Perez outlasts Lopata as A&M reaches Sunday's title bout

A heavyweight bout that came down to the marquee matchup on the card.

With Texas A&M and Georgia tied 3-3 in front of a hostile and boisterous Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Lucciana Perez had the match on her racquet.

And as she so often has, the junior from Peru delivered the final blow to punch the Maroon & White’s ticket to a third consecutive national title match.

“It feels amazing,” Perez said. “I told you last night we were ready to fight in every single position. We were ready. We knew this was going to be a battle. The crowd, it was an amazing atmosphere. Incredible, but we just fought so hard, and it really showed we have been working for this and the work we have put in this year.”

By defeating Anastasiia Lopata on Court 1, Perez turned Bulldog barks into wimpers as the Aggies will vie for a second championship in three years against Auburn on Sunday at 6 p.m. CT.

UGA was the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 seed. The college tennis world might view it as an epic upset, on Georgia’s home courts, no less.

The Aggies aren’t supposed to be here this year. Mary Stoiana graduated after last year’s heartbreak in Waco. Nicole Khirin is out with an injury.

But this is what Mark Weaver’s program does, and they’ve got a 5-foot-2 giant leading the way.

“We were just trying to get the heart rate as low as possible,” Perez said. “I think we both got to the limit of our bodies. Every point was a 30-shot rally. It was so hard for both of us.”

One of those rallies was 65 shots. She lost that battle but won the war.

Ranked as the No. 1 player in the nation, Perez improved to 27-0 when Lopata’s final return sailed wide, allowing her to finally rest…for now.

There’s more work to be done. That’ll come vs. Auburn on Sunday.

For now, the heavy legs might feel worth it for another dance with destiny.

And it’s a dance that almost didn’t come.

Again, A&M dropped the doubles point.

Ninety minutes before the final point fell, the Aggies were down 3-1 after Ilinca Amariei and Lexington Reed fell in straight sets.

But each point counts, and each game matters.

See Mia Kupres breezing by Aysegul Mert on Court 2 (6-4, 6-2). See Violeta Martinez’s personal comeback on Court 5.

After dropping the opening set to Sofia Rojas 6-1, Martinez found herself in a 4-1 hole.

The Illinois transfer won three straight games and six of the next seven to force a decisive final frame, which she claimed 6-3 to pull A&M within proximity.

Drawing even was up to Daria Smetannikov, who battled a boisterous Patricija Paukstyte in a back-and-forth third set.

Leading 6-5, the senior from New Jersey broke the Lithuanian’s serve as Smetannikov’s play drowned out the yelling (6-3, 2-6, 7-5) and shifted the spotlight to the superstars on Court 1.

“At the end, watching everyone on the team just cheering for you, you just want to fight even harder,” Perez said. “It’s amazing to do this with this group of girls, and so proud of everybody.”

Her heroics were almost unnecessary. She had a chance to pick up a quick win and rest, but Lopata took a second-set tiebreak, 7-5.

There, in the middle of the ring that was Court 1, Perez fought off the Bulldogs and fatigue to win (6-3, 6-7, 6-3) and enact revenge for a March 12 loss in Aggieland.

By doing so, Weaver’s heavyweights will again play for another heavy piece of hardware.