COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — Texas A&M women's tennis capped one of the greatest seasons in program history, claiming the national championship, the National Player of the Year award and the National Coach of the Year award.
Head coach Mark Weaver, who earned his second national title in 3 seasons, said the recognition is meaningful — but the team trophy matters most.
"Winning the 2nd national title this year, that means so much to me, much more so than the individual award, but I'll definitely take the Coach of the Year award as well," Weaver said. "I've never been one for the personal accolades so much, but I'll definitely treasure the Coach of the Year award, that's for sure."
The Aggies were led by National Player of the Year Lucciana Perez, who finished the season a perfect 28-0 in singles. Perez is the second Aggie ever to win the award.
"To not lose a match with the schedule that we have — it's the toughest schedule in the nation," Weaver said. "Very, very happy for Lucciana."
The championship run came despite significant adversity. The team lost Mary Stoiana to graduation — a player Weaver described as perhaps the best in college tennis over the last 4 years — and Nicole Khirin, the highest-rated college player by UTR standards, went down with an injury during the season.
"I would say the grit and the toughness of our team this year was just unmatched this season, just a group of young women that made their mind up that they're gonna get the job done this year," Weaver said. "The talent, we had the talent, but there were definitely some other teams that were more talented than us on paper. I think it's just the day in, day out of doing the right things, the work ethic, the culture that we have, and just some great leaders on the team."
Weaver credited the program's recruiting philosophy as the foundation of that culture.
"We try our best to bring in the right people here," Weaver said. "We want the best tennis players that we can find, but also the best people that we can find. As far as the human being factor, we had a great group of people that were all working together on the same mission."
He also reflected on what made this group stand out beyond the court.
"I think we live in a world these days where maybe everyone's not quite so grateful and appreciative," Weaver said. "I really think our group of young women this year was just really grateful for the opportunity they've been given here at Texas A&M. And I really think they wanted to give back to our university and that was really neat to see."
Now, Weaver is already focused on defending the title in 2027. The program secured the No. 1 high school recruiting class in the nation and added 3 transfers, including 2 from the transfer portal that Weaver called among the best available. The team will return only 2 players while bringing in 8 new ones.
"Excited about next year's season, only returning two players and replacing them with 8 — that's a tricky one, but we feel like we've really worked hard and put ourselves in a good position to stay on the similar type level that we've been on," Weaver said.
The defending national championship has also proven to be a powerful recruiting tool.
"I think we've got a group that wants to come in and help us compete for 4 more national titles," Weaver said. "The NIL is a big factor in the recruiting these days, but at the end of the day, I've been able to say that we're gonna try to defend our national title in 2027. I think that's a great motivation for the right players out there."
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