentes, who played only doubles this year. Puentes knocked Yarrell out of the tournament the last two years.

"It's a lot easier to concentrate now," Yarrell said. "There are a lot of new people and a lot of new challenges."

TODAY'S SCHEDULE: Men's and women's doubles champions will be crowned tonight. Both finals matches begin at 6:30 p.m.

Defending doubles champs Dan Kronauge and Jeff Wolf play No. 3 seed Ryan McCarthy and Jason Zimmermann. Kronauge and Wolf have won the last three doubles titles and have collaborated on four of the last five championships.

The top-seeded Molony sisters - Lyndsey, and Kara Molony-Hussey - face No. 2 seed Keri Preng and Angela (Farley) Wilson. The Molonys won Met titles in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2002.

E-mail srussell@enquirer.com