In a highly anticipated showdown between the top two teams in collegiate women’s tennis, the No. 2 Texas A&M Aggies faced off against the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs in the ITA Indoor Championship Finals. It was a rematch of the 2024 NCAA National Championship, where A&M made history by securing its first national title with a dramatic win over Georgia. This time, however, the Bulldogs got their revenge with a dominant 4-1 victory to claim the indoor crown.
The Maroon and White came into the game on a hot streak, shutting out Illinois 4-0 to start the tournament, followed by back-to-back 4-2 victories over SEC rivals Texas and Oklahoma. The Bulldogs came on the back of a dominant run, having lost only one match the entire tournament with wins over Northwestern, Auburn and Virginia at 4-0, 4-1 and 4-0 respectively.
Junior Mia Kupres and junior Daria Smetannikov faced off against junior Anastasiia Lopata and senior Guillermina Grant in the first doubles match of the evening but were unable to withstand the pair’s pressure, losing the match 6-1. Senior Mary Stoiana and sophomore Lucciana Perez played it close versus the pair of senior Dasha Vidmanova and senior Mell Reasco, ultimately losing 7-5 in a nail-biter, handing Georgia the first point of the day and an early lead, 1-0.
With momentum on their side, the Bulldogs wasted no time extending their lead in singles play. Junior Sofia Rojas outplayed A&M’s freshman Lexington Reed, securing a 6-2, 6-4 victory to put Georgia ahead 2-0. In a surprising upset, No. 43 Perez fell to No. 75 sophomore Aysegul Mert, 6-2, 7-5, putting Georgia up, 3-0, just one win away from clinching the title.
Needing to stave off elimination, No. 101 Kupres answered the call against Reasco, dominating the first set 6-1 to give the Aggies a much-needed boost. The second set was much closer but Kupres held on, narrowly winning the tiebreak 7-6 (1) to keep the Aggies’ hopes alive.
The clinching match featured a showdown between the two schools’ aces, No. 3 Stoiana and No. 1 Vidmanova. Stoiana, the reigning ITA National Player of the Year, was unable to keep up in the first set, losing 6-1 to the 2024-2025 NCAA singles champion. The second set was a ferocious back and forth battle, ultimately going to a tiebreak where Stoiana lost in heartbreaking fashion 7-6(5) giving Georgia the 4-1 victory and the National Team Indoor Championship.
The Aggies look to rebound as they return home to face Pepperdine at the Mitchell Tennis Center on Sunday, Feb. 16.
