University of Georgia Athletics
NCAA Memories Still Give Paukstyte Goosebumps
October 08, 2026 | Women's Tennis, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Patricija Paukstyte is talking about last spring's NCAA semifinal match against Texas A&M, a 4-3 battle between No. 1 Georgia and the No. 4 Aggies. The two programs had won most of the SEC and national trophies over the past few seasons, and the pair of heavyweights played as physical and dramatic a match as the Dan Magill Tennis Complex had ever seen.
Paukstyte is sitting on a bench about 10 feet from court 6, where she played singles that night against Daria Smetannikov. Her match and the one at No. 1, between Georgia's Anastasiia Lopata and A&M's Lucciana Perez, were as grueling as it gets. Both three-setters, both featuring players cramping, and both representing everything that is great about sports overall and college tennis in particular.
The Aggies won both matches and captured the NCAA title the next day, but it's not the result that sticks with Paukstyte. It's the theater of it all. She said that semifinal match, and all the drama and emotions that came with it, was the most memorable moment of her freshman year.
"We started amazing in doubles, me and (Lopata), we probably played the match of our lives," in beating the No. 11-ranked team of Perez and Mia Kupres, 6-2, at the No. 1 spot, Paukstyte said. "Then, we were the last two matches in singles. And even though I lost that match and we lost to A&M, seeing the full crowd here, so many people cheering my name, and even little kids screaming 'Go Dawgs!' and 'Let's go!'
"Just talking about it, I get goosebumps all the time."
Her legs were, in fact, covered in goosebumps as she spoke.
"It was amazing. I just remember that moment in my mind, especially the final set. I started cramping, my body was hurting, I'm stressed — it was a lot of feelings at the same time," she said. "But then I was like, OK, I have to do it for all of these people. It didn't work out as I hoped it to, but I was just fighting over there for everyone around me. For my team, the coaches and the whole UGA community."
Paukstyte played a little tennis over the summer, but didn't hop from tournament to tournament. Instead, she chose to focus mostly on her fitness, she said. Since the fall semester began, she and Georgia's coaches have been working hard on her game.
At the ITA All-American Championships in September, she won five matches in the qualifying section before falling in the round of 64. Then, at last week's Battle in the Bay Classic in San Francisco, Paukstyte won the singles title and won the doubles with freshman Nadia Lagaev.
In singles, Paukstyte won all five matches in straight sets to capture her first collegiate tournament title.
"I think I was really focused in each match from start to finish, which I think helped me a lot," she said. "We've been working on my game a lot, the way I want to play, really focusing on that, on playing the right way, and I think I succeeded in that. I think that's what brought me the win."
Paukstyte and Lagaev were playing together for the first time in San Francisco, and the results couldn't have been better. They won four matches, three of them close, and clicked quickly.
"I think our energy helped us a lot. She's pretty pumped and energetic, and I am, I would say, as well," Paukstyte said. "We found a way to win points: maybe she plays more from the baseline and I try to dominate with the volleys. That's how we did it."
Paukstyte didn't have too much time to celebrate the win. She and seven of her teammates are now in Miami for the ITA Southeast Regional Championships. Paukstyte will begin main-draw play on Friday.
"I'm super happy with the win (in San Francisco), but we have another tournament coming up, so I kind of have to forget the win," she said. "I will remember how I played and the confidence and commitment I had, and try to put it on the next tournament."
This weekend's tournament is a qualifying event for the NCAA Singles & Doubles Championships that will be held on Georgia's courts Nov. 17-22. Two singles players and one doubles team from each of the regional sites will earn automatic bids into the NCAAs.
Staff Writer
Patricija Paukstyte is talking about last spring's NCAA semifinal match against Texas A&M, a 4-3 battle between No. 1 Georgia and the No. 4 Aggies. The two programs had won most of the SEC and national trophies over the past few seasons, and the pair of heavyweights played as physical and dramatic a match as the Dan Magill Tennis Complex had ever seen.
Paukstyte is sitting on a bench about 10 feet from court 6, where she played singles that night against Daria Smetannikov. Her match and the one at No. 1, between Georgia's Anastasiia Lopata and A&M's Lucciana Perez, were as grueling as it gets. Both three-setters, both featuring players cramping, and both representing everything that is great about sports overall and college tennis in particular.
The Aggies won both matches and captured the NCAA title the next day, but it's not the result that sticks with Paukstyte. It's the theater of it all. She said that semifinal match, and all the drama and emotions that came with it, was the most memorable moment of her freshman year.
"We started amazing in doubles, me and (Lopata), we probably played the match of our lives," in beating the No. 11-ranked team of Perez and Mia Kupres, 6-2, at the No. 1 spot, Paukstyte said. "Then, we were the last two matches in singles. And even though I lost that match and we lost to A&M, seeing the full crowd here, so many people cheering my name, and even little kids screaming 'Go Dawgs!' and 'Let's go!'
"Just talking about it, I get goosebumps all the time."
Her legs were, in fact, covered in goosebumps as she spoke.
"It was amazing. I just remember that moment in my mind, especially the final set. I started cramping, my body was hurting, I'm stressed — it was a lot of feelings at the same time," she said. "But then I was like, OK, I have to do it for all of these people. It didn't work out as I hoped it to, but I was just fighting over there for everyone around me. For my team, the coaches and the whole UGA community."
Paukstyte played a little tennis over the summer, but didn't hop from tournament to tournament. Instead, she chose to focus mostly on her fitness, she said. Since the fall semester began, she and Georgia's coaches have been working hard on her game.
At the ITA All-American Championships in September, she won five matches in the qualifying section before falling in the round of 64. Then, at last week's Battle in the Bay Classic in San Francisco, Paukstyte won the singles title and won the doubles with freshman Nadia Lagaev.
In singles, Paukstyte won all five matches in straight sets to capture her first collegiate tournament title.
"I think I was really focused in each match from start to finish, which I think helped me a lot," she said. "We've been working on my game a lot, the way I want to play, really focusing on that, on playing the right way, and I think I succeeded in that. I think that's what brought me the win."
Paukstyte and Lagaev were playing together for the first time in San Francisco, and the results couldn't have been better. They won four matches, three of them close, and clicked quickly.
"I think our energy helped us a lot. She's pretty pumped and energetic, and I am, I would say, as well," Paukstyte said. "We found a way to win points: maybe she plays more from the baseline and I try to dominate with the volleys. That's how we did it."
Paukstyte didn't have too much time to celebrate the win. She and seven of her teammates are now in Miami for the ITA Southeast Regional Championships. Paukstyte will begin main-draw play on Friday.
"I'm super happy with the win (in San Francisco), but we have another tournament coming up, so I kind of have to forget the win," she said. "I will remember how I played and the confidence and commitment I had, and try to put it on the next tournament."
This weekend's tournament is a qualifying event for the NCAA Singles & Doubles Championships that will be held on Georgia's courts Nov. 17-22. Two singles players and one doubles team from each of the regional sites will earn automatic bids into the NCAAs.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
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