The University of Mississippi Athletics
Lady Rebel Netters To CompeteIn Riviera All-American Championships
10/16/2000 | Women's Tennis
Oct. 16, 2000
OXFORD, Miss.--Members of the Ole Miss women's tennis team will be competing in the Riviera All-American Championships this week at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. The qualifying tournament begins Tuesday, and the main draw starts Thursday.
Sophomore Mira Radu and junior Alesya Ignatieva will begin competing in the qualifying tournament Tuesday to try and earn a spot in the main draw. Radu will also compete in the doubles qualifying with Julie DeRoo, which also begins on Tuesday. Radu advanced to the quarterfinals at the T. Rowe Price National Clay Court Championships in September upsetting the No. 2 seed along the way.
DeRoo, preseason ranked No. 22 in the nation, received an automatic berth into the main draw singles. She advanced to the semifinals at the Clay Courts in September, marking six out of eight years that the Lady Rebels have had a semifinalist at that tournament.
The Lady Rebels have also had great success at the All-American Championships. Former All-American Paloma Collantes won the event twice in 1991 and 1992, four-time All-American Agnes Muzamel reached the finals in 1996 and Celeste Frey made the semifinals at last year's tournament.
The Riviera All-American Championships is the second leg of the collegiate grand slam. It features 32 of the top women's tennis players in the nation. A total of 24 players earned automatic berths into the main draw and eight will advance from the qualifying tournament.