Defending conference title, Boise State women’s tennis doing it ‘our way’
Boise State Athletics is just a few months away from officially moving to the Pac-12 Conference, but the Broncos have teams that would love to claim a few more Mountain West trophies on the way out.
The women’s tennis team is right atop that list.
The Broncos claimed their first Mountain West regular-season title over the weekend, sharing the honors with San Diego State and UNLV, all of which had a 10-1 conference record.
Under the guidance of head coach Beck Roghaar, who is finishing up his 16th season, Boise State also won its first Mountain West Tournament title last year, and is looking to defend in Las Vegas later this week.
The back-to-back years of success come after a tough couple of seasons in which the Broncos hovered around the .500 mark. In 2026, Boise State finished 18-3, with two of those losses coming in the opening three matches. The only other loss came in a 4-3 defeat to UNLV on March 29 to snap a 12-duel win streak. Since then, BSU has won five in a row.
“This didn’t happen overnight, but it’s definitely been part of the vision for the last 10-15 years,” Roghaar told the Idaho Statesman in an interview Tuesday.
Roghaar was calling in via Zoom from Las Vegas, where the Broncos will kick off their title defense on Thursday. Entering the tournament as the No. 2 seed, Boise State earned a first-round bye and will play the winner of No. 7 Nevada vs. No. 10 Colorado State at 11 a.m. Mountain time.
Roghaar was sitting alongside junior Zdena Safarova, a native of the Czech Republic who’s been at Boise State for two years and played a major role in getting the team to this point.
Safarova spent her freshman year at the University of Oklahoma before making the jump to Boise State ahead of the 2024-25 season. Roghaar said it was “no accident” that more success coincided with her arrival.
“It was just so welcoming and friendly from the first time that I met (the team), and I’ve just seen that this program has much more to offer,” Safarova said. “I knew that this was a place that I wanted to be and grow, and it was the best decision that I’ve ever made.”
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Safarova said it’s not just talent that has made the Broncos flourish, but also hard work and discipline.
However, there’s no denying that the talent is there.
Senior Allison Isaacs has won 16 straight in the No. 4 singles spot and is 18-2 on the season. Safarova has played in the No. 1 singles spot every match and is 13-4. Freshman Carla Grignac has popped up in some huge moments, including securing the winning match in a 4-3 victory over Wyoming in March.
“It’s just about us getting the job done and doing it our way,” Roghaar said. “I think that’s what this team is and has made so special. They know our way, and we enjoy our way.”
Thursday will kick off a potential three-day stretch of high-stakes tennis for the Broncos. A win sets up a potential semifinal matchup on Friday with UNLV, which has that victory over BSU. But Boise State defeated the Rebels in the championship matchup last year, leading Safarova to provide a little humor that Las Vegas is like the team’s “second home.”
A second straight title would secure Boise State an automatic spot in the NCAA Tournament. Last year the Broncos defeated No. 22 Baylor 4-3 in the first round of the NCAAs before falling to No. 14 Texas 4-0. If the Broncos don’t regain the title this weekend, their fate in making the 64-team tourney will lie with the selection committee.
“We are super excited, and every match is gonna be difficult for sure,” Safarova said. “But we’re playing better each day.”
