Courtesy of Boise State Athletics –

AUSTIN, Texas – Masa Viriant clinched the match in a three-set thriller on court six as the Boise State women’s tennis team earned its first NCAA Tournament victory since 2010, edging No. 22 Baylor 4-3 on Friday afternoon.

No. 70 Boise State (20-5) pulled off its second-largest upset in program history. The  Broncos defeated No. 21 Iowa in the  2010 NCAA First Round.

Boise State’s top doubles pair delivered the first win of the day. Maya Dutta and Zdena Safarova jumped out to a 5-0 lead and held on to win 6-4. Paula Schaefer and Bhakti Shah then clinched the doubles point for the Broncos, topping Baylor’s (20-6) Sierra Berry and Zuzanna Kubacha 6-4 on court three.

In singles, Mountain West Freshman of the Year Dutta extended the Broncos’ lead to 2-0 with a straight-set win on court two. Baylor responded by taking three-straight singles matches on courts three, four, and five.

Down 3-2, Safarova dropped her first set 6-4 but stormed back to win 12 of the next 16 games, defeating Cristina Tiglea 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 at the No. 1 position.

For the third-consecutive match, the deciding point came down to freshman Masa Viriant on court six. After losing the first set 6-3, Viriant rallied to win the final two sets 6-3, 6-3, clinching the 4-3 victory for Boise State.

Notables

  • The 4-3 win against Baylor is Boise State’s first NCAA Tournament victory since 2010.
  • Boise State earned its highest-ranked win since defeating No. 21 Iowa in 2010.
  • The Broncos recorded their first win over a power four opponent in six years. They last beat Colorado 4-1 on Feb. 24, 2019.
  • Boise State has reached 20 wins in a season for the seventh time in program history, and the first since 2010.
  • Masa Viriant has clinched each of Boise State’s last-three victories.
  • Maya Dutta and Zdena Safarova won their 14th match at No. 1 doubles, tied for the ninth-most by a Boise State duo in a single season.
  • Paula Schaefer and Bhakti Shah’s 13 wins at No. 3 doubles is tied for the fifth-most in a single season by a duo.
  • Boise State is now 1-0 all-time against Baylor.
  • Safarova recorded her 21th win of the season at the No. 1 singles spot, extending the program record she broke (previously held by Gaye McManus, 1996–97, with 18 wins).
  • Safarova’s 92.1% win rate (35-3) across the fall and spring seasons is the highest single-season win percentage in program history, surpassing Tiffany Coll’s 90% mark in 2006.
  • Dutta’s 15 wins at the No. 2 position are tied for the third-most in program history.

Quotables

  • “Today’s match was a statement win for our program,” said head coach Beck Roghaar. “I couldn’t be more proud of how our players showed up ready to compete. We’re really excited for tomorrow, both Texas and Grand Canyon are great programs and we’ll be ready to continue to play and compete with each other.”

What’s Next

  • Boise State will advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and will face the winner of No. 14 Texas vs. Grand Canyon. The match is scheduled for Saturday, May 3, at 3 p.m. MT.

Box Score
Boise State (20-5) def. Baylor (20-6) 4-3
Doubles (Order of finish: 1,3)
Maya Dutta/ Zdena Safarova (BOI) def. No. 37 Liubov Kostenko / Cristina Tiglea (BAY) 6-4
Ryan Kershner/ Lorelyz Marruffo (BOI) vs. Na Dong / Wenfei Yu (BAY) 4-5, unfinished
Paula Schaefer / Bhakti Shah (BOI) def. Sierra Berry / Zuzanna Kubacha (BAY) 6-4

Singles (Order of finish: 2,3,4,5,1,6)
Zdena Safarova (BOI) def. Cristina Tiglea (BAY) 4-6, 6-4, 6-0
Maya Dutta (BOI) def. Liubov Kostenko (BAY) 6-3, 6-3
Zuzanna Kubacha (BAY) def. Bhakti Shah (BOI) 6-0, 6-1
Na Dong (BAY) def. Paula Schaefer (BOI) 6-4, 6-0
Kennedy Gibbs (BAY) def. Ariadna Briones Ginesta (BOI) 6-4, 6-4
Masa Viriant (BOI) def. Nanaka Sato (BAY) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3