BOISE – Zdena Safarova had become quite familiar with airport terminals and long flights.
The Boise State women’s tennis standout has crisscrossed continents and traversed America’s vast landscape in pursuit of her dream. And after years of grueling travel, she’s finally living it.
The sophomore sensation rewrote the Bronco (20-6) record books and propelled them to their best season in a decade and a half. They just played in and won their first NCAA Tournament game since 2010 on Friday May 2 in Austin, Texas.
“One of her biggest strengths and attributes is her mental toughness and her willingness to grind,” said Boise State and Mountain West Coach of the Year Beck Roghaar. “I think it starts with how much she loves the game. She eats it, breathes it, sleeps it, all day every day.
“She’s really stuck to her guns on what her goals are and what she wants to do in this sport. So getting the opportunity that she’s had here has just been a dream come true for her.”
A dream born in Prague, Czech Republic blossomed into international acclaim for Safarova, whose tennis journey began at just 6 years old. She was inspired by both her father and siblings, who were all tennis players back in their day.
By 14, she had ascended to elite status in her country, even partnering with future NCAA champion Dasha Vidmanova of the University of Georgia. Safarova’s professional career then flourished with three ITF doubles titles, a UTR championship in Barcelona and impressive rankings that saw her compete against world-class talents like Mirra Andreeva — the WTA’s seventh-ranked player in the world. Despite these professional accomplishments, Safarova’s ambitions led her across the Atlantic to pursue collegiate competition in America.
“Actually, my dad didn’t want me to go to college,” Safarova said. “I’m the youngest and he didn’t want me to leave home. He knows that I’m capable of playing professional tennis and he wants me to play professional tennis.
“But I was telling him that the U.S. had much better programs and everything would be paid for, like a scholarship. This was my last chance, so I wanted to try it.”
College tennis remained largely a mystery to Safarova despite her professional accomplishments, though.
So her recruitment strategy focused solely on national team rankings. Following her triumph at the UTR 25k Barcelona Championship, Oklahoma’s coaching staff reached out—catching her attention as one of the highest-ranked programs showing interest. The Sooners boasted an impressive pedigree: a perennial top-25 team that had just played for an NCAA National Championship two years earlier. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up on, prompting Safarova to commit sight unseen and embark on a transatlantic journey spanning 5,300 miles to Norman, Oklahoma.
“Looking back, I had no idea what I was signing up for,” Safarova said with a laugh.
Safarova’s time there unfolded far differently than expected.
Her collegiate debut at the NC State Ranked Spotlight yielded a disappointing 2-3 record, including a heartbreaking defeat against two-time All-Big-10 player Selma Cadar even with match point.
“I was feeling so much pressure of having to prove that I deserved to be there that I played so bad,” Safarova said. “After that I was like, ‘They’re probably not going to put me back out there. No chance.’”
She was right.
Despite putting in extra work during the two-month break following the fall season, Safarova found herself completely removed from the lineup come springtime.
“It was very tough when every week I was ready to play singles and every week was disappointing when I didn’t,” Safarova said. “I felt like I deserved to be there, but I just didn’t get a chance.”
It took until March 8, 2024 for her to get that opportunity. But it was all the way down at the No. 6 spot.
Safarova did win her first match in nearly six months against Cincinnati. But her return to singles was short-lived. Forty-eight hours later, she was the only one on the team to lose a match against West Virginia, prompting her to be once again yanked from the starting lineup.
Only this time it stuck.
She finished with just a 3-9 record —statistics that scarcely reflected her talent.
“That was one of the lowest points of my life,” Safarova said. “In Czech, I was pretty confident in my tennis. So I didn’t know what was going on. Obviously, I was blaming myself. I was disappointed in myself and I kept asking myself, ‘Why can’t I compete well?’ It was tough.”
Though she found success in doubles play alongside Julia Garcia Ruiz, compiling an impressive 13-1 record and earning an NCAA Tournament berth — Safarova still couldn’t escape her underlying disappointment.
“I really liked it,” Safarova said about playing doubles. “But at the same time, I wasn’t getting any fulfillment. I wanted more.”
Seeking a fresh start, Safarova entered the transfer portal and was pleasantly surprised by the flood of interest she received following her challenging season.
The Broncos caught her attention through a connection with Roghaar and Oklahoma head coach Audra Cohen, who personally arranged a call between them. The connection was immediate and travel arrangements were quickly made for a visit to Boise — where just hours into the visit she realized this was her second chance.
