Texas A&M Claims a Second NCAA Title in Yet Another Late Night Finish, Defeating Auburn 4-1

©Colette Lewis 2026--
Athens GA--

The 2026 NCAA Women's Division I Championships will be remembered as Late Night with the Aggies, with No. 4 seed Texas A&M beating No. 2 seed Auburn 4-1 Sunday night in their third straight midnight finish at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

"The later the better," said head coach Mark Weaver, who actually welcomed the hour long lightning delay shortly after the start of singles. "I was actually pretty excited about the lightning delay, to be honest with you, because I thought it played into our hands more. Auburn's been playing earlier all week and we've played at 10, 11, 12 o'clock at night the past five days, so it just felt like another match."

Texas A&M had lost the doubles point in their past four matches, in the regional final, the Super Regional and in their 4-3 quarterfinal and semifinal victories, so once they collected the 68-minute doubles point with a 7-6(3) win by Lucciana Perez and Mia Kupres over DJ Bennett and Ava Esposito at line 1 Weaver could relax a bit.

"I don't think anyone expected us to win the doubles, but I felt really good about it," Weaver said. "I know that sounds crazy, and I know most people thought we were going to lose five in a row, but I felt like eventually it's got to go your way. I felt really good once we got the doubles; I knew we could find at least three out there."

After the lightning delay, Auburn came out strong, winning three first sets before Texas A&M got one, but the Aggies won the next three and were able to get splits at lines 1 and 6, opening up multiple paths for themselves. 

Violeta Martinez, who clinched the Aggies' 4-3 post-midnight quarterfinal victory over North Carolina, avoided that situation again tonight, delivering the first singles point with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Ashton Bowers at line 5. Angella Okutoyi got the Tigers on the board with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Ilinca Amariei at line 3, but five minutes later Lexington Reed made it 3-1 A&M with a 7-6(5), 6-3 win over Merna Refaat at line 4. 

With Perez taking the second set from Bennett on court 1 and grabbing an early break in the third, the undefeated junior from Peru looked to be heading toward the clinch, despite needing an IV in the wee hours of Sunday morning after her 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3 win over Anastasia Lopata of Georgia sent her team to its third straight NCAA final.

But Daria Smetannikov was also in position to close it out, with the senior from New Jersey breaking on a deciding point to take a 5-4 lead in the third set over Esposito. Smetannikov fell behind 15-40 in the game, but calmly made her way back to another deuce point and when Esposito sprayed a forehand, the celebration could begin.

 

Smetannikov didn't play in Texas A&M's final in 2024, but she credits her coaches for helping her improve enought to become a major contributor to their second title.

"I give a lot of credit to the coaches here," said Smetannikov, who was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. "They've helped me so much to develop my game, from hitting mindlessly to stepping back and being patient, waiting for the right one."

Smetannikov said the repercussions of their long, late, tense quarterfinal and semifinal wins were not physical, as would be expected, but mental.

"The matches this year were so tight and so physical, 4-3, 4-3, so to come into the final after those to matches, as a group we were so pulled together, we were so motivated. After that, we had this confidence in ourselves. Winning this just means so much to us, after the hard work we've put in this entire year."

Weaver was reluctant to compare his team's second title to their first in 2024, but considers this on at least as sweet, given the lack of respect for their prospects after the departure of former ITA No. 1 Mary Stoiana.

"In a lot of ways this one was more enjoyable," Weaver said. "We had a lot more challenges against us this year, a lot more adversity. There was a lot of uncertainty this season, picked fifth in the SEC and I think a lot people probably didn't think we'd make the Sweet 16 this year....just truly heart of champions by the girls, the most resilient group I've ever been around. Grit and determination, playing with heart, truly so proud of this group of young ladies."

Auburn head coach Jordan Szabo, who was the associate head coach in College Station when they won the 2024 title, was also proud of the strides his team made to reach the program's first NCAA quarterfinal, semifinal and final after winning a first SEC title.

"They have nothing to hold their heads down about," Szabo said. "They're the most amazing group of girls, the easiest group of girls I've ever had to coach. They should feel really good about what they achieved. Did we get the long drink of water we wanted at the end of the day? No. But we just didn't play our best match."

Texas A&M[4] 4 Auburn[2] 1

Doubles:

1. Lucciana Perez and Mia Kupres(TAMU) d. Ava Esposito and DJ Bennett(AUB) 7-6(3)

2. Angella Okutoyi and Merna Refaat(AUB) d. Violeta Martinez and Ilinca Amariei(TAM) 6-1

3. Daria Smetannikov and Lexington Reed(TAMU) d. Ekaterina Khayrutdinova and Ashton Bowers(3) 6-1

Order of finish 2, 3, 1

Singles:

1. Lucciana Perez(TAMU) v DJ Bennett(AUB) 2-6, 6-2, 4-3 unf.

2. Mia Kupres(TAMU) v Ekaterina Khatrutdinova(AUB) 7-6(2), 3-6, 1-1

3. Angella Okutoyi(AUB) d. Ilinca Amariei(TAMU) 6-2, 6-2

4. Lexington Reed(TAMU) d. Merna Refaat(AUB) 7-6(5), 6-3

5. Violeta Martinez(TAMU) d. Ashton Bowers(AUB) 7-5, 6-1

6. Daria Smetannikova(TAMU) d. Ava Esposito(AUB) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4

Order of finish: 5, 3, 4, 6