Zuzana Zemenova (2004-08) Won 2005 NCAA Singles Title
4/2/2021 9:32:00 AM | Women's Tennis
(This is the 25th and last in a series of features on Baylor Athletics' 25 for 25, which honors Baylor's top 25 athletes in the 25-year history of the Big 12 Conference (1996-21). Selected by a panel of Baylor experts, the final list was picked from a pool of over 100 candidates that came from all 19 intercollegiate sports that the school offers. The honorees will continue to be featured during game broadcasts on the Baylor Sports Network from Learfield IMG College.)
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
About two weeks into her first year at Baylor, tired of coach Joey Scrivano's "crazy workouts," Zuzana Zemenova called home and said, "Mom, I don't think I can survive here."
Four years later, she left as a five-time All-American and the only athlete the league's history to be a four-time Big 12 Player of the Year.
"When I got (to Baylor), I really didn't know what to expect," said Zemenova, who was inducted into the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018. "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 started coaching me, and we had all these crazy workouts."
Before coming to Baylor in 2004, Zemenova had already been playing in pro satellite tennis tournaments since she was 15 years old. That fall, she won a Challenger tournament in Alabama and was ranked as high as 413th in the world.
Starting her freshman year unranked by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association and relatively unknown, Zemenova ended it by winning the NCAA singles championship.
After leading Baylor to its first 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, in the final to become the first-ever unseeded national champion and only the sixth freshman.
"To me, it was like a relief for all the work that I put in," she said. "I don't even know how to describe it, but everything goes to Coach (Scrivano) 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."
Although Zemenova didn't win another singles title, she 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 2008 final.
Playing No. 1 singles all four years, Zemenova 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 2020 Hall of Famer and current assistant coach Lenka Broosova.
Despite all the individual accolades, including winning the 2005 Honda Award as the top collegiate women's tennis player in the country and the 2007 Arthur Ashe Award, Zemenova counts the team accomplishments as her proudest moments. She helped the Bears win four regular-season and three Big 12 tournament titles, culminating with the program's first NCAA Tournament semifinal appearance as a senior 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 won back-to-back $10,000 tournaments in Mexico in her return to pro tennis, but called it quits after losing in a qualifier of a $50,000 tournament in San Diego in November 2008.
Married in 2010 to Amari Porui, ZZ has a 7-year-old daughter, Giana; and 5-year-old son, Lucas. She also started an online fitness program, Zuzana Fitness, to help moms get back in shape after pregnancy and opened the Zuzana Fitness Center in Sherman Oaks, Calif.
Previous:
Sophia Young-Malcolm, Women's Basketball (2002-06)
Darold Williamson, Men's T&F (2002-05)
Jeremy Wariner, Men's T&F (2003-04)
Tiffany Townsend, Women's T&F (2008-11)
Odyssey Sims, Women's Basketball (2010-14)
Kelly Shoppach, Baseball (1999-2001)
Daniel Sepulveda, Football (2002-06)
Brette Reagan, Softball (2006-09)
Yossiana Pressley, Volleyball (2017-21)
Kiara Nowlin, Acrobatics & Tumbling (2013-17)
Johnathan Motley, Men's Basketball (2013-17)
Shea Langeliers, Baseball (2017-19)
Bayano Kamani, Men's T&F (1998-2001)
Jason Jennings, Baseball (1997-99)
Brittney Griner, Women's Basketball (2009-13)
Robert Griffin III, Football (2008-11)
Dawn Greathouse Siergij, Soccer (1997-2000)
Benedikt Dorsch, Men's Tennis (2002-05)
Corey Coleman, Football (2013-15)
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
About two weeks into her first year at Baylor, tired of coach Joey Scrivano's "crazy workouts," Zuzana Zemenova called home and said, "Mom, I don't think I can survive here."
Four years later, she left as a five-time All-American and the only athlete the league's history to be a four-time Big 12 Player of the Year.
"When I got (to Baylor), I really didn't know what to expect," said Zemenova, who was inducted into the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018. "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 started coaching me, and we had all these crazy workouts."
Before coming to Baylor in 2004, Zemenova had already been playing in pro satellite tennis tournaments since she was 15 years old. That fall, she won a Challenger tournament in Alabama and was ranked as high as 413th in the world.
Starting her freshman year unranked by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association and relatively unknown, Zemenova ended it by winning the NCAA singles championship.
After leading Baylor to its first 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, in the final to become the first-ever unseeded national champion and only the sixth freshman.
"To me, it was like a relief for all the work that I put in," she said. "I don't even know how to describe it, but everything goes to Coach (Scrivano) 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."
Although Zemenova didn't win another singles title, she 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 2008 final.
Playing No. 1 singles all four years, Zemenova 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 2020 Hall of Famer and current assistant coach Lenka Broosova.
Despite all the individual accolades, including winning the 2005 Honda Award as the top collegiate women's tennis player in the country and the 2007 Arthur Ashe Award, Zemenova counts the team accomplishments as her proudest moments. She helped the Bears win four regular-season and three Big 12 tournament titles, culminating with the program's first NCAA Tournament semifinal appearance as a senior 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 won back-to-back $10,000 tournaments in Mexico in her return to pro tennis, but called it quits after losing in a qualifier of a $50,000 tournament in San Diego in November 2008.
Married in 2010 to Amari Porui, ZZ has a 7-year-old daughter, Giana; and 5-year-old son, Lucas. She also started an online fitness program, Zuzana Fitness, to help moms get back in shape after pregnancy and opened the Zuzana Fitness Center in Sherman Oaks, Calif.
Previous:
Sophia Young-Malcolm, Women's Basketball (2002-06)
Darold Williamson, Men's T&F (2002-05)
Jeremy Wariner, Men's T&F (2003-04)
Tiffany Townsend, Women's T&F (2008-11)
Odyssey Sims, Women's Basketball (2010-14)
Kelly Shoppach, Baseball (1999-2001)
Daniel Sepulveda, Football (2002-06)
Brette Reagan, Softball (2006-09)
Yossiana Pressley, Volleyball (2017-21)
Kiara Nowlin, Acrobatics & Tumbling (2013-17)
Johnathan Motley, Men's Basketball (2013-17)
Shea Langeliers, Baseball (2017-19)
Bayano Kamani, Men's T&F (1998-2001)
Jason Jennings, Baseball (1997-99)
Brittney Griner, Women's Basketball (2009-13)
Robert Griffin III, Football (2008-11)
Dawn Greathouse Siergij, Soccer (1997-2000)
Benedikt Dorsch, Men's Tennis (2002-05)
Corey Coleman, Football (2013-15)
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