All-American Mary Stoiana & the Ags start their title defense on Friday

The nation's No. 2 overall seed, Texas A&M women's tennis will face Quinnipiac on Friday afternoon at the Mitchell Tennis Center as the 2025 NCAA Tournament gets underway. During Thursday's edition of TexAgs Live, Mary Stoiana spoke about the road ahead.

Key notes from Mary Stoiana interview

• It's been super exciting coming back and knowing that the goal at the end of the season is waiting for us. A national championship is our ultimate goal when we start out in January. We want to invest in the early parts of the season, so when the NCAA Tournament comes around, we know we are prepared. It has been great coming back after a historic season last year.
   
• Rivalry is the right word for Georgia. We say that all the time. They are our rivals. It's great to have a rival we play so often in the SEC. Like I say, iron sharpens iron. Every time we play each other, it goes back and forth. Someone is getting a little better. We definitely want to see them in the tournament. It feels like we will. We know the odds might be in our favor, having played them last year in the tournament. Coming off a loss to them in the SEC Tournament final only fires us up and makes us more eager to get them the next time.
   
• Stay present in the moment. Whoever is in front of you, take care of them first. Whoever's next, take care of them next. That's all you can do. All you can control is the day at hand.
   
• I feel like I do the job going from year to year, regardless of how the previous year went. Kind of resetting and trying to convince myself that I need to work just as hard. I think it is important to stay in the moment and not put expectations on yourself, and not get ahead of yourself. That all bubbles up too much pressure in your head. You can't take winning for granted. It's just this hard every single match, no matter how well you've done.
   
• Short-term memory is super important. It's great in college tennis because the match volume is very high. There is always another match. On the pro tour, sometimes you have to wait a couple of weeks. In college, there's another match two days later. Losses do nothing but fire me up and make me learn a lot. Just come out the next day firing.
   
• “Zen” is the word I use to describe Mark Weaver. He's super calm and chill, especially in the tight moments. He's just standing there, poker-faced. As players, you can sense when your coaches are stressed, and you don't want it to bleed onto you. It's nice he has the calm vibe. When Weaver is out there watching, it inspires you to perform at a certain level of discipline and work. He helps us set the standard.
   
• One of the main things that keeps me able to perform is coming back to that sense of enjoyment. I work with a mental coach back home, and he is big on making sure I enjoy it and am happy to be out there hitting tennis balls. The enjoyment is so key because that's why we started playing tennis in general. If that is lost, what is all this for? I always come back to the enjoyment. Especially for me, who wants to go further than college, I have to come back to that thought.
   
• Nicole Khirin is one of the most talented tennis players I've ever seen. The way she strikes a ball with power, precision and accuracy is so talented. We're lucky to have grabbed her as a transfer from Texas. It felt nice when she came and joined the good side. She's done nothing but add great depth to singles, and she's a great doubles player, too.
   
• Mia Kupres' hard work and discipline and motivation help me as a player. She brings it every day. Having teammates like that helps you keep going on days you feel tired. Seeing someone who is out there busting it is really helpful to see.
   
• Lucciana Perez is just a ball of busting energy. She’s very energetic and positive. Even if something is feeling down, she notices right way and pumps you back up. Like Khirin and Kupres, Perez is so talented. I'm so thankful to be surrounded by such great teammates.
   
• I definitely found tennis through family. My dad played tennis in college, and he tried to play pro, and he is a coach himself. He taught my brother and me. I started at like four, just at the park. My brother and I both knew how to play, so we grew up training together as a whole family endeavour.
   
• It was more of a late bloomer. I never got the chance to compete outside of my region. I'm from Connecticut, so New England, and I never got the chance to compete nationally. I wasn’t able to test myself against higher opponents. I didn't know if anything was going to become of my tennis game until I got to the later years of high school. I didn't even know playing at a school like Texas A&M existed or was possible when I was 12, 13, 14, 15, but I'm glad everything worked out.
   
• I was recruited at the time by the associate head coach, Jordan Szabo. He showed me what the school would be like. A big one that A&M offers is the support to pro aspirations. They were definitely on board with getting me to my pro career. That was a big part of it.
   
• Super excited to dive into the postseason. It's the most exciting part of the year. We look forward to it as soon as it starts.
   
• I can go on and on about the 12th Man. Other teams that come and play here have no idea what they are walking into. There are so many people. As tennis players, we notice it because we are used to playing in calm environments. It only helps us. I feel like the inner confidence, knowing we've done it, will help us. We have come out on top in high-pressure situations. We deserve to be here. We've done it before. We believe we can do it again.
   
• We know all these players have been in these moments before. We only get better with every match.
   
• We feel the love. One of the teams has been able to go to the finish line. It's definitely cool. We feel the love.
   
• Real life happens. I am grappling with it right now. I graduate next week, and then the NCAA Tournament goes until May 18. After that, I’ll take some time off before I full-send the pro tour. Maybe some training in Florida. I'm going to be a busy tennis player.
   
• It's definitely a lot to toss in my mind. I enjoy what I'm doing. I have big aspirations, so I am very excited.
   
• Definitely stick with the course. There is a ton of adversity that will be thrown at you, so you have to stay the course. You never know what can happen. I never thought I would have the opportunities I've got coming to A&M, but here I am.