“When she came on her visit, she had a couple other visits lined up after that and she canceled them,” Roghaar said. “When she came out here, she got to meet the team, the staff and all the people around our program. I think she fell in love with it when she was here. It was really clear speaking with her, what her core values are and how serious she is about the game and her goals. The kind of environment that we have here, we definitely thought it was going to be a phenomenal fit.”
It was and then some.
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Safarova’s debut season with the Broncos was nothing short of historic.
Back playing singles and at the No. 1 position no less, she shattered a near three-decade old record with 21 wins. It broke Gaye McManus’ mark of 18 set during the 1996-97 season. She racked up a 35-3 record between the fall and spring seasons. The 92.5% win percentage eclipsed Tiffany Coll’s single-season record of 90% during the 2006 campaign.
It all earned her a spot on the All-Mountain West Conference Tournament Team.
“Everything happens for a reason. I really believe that,” Roghaar said. “Getting this opportunity here and being in a position she could come in and not be in that exact same situation that she was out there. The experience that she’s had in all these matches that she’s been able to play over the course of the year in these big tournaments that she’s won, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament and rewriting the record books for us in so many instances, it’s really opened some doors for her. Those experiences for her are just continuing to help her develop.”
Safarova fueled Boise State on the national stage last week at the NCAA Tournament.
Facing 22nd-ranked Baylor — a team that was ranked as high as 14th this season —the Broncos pulled off a thrilling 4-3 upset that ended a 15-year NCAA Tournament drought. Safarova and doubles partner Maya Dutton helped secure a crucial sweep in doubles. She also picked up a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 win in singles.
“I feel so grateful for what we achieved,” Safarova said. “I feel like it’s just the start, and for me, it’s exactly how it’s supposed to be. I would not be able to do this without the coaches, without Coach Beck. The culture he’s creating every day and the trust that he has in me. It’s just crazy to me how I got so much better just because the coaches believed and trusted that I could do big things.”
However, the outcome ultimately hinged on freshman Masa Viriant at the No. 6 singles spot. She authored a resilient three-set comeback victory (3-6, 6-3, 6-3) to give the program its second-highest ranked win ever. Viriant also delivered pivotal victories during the Mountain West Tournament when Boise State faced a daunting 2-0 deficit against San Diego State in the semifinals, and again in the championship showdown with UNLV—securing match points that culminated in the program’s first-ever Mountain West Tournament championship trophy.
“I didn’t feel stressed at all. I was like, ‘Well, she’s going to get it done for sure. She’s been so money in those situations,” Roghaar said. “It was an amazing experience in that match and I am so proud of our team to win at the NCAA Tournament. It’s not easy.”
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The Broncos found that out firsthand against No. 14 Texas on their home court at that.
They fell 4-0 on Saturday May 3 to the four-time national champions, who are only three years removed from back-to-back national titles.
“It just fuels the fire,” Roghaar said. “We’ve been building here for such a long time, a lot of blood, sweat and tears and a lot of players before this group helped set the stage for these things to happen.
“It was just really an awesome moment to see those players have that experience. Those moments kind of shape and impact your life in terms of being a winner and being a champion and knowing that you can get things done when it’s difficult.”
No one knows that better than Safarova, who for the first time in years, has some place to call her own.
“This year at Boise was the happiest and the best year of my life,” she said. “I’m just living my dream every day.
“I don’t feel like going home now because I feel like this is my home.”
BOISE STATE AHTLETICS
The Boise State men’s team also made the NCAA Tournament. It was the first time since 2010 that both programs were there at the same time.
Under the guidance of head coach Luke Shields, the men continued their tradition of excellence by securing a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance—the 21st in program history. Shields’ tenure thus far has been the definition of consistency with each of his three seasons yielding both a conference championship and a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
This year’s squad earned an at-large bid after putting together a 21-5 record that included the regular season Mountain West title. The Broncos ended up losing in the first round 4-1 to No. 11 California in Berkeley on Friday May 2nd.
“We’ve made a stride in the right direction,” said Shields, whose team finished ranked 42nd in the country after being 90th when he took over. “We hope to keep building this thing up. We are a development program and we hope to keep pushing that envelope and take this as far as we can go. The biggest mountain top is what we’re chasing. I know that sounds kind of outlandish, but I really do believe it.”
