CHAMPIONS! Texas A&M women's tennis captures first national title

Etched into the history books.

For the first time ever, the Texas A&M women’s tennis team has won a national championship.

In Stillwater, Oklahoma, the No. 13 Aggies upset the No. 7 Georgia Bulldogs, 4-1, to bring a title back to College Station.

“It’s been a wild rush,” head coach Mark Weaver said. "I don’t know that reality has set in. There is so much excitement right now.”

Prior to Sunday, A&M faced Georgia three times and dropped each contest.

The fourth meeting served as an opportunity for A&M to get the Bulldogs back when it mattered the most.

The match provided its fair share of theatrics as the Dawgs refused to go down with out a fight, but the Aggies remained in driver’s seat.

The night began with tight doubles action, which was briefly delayed due to Inclement weather. Yet, the hold-up and move inside did not phase Courts No. 2 and No. 3.

"Outside, we were dragging a little bit.” Mary Stoiana said.

“Everyone got so charged. Everyone got this huge boost of energy but it was like 8 or 9 p.m… I was shocked awake.”

Carson Branstine/Lucciana Perez and Nicole Khirin/Jeanette Mireles claimed victories soon after moving into Oklahoma State’s indoor facility to clinch the doubles point.

A&M’s Mary Stoiana and Branstine both carried individual momentum over to singles play, jumping out to 2-1 and 3-0 leads and were the first two to take their initial set.

On Court No. 5, Perez wasted no time to win another first set for the Aggies. Khirin also did her job, winning 6-4 to put Georgia down four first sets.

Yet, the Dawgs kept fighting. A straight-set victory for Anastasiia Lopata over Mia Kupres tied things up.

But A&M punched right back.

Perez edged out Georgia’s Guillermina Grant in a second set tiebreaker to grab ahold of a 2-1 lead.

Jamie Maury, TexAgs

Mark Weaver has been the head coach at Texas A&M since 2015 and a volunteer since 1999. He also played tennis in Aggieland in the 1990s.

After Branstine failed to seal four match points, Alexandra Vecic forced a third set to increase the championship’s dramatics.

But over on Court No. 1, Stoiana fought her way back from down 6-5 and into a tiebreaker to eventually put the Aggies one point away from the national title.

“I love everything that Mary stands for,” Weaver said. “I love the way that she handles herself, and she goes about her business very calm and sure of herself."

“She is No. 1 in the nation, and she does it doing all the right things."

It was Khirin who clinched A&M’s crown with a 6-1 third-set victory.

A&M’s path to glory came by way of a dominant 2024 SEC campaign.

With a 12-1 conference record, the Aggies are no stranger to crowns. They claimed a third straight SEC regular-season title earlier this year.

Falling to Georgia in the conference Tournament final, A&M made sure that was their last stumble of the season.

The Maroon & White glided through the NCAA Tournament, taking down A&M-Corpus Christi, Oklahoma, No. 4 North Carolina, No. 5 Virginia and No. 16 Tennessee to earn a spot in the title match.

In his ninth year at the helm and 25th with the program, this serves as Mark Weaver’s first-ever national title in what has been an incredibly successful coaching career thus far.

His nickname, “Dream Weaver,” based on Gary Wright’s 1975 hit song, held true on Sunday night.

A&M’s dream run is now woven into the fabric of NCAA women’s tennis history.

“It means the absolute world to us,” Stoiana said. “It’s a goal we have been working towards all season."

Results: NCAA Tournament - Finals

Singles

• Court No. 1: Mary Stoiana (A&M) def. Dasha Vidmanova (6-1, 7-6)
• Court No. 2: Carson Branstine (A&M) vs. Alexandra Vecic (6-2, 5-7, 5-0 - unfinished)
• Court No. 3: Nicole Khirin (A&M) def. Mell Reasco (6-4, 3-6, 6-1)
• Court No. 4: Anastasiia Lopata (UGA) def. Mia Kupres (6-4, 6-1)
• Court No. 5: Lucciana Perez (A&M) def. Guillermina Grant (6-2, 7-6)
• Court No. 6: Jeanette Mireles (A&M) vs. Mai Nirundorn (6-7, 5-4 - unfinished)

Doubles

• Court No. 1: Kupres/Stoiana (A&M) vs. Mert/Vidmanova (4-5 - unfinished)
• Court No. 2: Branstine/Perez (A&M) def. Grant/Nirundorn (6-4)
• Court No. 3: Khirin/Mireles (A&M) def. Lopata/Reasco (6-3)