ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Daria Smetannikov won the No. 6 singles in three sets, lifting fourth-seeded Texas A&M to a 4-1 win over second-seeded Auburn on Sunday for the Aggies’ second NCAA women’s tennis title.
Smetannikov, a senior from New Jersey, defeated Ava Esposito 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 to clinch the title while the No. 1 and No. 2 singles were both in the third set.
Lexington Reed won the No. 4 singles 7-6, 6-3 over Merna Refaat and Violeta Martinez took the No. 4 matchup 7-5, 6-1 over Ashton Bowers.
The Aggies made three consecutive championship appearances, beginning when the Aggies won the program’s only national title in 2024.
Texas A&M won the doubles point and the contest was stopped shortly after the singles matches started because of lightning in the area.
The Tigers defeated No. 3 Ohio State 4-1 in the semifinals Saturday to clinch their first national championship appearance. Auburn won the SEC regular season title and SEC Championship for the first time in program history. Texas A&M beat No. 2 Georgia 4-3 in the other semifinal.
The Aggies beat Auburn 4-3 at home on April 12, but the Tigers beat Texas A&M 4-1 in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament.
Angella Okutoyi defeated Ilinca Amariei 6-2, 6-2 in No. 3 singles for Auburn’s only point.
Smetannikov and Reed won their No. 3 doubles match 6-1 over Ekaterina Khairutdinova and Bowers. The Aggies got the doubles point when Lucciana Perez and Mia Kupres edged Ava Esposito and DJ Bennett 7-6.
Perez, who finished with a 28-0 record, was leading Bennett 4-3 in the third set on the No. 1 court when Smetannikov clinched the championship. Kupres and Khairutdinova were tied 1-1 in the third at No. 2.
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