Tennis Prepared Her To Be A Mom
9/4/2018 4:24:00 PM | Women's Tennis, "B" Association
Zemenova Won NCAA Title, Helped Elevate Bears
(Editor's note: This is the seventh in a series of feature profiles on this year's Hall of Fame inductees and Wall of Honor selections that will be posted every Monday, leading up to the Sept. 21 Hall of Fame Banquet.)
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
When friends and other moms told her how tough it was being a parent, Zuzana Zemenova brushed it off with, "Oh, OK, I believe you, whatever."
"But, once you have that kid, you're like, 'Umm, I think they were right,''' said Zemenova, the 2005 NCAA tennis singles champion at Baylor and now the mother of two. "There are just so many little things. When the baby isn't walking yet, it's OK. But, when they start walking . . . If you have one kid, it's like a luxurious vacation. When you have two, it's like, that's it. I don't know how somebody can have four kids. More power to them."
Part of the 2018 Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame class that will be honored at the Sept. 21 banquet, Zemenova says the discipline she developed as a Baylor athlete has helped her as a mom and entrepreneur with an online fitness program with over 100,000 followers.
"Through sports, you can learn so much. Kids don't realize that," she said. "Even here in Los Angeles, people hire athletes for the good jobs, because they know what they want. When you organize your life and you go after your goals, you can be a mom and you can do a business, everything is possible. You just have to have that mentality that you really want it."
Before coming to Baylor in 2004, Zemenova had already been playing in pro satellite tournaments since she was 15. That fall, she won a Challenger tournament in Alabama and earned a berth in a qualifier for a WTA event in Canada.
"When I got (to Baylor), I really didn't know what to expect," said Zemenova, a native of Kosice, Slovakia, who had a career-high singles ranking of 413th in the world. "I was so lost, because my English was not as good. But, I didn't think the tennis was going to be that hard because I wasn't playing pro. And then I got there and Joey (Scrivano) started coaching me and we had all these crazy workouts. After about two weeks, I called my mom and said, 'Mom, I don't think I can survive here.'''
She did more than survive, though.
Starting her freshman year unranked and relatively unknown despite her success in pro tournaments, Zemenova ended it by hoisting a trophy as the NCAA singles champion. After leading the team to their first outright Big 12 regular-season title and into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, she rolled through the singles bracket and defeated third-seeded Audra Cohen of Northwestern, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, to become the first unseeded champion ever and sixth freshman.
"To me, it was a like a relief for all the work that I put in," she said. "I got in so good shape and got more confident and more mature in the little time. I don't even know how to describe it, but everything goes to Coach and (assistant coach) John Faribault and the strength coaches. Because without them pushing me through those 400-yard runs in the mornings, I wouldn't have made it all the way. I had a huge blister on my foot, and it was hot and I was struggling, but I was able to pull myself together mentally and finish it out."
While she didn't claim another singles title, ZZ lost to the eventual champion each of the next three years, falling to Cal's Suzi Babos in the Round of 16 in 2006, Cohen in the 2007 semifinals and then Georgia Tech's Amanda McDowell in the '08 final in Tulsa.
Playing in the No. 1 spot for the Bears all four years, Zemenova became the Big 12's first four-time Player of the Year in any sport. She ranks fourth in career singles wins (123) and second in doubles victories (100), earning All-America honors all four years in singles and in doubles as a senior with Lenka Broosova.
But for all her individual accolades, including winning the 2005 Honda Award, Zemenova is even more proud of the team success. She helped the Bears win four regular-season and three Big 12 tournament titles, culminating with the program's first NCAA Tournament semifinal appearance in '08.
"When I came to Baylor, I always wanted to just play for myself," she said. "But then, I got there and saw the team spirit and everything, I loved to play as a team player. I loved to win matches for the team. I loved it way more than playing for myself. You want to win for the team, for Coach and for everybody that worked so hard."
Zemenova gave the pro circuit another try, winning back-to-back $10,000 tournaments in Mexico and getting her ranking back up to No. 541. But, after losing in a qualifier of a $50,000 tournament in San Diego in November, she called it quits.
"I had to start back from the beginning, and it's tough," she said, "because you need to have a coach, you need a fitness trainer, you need to have money. You can't do it by yourself if you want to get to that top 50, top 100 level. You get a little down on yourself, and even if you have confidence, you're like, 'What am I doing?'''
After coaching for a couple years, she got married in 2010 to Amari Pouri and now has two children, Giana, who will turn 5 next month; and 3 ½-year-old son, Lucas.
She has also started an online fitness program, Zuzana Fitness, to help moms get back in shape after pregnancy. The web site, ZuzanaFitness.com, is still under construction, but you can register through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ZuzanaFitness1/.
"It's not just for moms, but for women all over the world just to get back in shape," she said.
Joining Zemenova in the 2018 Hall of Fame class are former football players Gary Baxter and Ronnie "Bo" Lee, volleyball standout Elisha Polk, golf coach and player Tim Hobby, longtime trainer Mike Sims and softball All-American Chelsi Lake Reichenstein.
"I'm so blessed, and I really appreciate that I got inducted into the Hall of Fame," Zemenova said. "It's a one-time award, so I'm very happy."
The Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame banquet will be held at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21, in the Brazos Room at the Waco Convention Center. Tickets cost $50 per person and can be purchased by contacting the "B" Association at 254-710-3045 or by email at Tammy_Hardin@baylor.edu.
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
When friends and other moms told her how tough it was being a parent, Zuzana Zemenova brushed it off with, "Oh, OK, I believe you, whatever."
"But, once you have that kid, you're like, 'Umm, I think they were right,''' said Zemenova, the 2005 NCAA tennis singles champion at Baylor and now the mother of two. "There are just so many little things. When the baby isn't walking yet, it's OK. But, when they start walking . . . If you have one kid, it's like a luxurious vacation. When you have two, it's like, that's it. I don't know how somebody can have four kids. More power to them."
Part of the 2018 Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame class that will be honored at the Sept. 21 banquet, Zemenova says the discipline she developed as a Baylor athlete has helped her as a mom and entrepreneur with an online fitness program with over 100,000 followers.
"Through sports, you can learn so much. Kids don't realize that," she said. "Even here in Los Angeles, people hire athletes for the good jobs, because they know what they want. When you organize your life and you go after your goals, you can be a mom and you can do a business, everything is possible. You just have to have that mentality that you really want it."
Before coming to Baylor in 2004, Zemenova had already been playing in pro satellite tournaments since she was 15. That fall, she won a Challenger tournament in Alabama and earned a berth in a qualifier for a WTA event in Canada.
"When I got (to Baylor), I really didn't know what to expect," said Zemenova, a native of Kosice, Slovakia, who had a career-high singles ranking of 413th in the world. "I was so lost, because my English was not as good. But, I didn't think the tennis was going to be that hard because I wasn't playing pro. And then I got there and Joey (Scrivano) started coaching me and we had all these crazy workouts. After about two weeks, I called my mom and said, 'Mom, I don't think I can survive here.'''
She did more than survive, though.
Starting her freshman year unranked and relatively unknown despite her success in pro tournaments, Zemenova ended it by hoisting a trophy as the NCAA singles champion. After leading the team to their first outright Big 12 regular-season title and into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, she rolled through the singles bracket and defeated third-seeded Audra Cohen of Northwestern, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, to become the first unseeded champion ever and sixth freshman.
"To me, it was a like a relief for all the work that I put in," she said. "I got in so good shape and got more confident and more mature in the little time. I don't even know how to describe it, but everything goes to Coach and (assistant coach) John Faribault and the strength coaches. Because without them pushing me through those 400-yard runs in the mornings, I wouldn't have made it all the way. I had a huge blister on my foot, and it was hot and I was struggling, but I was able to pull myself together mentally and finish it out."
While she didn't claim another singles title, ZZ lost to the eventual champion each of the next three years, falling to Cal's Suzi Babos in the Round of 16 in 2006, Cohen in the 2007 semifinals and then Georgia Tech's Amanda McDowell in the '08 final in Tulsa.
Playing in the No. 1 spot for the Bears all four years, Zemenova became the Big 12's first four-time Player of the Year in any sport. She ranks fourth in career singles wins (123) and second in doubles victories (100), earning All-America honors all four years in singles and in doubles as a senior with Lenka Broosova.
But for all her individual accolades, including winning the 2005 Honda Award, Zemenova is even more proud of the team success. She helped the Bears win four regular-season and three Big 12 tournament titles, culminating with the program's first NCAA Tournament semifinal appearance in '08.
"When I came to Baylor, I always wanted to just play for myself," she said. "But then, I got there and saw the team spirit and everything, I loved to play as a team player. I loved to win matches for the team. I loved it way more than playing for myself. You want to win for the team, for Coach and for everybody that worked so hard."
Zemenova gave the pro circuit another try, winning back-to-back $10,000 tournaments in Mexico and getting her ranking back up to No. 541. But, after losing in a qualifier of a $50,000 tournament in San Diego in November, she called it quits.
"I had to start back from the beginning, and it's tough," she said, "because you need to have a coach, you need a fitness trainer, you need to have money. You can't do it by yourself if you want to get to that top 50, top 100 level. You get a little down on yourself, and even if you have confidence, you're like, 'What am I doing?'''
After coaching for a couple years, she got married in 2010 to Amari Pouri and now has two children, Giana, who will turn 5 next month; and 3 ½-year-old son, Lucas.
She has also started an online fitness program, Zuzana Fitness, to help moms get back in shape after pregnancy. The web site, ZuzanaFitness.com, is still under construction, but you can register through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ZuzanaFitness1/.
"It's not just for moms, but for women all over the world just to get back in shape," she said.
Joining Zemenova in the 2018 Hall of Fame class are former football players Gary Baxter and Ronnie "Bo" Lee, volleyball standout Elisha Polk, golf coach and player Tim Hobby, longtime trainer Mike Sims and softball All-American Chelsi Lake Reichenstein.
"I'm so blessed, and I really appreciate that I got inducted into the Hall of Fame," Zemenova said. "It's a one-time award, so I'm very happy."
The Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame banquet will be held at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21, in the Brazos Room at the Waco Convention Center. Tickets cost $50 per person and can be purchased by contacting the "B" Association at 254-710-3045 or by email at Tammy_Hardin@baylor.edu.
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