Saturday, May 16
Athens, Ga.
6:00 PM
Texas A&M
4
at
3
Georgia
Photo by: Cooper Daniels/Texas A&M Athletics
No. 3 Aggies Roar Back to Earn Third Straight NCAA Title Match Spot
May 16, 2026 | Women's Tennis
ATHENS – The No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies mounted a monumental comeback to earn a spot in their third consecutive NCAA Women's Tennis Championship Final. Trailing 3-1 against the home squad, the Maroon & White pulled out a 4-3 victory over No. 2 Georgia Saturday evening at the Magill Tennis Complex.
Continuing her epic junior campaign, No. 1 Lucciana Perez earned the clinching point to improve to 28-0 on the season. She rattled off a 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3 victory over No. 19 Anastasiia Lopata on court 1 to seal the deal. It marked the 18th ranked win of the season for the Lima, Peru, native.
Texas A&M (27-5) was doomed in doubles action for the fourth straight match. Georgia (22-6) claimed the point with No. 19 Lopata/Patricija Paukstyte topping No. 11 Perez/Mia Kupres on court 1, 6-2, and No. 4 Deniz Dilek/Aysegul Mert besting No. 35 Violeta Martinez/Ilinca Amariei on court 2, 6-3.
Momentum continued to build for the Bulldogs after prevailing in the only two first set tiebreakers. The first resulted in a 7-6(3), 6-1 win for No. 64 Deliz over No. 71 Amariei on court 3 to put Georgia up 2-0.
No. 50 Kupres worked hard to earn one last collegiate match with her effort on court 2. She toppled No. 7 Mert, 6-4, 6-2.
The Bulldogs' other tie-breaker triumph produced a 7-6(3), 6-1 victory by No. 93 Emma Dong against No. 106 Lexington Reed on court 4, putting Georgia one match away from the title bout.
The Aggies rallied the troops with the last three matches headed to third sets. One night after her thrilling quarterfinal victory, Martinez scored another big blow. This time she topped No. 81 Sofia Rojas 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 on court 5 to stem the tide.
No. 98 Daria Smetannikov followed with a 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 triumph over Paukstyte on court 6, to pull the Aggies and Bulldogs even at 3-3.
The Aggies face No. 1 Auburn Sunday for the national title. Doubles action starts at 6 p.m.
#3 Texas A&M 4, #2 Georgia 3
Magill Tennis Complex – Athens, Georgia
SINGLES
#1 Lucciana Perez (A&M) def. #19 Anastasiia Lopata (UGA) – 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3
#50 Mia Kupres (A&M) def. #7 Aysegul Mert (UGA) – 6-4, 6-2
#64 Deniz Dilek (UGA) def. #71 Ilinca Amariei (A&M) – 7-6(3), 6-1
#93 Emma Dong (UGA) def. #106 Lexington Reed (A&M) – 7-6(1), 6-1
Violeta Martinez (A&M) def. #81 Sofia Rojas (UGA) – 1-6, 7-5, 6-3
#98 Daria Smetannikov (A&M) def. Patricija Paukstyte (UGA) – 6-3, 2-6, 7-5
Order of finish: 3,2,4,5,6,1
DOUBLES
#19 Anastasiia Lopata/Patricija Paukstyte (UGA) def. #11 Lucciana Perez/Mia Kupres (A&M) – 6-2
#4 Deniz Dilek/Aysegul Mert (UGA) def. #35 Violeta Martinez/Ilinca Amariei (A&M) – 6-3
Daria Smetannikov/Lexington Reed (A&M) vs. Emma Dong/Anastasiia Gureva (UGA)– 5-4, unfinished
Order of finish: 1,2
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Weaver
On the match...
"This is an amazing college tennis atmosphere in Georgia with unbelievable representation. It's one of the most exciting college tennis matches, whoever you're a part of, and I think for our girls to face a thousand people, yelling and screaming, pretty impressive effort there. That was an unbelievable fight by the girls once again and an amazing comeback."
Junior Lucciana Perez
On clinching to advance Texas A&M to the Final Four...
"It feels amazing. I told you last night we were ready to fight in every single position. We knew this was going to be a battle. The crowd was amazing, the atmosphere was incredible, but we just fought so hard, and it really showed all the work we have put in this year."
FOLLOW THE AGGIES
Visit 12thman.com for more information on Texas A&M women's tennis. Fans can keep up to date with the A&M women's tennis team on Facebook, Instagram, and on X by following @AggieWTEN.
Continuing her epic junior campaign, No. 1 Lucciana Perez earned the clinching point to improve to 28-0 on the season. She rattled off a 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3 victory over No. 19 Anastasiia Lopata on court 1 to seal the deal. It marked the 18th ranked win of the season for the Lima, Peru, native.
