Photo by Erez Aidlin
CARY, NC — With Reese Brantmeier graduated, women’s college tennis has a new face of the league. Meet No. 3-ranked Buckeye senior, Luciana Perry, the best player in the country right now on probably the best team.
In dominant fashion, Perry took down No. 3 newcomer Mimi Xu (Duke) 6-2, 6-1 to take the ITA All American Championships singles title. She finished the match off with a flurry of winners to put away the budding freshman, but when she raised the singles trophy, her day was not done yet. She also had a doubles match to play.
Perry also played her way into the doubles title match alongside partner Flora Johnson. Though they fell short in that match, they stamped their names in the NCAA doubles draw and showed they will be a force to reckon with throughout 2026-27.
As far as the doubles champs, Maddy Zampardo and Susanna Maltby of UNC claimed a dominant victory of their own to stamp their name in the history books. After delivering a bagel in the first set versus Perry/Johnson, Zampardo/Maltby won the second set 6-1 to secure the 2026 ITA Women’s All American Championships doubles title.
Despite having to play singles and doubles competition throughout the week, Perry looked like the fresher opponent in the singles final.
“Today it was really tough because it’s the end of a week,” Perry said. “There’s been a lot of matches that we’ve played. So, for me, it was just prioritizing, recovery, sleep, rest, so that way I could feel, like, really fresh and ready for today. And I feel like I did a pretty good job at taking care of those things. So, um, I think that showed in my match. I had a lot of energy. I felt fresh and ready to go. So, I think that’s what led to my success today.”
Perry represents everything that is right with college tennis. Her mom came to the United States to play for Duquesne. A midwest native, Luciana attended her dream school as the No. 9 ranked freshman recruit.
“I’ve been a buckeye fan since I was really young,” Perry said. “My dad was born in Columbus, and is a long time Ohio State fan, so just to be able to wear this logo and represent Ohio State means a lot to me. And it’s been my dream since I was a little kid. So just to be here on this kind of stage, wearing Ohio State is such an honor.”
Even with the singles match to tire her out, she doesn’t cite that as a reason for the doubles loss.
“I actually did not feel tired at all,” Perry said. “I was actually really ready to go, but I think that Susanna and Maddy played super well. They play amazing doubles, and they deserve this title.”
Obviously, the singles and doubles titles hold much significance. But arguably, the matches with more importance were the singles consolation semifinals and doubles consolation finals. Winners received an all-important bid to the NCAA Championships in Athens, GA.
On one court, No. 10 NC State junior Mia Slama faced Harvard’s No. 55 Sephanie Yakoff. On the other, No. 37 Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev (Ohio State) faced No. 21 Tatum Evans (UNC).
Slama went on to beat Yakoff 6-2, 5-7, 4-1 (ret.) as Yakoff retired with apparent left shoulder/arm discomfort. Yakoff dragged Slama into murky moonball madness in the second set and frustrated Slama with the lack of openings. But Slama hung around to overcome her struggles, and was awarded a spot in the NCAA Championship draw, as well as the Sportsmanship Award.
“It’s really hard when you play someone who doesn’t give you any pace,” Slama said. “Playing at the top of the lineup last year was very good for me because I got better at receiving a lot of pace. So coming back to, like, maybe a little bit less pace and lower quality shots was very hard to adjust to. So, I struggled to adjust, obviously. I lost the second set. I mean, it took a lot of mental physical effort to try and push myself to hit the ball anyways, even though she’s just waiting for errors so it’s like it’s a mental battle more than anything.”
NC State head coach Simon Earnshaw spoke to the new challenges facing Slama as she navigates her first fall as a national championship contender.
“Going from No. 6 to No. 1, all of a sudden, you’re beating players that freshman year, you’re looking at on the other end of the lineup and at the top of college tennis,” Earnshaw said. “Change isn’t always comfortable for everyone. It’s exciting, but it’s also nerve wracking at the same time.”
Slama controlled her nerves and executed at the end of the match to earn her spot in NCAAs the first year she reached the ITA All Americans main draw.
On the other consolation court, Cisse-Ignatiev delivered a strong straight-set win versus Tatum Evans, finding the right openings to earn her spot in the NCAA draw. Perry was not the only Buckeye to play two matches on Championship Sunday. Cisse-Ignatiev also reached the consolation doubles final alongside partner Audrey Spencer, where they fell to Virginia’s Katie Rolls and Martina Genis Salas.
That UVA pairing rounded out the five doubles teams to earn NCAA qualification.
