Texas A&M wins NCAA Women's National Championship

ATHENS, G.A. — Three days, three long matches, one national championship trophy.

Enduring a grueling trio of matches with clearly visible signs of fatigue, the Texas A&M Aggies (28-5) pushed on to secure their second national championship in three years. They defied the odds, handing Auburn (37-4) just its third doubles loss of the entire season. Meanwhile, the Aggies had lost four straight and five of their last six doubles points. That opened the path for Texas A&M to cruise to victory in singles competition.

No. 98 Daria Smettanikov clinched the win for the Aggies, taking down No. 68 Ava Esposito in a vert tight third set. She outlasted the talented Esposito, simply making more shots than her opponent.

The Aggies also secured wins on Courts 4 and 5, with the red-hot Violeta Martinez defeating No. 58 Ashton Bowers 7-5, 6-1 in her continuation of dominance in the NCAA Championships.

On Court 4, No. 106 Lexington Reed took down Merna Refaat in straight-sets, carrying the momentum from a first-set tie-break win into the second set with a 7-6, 6-3 victory.

Throughout the season, No. 1 ranked Luciana Perez led the way as she ended the year with 28 straight wins, and while she was unable to clinch the win, she was likely on pace for a 29th-straight victory.

All three of the Aggies matches were the night cap, slated for 7 p.m. None finished before 11:30 p.m. The championship match was delayed due to lightning in the area, but play was allowed to resume within the hour. Before too long, the Aggies had been crowned champions. The previous two matches, versus No. 1 Georgia in the semifinals and No. 5 UNC-Chapel Hill in the quarterfinals, were 4-3 thrillers.

But tonight, the Aggies looked more fresh than the Tigers who had won both of their previous matches 4-1.