OU Women's Tennis Defeats No. 34 Missouri

April 13, 2003

NORMAN, Okla. - Oklahoma junior Anda Perianu (Braila, Romania) fought off one match point and won a third-set tie-breaker, 8-6, to defeat Missouri's 34th-ranked Urska Juric and clinch OU's 4-3 win over No. 34 Missouri Sunday at the OU Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman. The 29th-ranked Sooner women stayed in the hunt for the Big 12 Conference regular season title improving to 7-2 in the league and 18-3 on the season while the Tigers dropped to 4-5 in conference and 12-6 overall.

Perianu, ranked 80th by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, increased her current winning streak to eight matches and is now 18-2 at No. 1 singles. She is 4-1 against ranked foes and 8-1 against conference opponents.

The Sooner ladies dropped the doubles point for only the fourth time this season. OU's Annette Bryntesson (Perth, Australia) and Bethany Griffin (Amarillo, Texas) picked up their 12th victory at No. 2 doubles with an 8-3 win over MU's Mary Barry and Brittney Holliday. OU's 38th-ranked duo of Anda Perianu (Braila, Romania) and Heather Saluri (Des Moines, Iowa) fought hard but fell, 8-6, to the Tigers' 15th-ranked pair of Juric and Katka Sevcikova. Mizzou's Hana Kraftova and Lucie Ruskova won the doubles point for the Tigers with an 8-6 win at No. 3 over Sooners Melissa Mendieta (San Jose, Costa Rica) and Jessica Braver (Edmond, Okla.).

OU's Saluri evened up the score, 1-1, with a straight-set win over Kristina Olshanskaya at No. 4 singles while Sooner senior Mendieta put OU on top with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Ruskova at No. 6. Griffin increased the Sooner lead at No. 5 defeating MU's Barry, 6-3, 6-4.

The Tigers tied the score with two three-set victories at No. 2 and 3 singles before Perianu's heroics at No. 1 clinched the Sooner win. OU senior Elena Jirnova (Kiev, Ukraine) took the first set of her match and led in the second set before falling to MU's Kraftova, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. Bryntesson narrowly lost a first-set tie-breaker, 7-6, claimed the second set, 6-4, and fought hard to the end of the third set where she was defeated by Kraftova, 6-4.

Oklahoma resumes conference play Thursday, April 17, against the No. 41 Baylor (9-10, 7-1 Big 12). Match time is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the OU Headington Family Tennis Center.

No. 29 Oklahoma 4, No. 34 Missouri 3
Sunday, April 13
OU Headington Family Tennis Center
Norman, Okla.

Singles 1. (#80) Anda Perianu (OU) def. (#34) Urska Juric (MU) 6-7, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) 2. Katka Sevcikova (MU) def. Elena Jirnova (OU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 3. Hana Kraftova (MU) def. Annette Bryntesson (OU) 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 4. Heather Saluri (OU) def. Kristina Olshanskaya (MU) 6-1, 6-3 5. Bethany Griffin (OU) def. Mary Barry (MU) 6-3, 6-4 6. Melissa Mendieta (OU) def. Lucie Ruskova (MU) 6-3, 7-5

Doubles 1. (#15) Juric/Sevcikova (MU) def. (#38) Perianu/Saluri (OU) 8-6 2. Bryntesson/Griffin (OU) def. Barry/Brittney Holliday (MU) 8-3 3. Kraftova/Ruskova (MU) def. Jessica Braver/Mendieta (OU) 8-6

University of Oklahoma Athletics

OU Women's Tennis Defeats No. 34 Missouri

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