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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
NCAA Individual Championships
Mira Radu Advances To Second Round At NCAA Singles Championship
5/19/2003 | Women's Tennis
May 19, 2003
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Ole Miss women's tennis player Mira Radu needed only a little over an hour to advance to the second round of the NCAA Singles Championship Monday at the Scott Linder Tennis Stadium on the University of Florida campus.
Radu, seeded 9-16 in the tournament and ranked 22nd in the nation, dominated Stanford's Lauren Barnikow, ranked 16th, from the beginning on her way to a 6-0, 6-1 win. She will face North Carolina's Aniela Mojzis in the second round at 9 a.m. EST.
"I played her [Lauren Barnikow] two years ago in the team regionals at the end of my sophomore year, and she beat me pretty bad," Radu said. "I felt like I couldn't do anything then. This year I feel like I have improved, and I go on the court with a lot of confidence. I knew from our previous match that I had to stay focused the entire time. I didn't want to give her any opportunity to come back. I think I did a pretty good job of that, and I'm really happy with my performance overall."
"Mira played great," head coach Mark Beyers said. "She is playing some of her best tennis right now. Not to take anything away from Mira's performance, but Barnikow seemed tired, after having played four straight days in the team championships. It's hard to go right back out there, especially when you've just lost a tough match in the final to the home team (Florida). Mira did a great job of using that fact to her advantage. Hopefully she can continue to play well and advance a long way."
This is Radu's third appearance in the NCAA Singles Championship and her second time to advance past the first round.
NCAA SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP - GAINESVILLE, Fla.
First Round
Mira Radu (OM) def. Lauren Barnikow (STAN) 6-0, 6-1
