Jan. 31, 2006

Entering his fourth season as Baylor University's head women's tennis coach, Joey Scrivano has led his team to two conference titles, two NCAA Tournament appearances, and has also helped mold an individual national champion in Zuzana Zemenova. With the successes of last year still fresh in his mind, his 2006 agenda outlines high expectations for this season and an unwillingness to let his players settle for anything less.

"The goals of this program haven't changed since day one. We want to win a national title, a team national title. I think the great thing about last season was that we made some huge strides, winning the Big 12 conference outright, making the Sweet 16 in the NCAA, and having an individual national champion. That only helps your players to believe," Scrivano explained.

In 2005, Scrivano led the women's team to its first undefeated Big 12 season, posting an 11-0 record. The team also finished with a program-best overall record of 24-6 at the end of its run at the NCAA championships.

Legitimizing the women's experience, four Bears received preseason rankings from the Intercollegiate Tennis Aassociation. Zuzana Cerna ranked No. 9 in singles along with Zemenova at No. 17 and Daniela Covello at No. 80. The only Baylor doubles team to place was Cerna and Klara Zrustova at No. 31.

Competing with a veteran roster, Scrivano returns nearly all of last season's athletes. "With the same team back, there's no reason why we can't go the distance in May," Scrivano said, expressing his confidence in the team. Baylor's final No. 14 ranking is the second best team ranking in the Big 12, and the Bears also had seven players with 20-plus wins while playing an extremely tough schedule. Building off of the success from the spring, the fall tournaments showcased some of the athletes' best matches.

"The team improved so much this fall and each player really improved her own individual game. With these strides made, we are closing the gap between ourselves and the top five programs in the nation," Scrivano added.

Baylor's lineup features Zemenova and Cerna in the first and second spots for singles play. Zemenova, a sophomore, ended 2005 with an astounding 29-5 overall record and was undefeated in Big 12 competition at 9-0. Her performance earned her an ITA All-American seat, the university's first Honda Award, Big 12 Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year honors as well as an All-Big 12 selection. She also chalked up regional honors including Rookie of the Year.

Zemenova later tore through the NCAA tournament earning the singles national champion title; she clenched the title as the first-ever unseeded player to do so in the NCAA, sealing her name in tennis history. Zemenova was also the program's first NCAA champion in its 15 years of existence.

Cerna finished last season with an overall record of 22-10 and a conference mark of 6-2, which earned her the Big 12's Newcomer of the Year award. In early November, Cerna and Zemenova advanced through the Wilson/ITA Southwest Regional tournament where the two met in the finals. Zemenova defeated Cerna 6-4, 6-1.

Both earned automatic bids to the national tournament though Zemenova decided not to participate. Cerna traveled to Columbus, Ohio, where she upset two top 15 players. She fell in the quarterfinal match against the eight-seeded player in the nation, Stanford's Theresa Logar.

Zrustova gives depth and experience to the roster as another junior on the squad. She excelled last season with overall and conference records of 26-6 and 9-0, numbers high enough to earn a preseason ranking of No. 101.

Though all the names are the same, the roster now includes two seniors, Covello and Zuzana Krchnakova, which is a leadership luxury the team didn't have last year. Scrivano described Covello as having "really stabilized her game over the summer. She is a better all around player this season." He also doted on Zrchnakova's dedication by saying, "Zuzana is the most experienced player on our team and has made a huge commitment to the program by staying in the summer and working on her game. She is definitely our most consistent player." Backing up her consistent reputation, Krchnakova has not lost a singles match in an NCAA team event. "Zuzka is also a poster child for our developmental system. She has progressed from the bench to one of the strongest performers in Baylor tennis history," Scrivano added.

The Bears' roster fills out with junior Iva Mihaylova and sophomore Caroline Korsawe. Mihaylova ended the season 22-12 overall and 8-1 in conference matches. Korsawe saw little action as a freshman since she joined the team in January 2005. Of the matches she played, she earned a 6-3 overall record and an undefeated 3-0 Big 12 record.

Along with the roster strength, Scrivano has also coordinated an equally tough schedule to test the team's ability. "I feel really good about the schedule for 2006. It may be the toughest schedule in the country, and it's going to give our team a great opportunity to only improve and develop the mental toughness necessary to win the NCAA's," Scrivano said.

According to the final 2005 ITA rankings, Baylor will play 12 top 50 schools. Among these are seven in the top 25, five in the top 15, and four in the top 10, including No. 3 Texas, No. 6 Georgia Tech, No. 7 USC and No. 8 Vanderbilt.

Scrivano knows the challenge of the schedule will help the team become mentally tough and gain confidence. He expects nothing but an NCAA title from this year's team and feels that they are getting closer to achieving that goal each day.