Texas A&M (27-5) was doomed in doubles action for the fourth straight match. Georgia (22-6) claimed the point with No. 19 Lopata/Patricija Paukstyte topping No. 11 Perez/Mia Kupres on court 1, 6-2, and No. 4 Deniz Dilek/Aysegul Mert besting No. 35 Violeta Martinez/Ilinca Amariei on court 2, 6-3.
Momentum continued to build for the Bulldogs after prevailing in the only two first set tiebreakers. The first resulted in a 7-6(3), 6-1 win for No. 64 Deliz over No. 71 Amariei on court 3 to put Georgia up 2-0.
No. 50 Kupres worked hard to earn one last collegiate match with her effort on court 2. She toppled No. 7 Mert, 6-4, 6-2.
The Bulldogs' other tie-breaker triumph produced a 7-6(3), 6-1 victory by No. 93 Emma Dong against No. 106 Lexington Reed on court 4, putting Georgia one match away from the title bout.
The Aggies rallied the troops with the last three matches headed to third sets. One night after her thrilling quarterfinal victory, Martinez scored another big blow. This time she topped No. 81 Sofia Rojas 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 on court 5 to stem the tide.
No. 98 Daria Smetannikov followed with a 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 triumph over Paukstyte on court 6, to pull the Aggies and Bulldogs even at 3-3.
The Aggies face No. 1 Auburn Sunday for the national title. Doubles action starts at 6 p.m.
#3 Texas A&M 4, #2 Georgia 3
Magill Tennis Complex – Athens, Georgia
SINGLES
#1 Lucciana Perez (A&M) def. #19 Anastasiia Lopata (UGA) – 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3
#50 Mia Kupres (A&M) def. #7 Aysegul Mert (UGA) – 6-4, 6-2
#64 Deniz Dilek (UGA) def. #71 Ilinca Amariei (A&M) – 7-6(3), 6-1
#93 Emma Dong (UGA) def. #106 Lexington Reed (A&M) – 7-6(1), 6-1
Violeta Martinez (A&M) def. #81 Sofia Rojas (UGA) – 1-6, 7-5, 6-3
#98 Daria Smetannikov (A&M) def. Patricija Paukstyte (UGA) – 6-3, 2-6, 7-5
Order of finish: 3,2,4,5,6,1
DOUBLES
#19 Anastasiia Lopata/Patricija Paukstyte (UGA) def. #11 Lucciana Perez/Mia Kupres (A&M) – 6-2
#4 Deniz Dilek/Aysegul Mert (UGA) def. #35 Violeta Martinez/Ilinca Amariei (A&M) – 6-3
Daria Smetannikov/Lexington Reed (A&M) vs. Emma Dong/Anastasiia Gureva (UGA)– 5-4, unfinished
Order of finish: 1,2
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Weaver
On the match...
"This is an amazing college tennis atmosphere in Georgia with unbelievable representation. It's one of the most exciting college tennis matches, whoever you're a part of, and I think for our girls to face a thousand people, yelling and screaming, pretty impressive effort there. That was an unbelievable fight by the girls once again and an amazing comeback."
Junior Lucciana Perez
On clinching to advance Texas A&M to the Final Four...
"It feels amazing. I told you last night we were ready to fight in every single position. We knew this was going to be a battle. The crowd was amazing, the atmosphere was incredible, but we just fought so hard, and it really showed all the work we have put in this year."
FOLLOW THE AGGIES
Visit 12thman.com for more information on Texas A&M women's tennis. Fans can keep up to date with the A&M women's tennis team on Facebook, Instagram, and on X by following @AggieWTEN.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,2
#1 Singles Match
123
666
Anastasiia Lopata / 0 (19/-) [UGA]
173
#2 Singles Match
12
66
Aysegul Mert / 0 (7/-) [UGA]
42
#3 Singles Match
12
61
Deniz Dilek / 0 [UGA]
76
#4 Singles Match
12
61
Emma Dong / 0 (93/-) [UGA]
76
#5 Singles Match
123
176
Sofia Rojas / 0 (81/-) [UGA]
653
#6 Singles Match
123
627
Patricija Paukstyte / 0 [UGA]
365
Order of Finish:
3,2,4,5,6,1
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
Georgia Postgame: Mark Weaver, Lucciana Perez
Saturday, May 16
USC Postgame: Mark Weaver, Mia Kupres, Lexington Reed
Friday, May 08
Baylor Postgame: Mark Weaver, Mia Kupres
Sunday, May 03
Quinnipiac Postgame: Mark Weaver, Lucciana Perez
Saturday, May 02
