April 12, 2008
WACO, Texas - On Sunday afternoon, an era in Baylor women's tennis will come to a triumphant end as Zuzana Zemenova will be honored before playing her final regular season home match. The sixth-ranked Lady Bears square off against No. 68 Oklahoma State at 1 p.m. at the Baylor Tennis Center.
The 2005 NCAA Singles Champion, Zemenova is arguably the greatest player in Baylor women's tennis history. In 2005 Zemenova entered the NCAA Singles Tournament as an unranked freshman, though her resume was already full of accomplishments. Prior to the 64-person tournament, Zemenova was named the Big 12 Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year after finishing the regular season with a 9-0 conference mark at number one singles.
Zemenova entered the national tournament with momentum, having won 11 of her last 12 matches and 20 of her last 22. Her run of six straight victories in the NCAA Tournament made history as she became the first unseeded NCAA Champion in women's tennis history; only five unseeded players had ever made the finals. She became Baylor's first national champion in women's tennis, and was named the Honda Award winner, another Baylor first, given to the top female athlete in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports.
As a sophomore, Zemenova continued her dominance on the court, earning her second-straight ITA All-American honor after advancing to the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament before falling to California's Suzi Babos, the eventual national champion. She was named the Big 12 Player of the Year for a second-straight season after finishing 11-0 in conference play, equaling the most conference victories in a single season in Baylor history. She also earned the league's Most Outstanding Performer at the 2006 Big 12 Conference Tournament.
Zemenova's junior year was a continuation of the brilliance shown in her first two seasons in Waco. She earned her third-straight ITA All-American honor, becoming the first player in Big 12 Conference history to earn three-straight All-American citations. She advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament with four-consecutive victories over top-40 players before suffering a loss to Audra Cohen of Miami. Also set a conference record with her third-straight Player of the Year honor after finishing the regular season at 7-0 in league play on court one. She earned the Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship and Leadership Award, the first Baylor player selected for the award in more than 10 years.
Zemenova carried her momentum into her senior season where she has totaled a 26-5 overall record, including a 20-3 mark in dual matches. She owns a 14-4 record this season against nationally ranked opponents, and has recorded an 8-0 mark in Big 12 action. On two occasions she was named the Big 12 Women's Tennis Player of the Week, brining her career total to five weekly honors.
Her career accomplishments dominate the Baylor record books. Her 110 career singles wins rank in a tie for second in Baylor history, just 17 victories from the all-time record. She owns a career singles winning percentage of .815, which also ranks second in Baylor history. Along with her .839 winning percentage in singles matches this season, Zemenova owns three of the top five single-season winning percentages in program history. Her 92 career wins in doubles matches are the most in school history, and her 30 doubles wins this season mark a single-season record. Zemenova's career doubles winning percentage of .748 ranks third in Baylor history, and along with a .789 doubles winning percentage this season, she owns four of the top seven single-season doubles winning percentages in program history.
Zemenova still has several chances to add to her record-breaking accomplishments, including opportunities for an unprecedented fourth-straight Big 12 Player of the Year honor, as well as potentially becoming the first player in Baylor and Big 12 history to earn ITA All-American honors in four-straight seasons. Although Sunday may mark her regular-season home finale, Zemenova will continue to make history as the season continues.
