Mary Stoiana '25
Aggie Women's Tennis national champion serves up remarkable success in Aggieland and beyond
By Charean Williams '86
Mary Stoiana's many trophies, medals and plaques from her junior tennis days are neatly organized in a bedroom bookcase at her childhood home in Southbury, Connecticut. They tell the story of where she has come from.
The large silver cup added to Stoiana's desk at her apartment in College Station tells the story of how far she has come.
Stoiana became the first Texas A&M tennis player to win the ITA All-American Championship singles title. Second-seeded Stoiana beat third-seeded Alexa Noel of the University of Miami on Oct. 8, 2023.
“That was just an amazing accomplishment for Mary, and she is the first national champion for our program,” said Mark Weaver, head coach of Aggie Women's Tennis. “It is not that surprising, but on the other hand, it is a remarkable achievement that does not come easy. It just speaks a lot for Mary, our program and our player development.”
Stoiana celebrated her win by jumping in a van for a two-and-a-half-hour ride to an International Tennis Federation (ITF) pro tournament in South Carolina. It is part of her plan to become a professional tennis player, a dream Stoiana has pursued since she was seven years old.
The All-American earned points on tour by playing in select ITF professional tournaments, and she played the U.S. Open qualifying tournament in summer 2023.
“I have always said, 'I want to go pro. I want to play the U.S. Open. I want to win the U.S. Open.' It has been something I have said forever, honestly,” Stoiana said.
Stoiana's father, Val, who immigrated from Romania as a child, played college tennis at St. John's University and began a coaching career thereafter. Mary learned to play while watching her dad teach her brother, Nicolas, who is two-and-a-half years older.
“I am able to play tennis every single day with the support of the 12th man and all the resources that come with that. It has really given me the opportunity to show myself what I am capable of.”
“She was four or five, and you could see that she was athletic,” Val said. “She would try to keep up with her brother and me, and pretty quickly she developed the fundamentals. Then she started playing tournaments against older kids and was competitive. So, early on, I kind of knew she was going to be good at it.”
Stoiana quickly dominated the competition in New England, but because of finances, she did not travel to her first out-of-state tournament until the summer of 2019. At the USTA Girls' 18 Clay Court National Championships in South Carolina, Stoiana won eight of 10 matches, finished seventh in the 256-player draw and landed on Texas A&M's radar.
Stoiana's mother, Kathleen Morrone, put her career as an interior designer on hold to homeschool Stoiana and accompany her daughter to tournaments.
The Aggies made an offer to Stoiana in June 2020, and three months later, the No. 16 junior player in the Class of 2021 committed despite never having a formal visit. Her only trip to College Station before she moved to town was for a tournament.
The size of the student body and the family atmosphere of the school surprised her, but nothing about Texas A&M has disappointed Stoiana.
“Texas A&M has given me the opportunity to further something in my life that I love doing,” Stoiana said. “I am able to play tennis every single day with the support of the 12th Man and all the resources that come with that. It has really given me the opportunity to show myself what I am capable of.
“Growing up, I did not have all the resources in the world. I did not play all the high-level tournaments like the other junior kids did, so my path to getting myself a little more well-known was different than others. Coming here and getting all this support, I am super grateful.”
After Stoiana accomplished her individual goal of winning the ITA, a team national championship was next on the to-do list. For three straight seasons, the Aggies won the SEC regular-season crown, fueling their desire to bring home a national title. On May 19, 2024, the Texas A&M Women's Tennis team achieved that goal and secured the program's first ever national championship upon defeating the Georgia Bulldogs, 4-1, in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
“The power of Aggieland and all the people in support of this welcoming community, obviously it is like no other,” Stoiana said. “You cannot find it anywhere else. It felt so awesome being able to bring the national championship home for them and the rest of Aggieland.”