Clemson announces new women's tennis coach hire Boomer Saia |
CLEMSON, S.C. - Boomer Saia (SY-uh) has been named the fifth Head Coach of the Women’s Tennis program, Director of Athletics Graham Neff announced on Thursday. Saia, the 2021 and 2023 Big 12 Coach of the Year, has spent the past five seasons as the head coach at Iowa State, leading the program to the No. 8 final team ranking in 2023.
“We are delighted to welcome Boomer, Whitney and their sons to the Clemson Family,” said Neff. “ Boomer has a proven track record in building a program to a nationally competitive level, and Clemson has demonstrated that we can be one of the top programs in the nation. The ACC is the strongest conference in the country for women’s tennis, and he’s going to hit the ground running.” “My family couldn’t be more thrilled to join the Clemson Tiger program, and I am thankful to Graham and the administration for this opportunity,” said Saia. “I’ve had the chance to work with some of the top players and programs in the nation, and I can't wait for the opportunity at Clemson. There is such a rich history with Clemson Women's Tennis and it's an honor to lead this program. I couldn’t be more proud to represent the Paw and build this program back to a national power.” Saia achieved a number of firsts at Iowa State, taking the Cyclones to its first three NCAA Tournaments in its 50-year program history, including a quarterfinal appearance and No. 8 final ranking in 2023. The team also advanced to the semifinal of the ITA National Indoor Championships and was ranked as high as No. 4 in the nation this season. The ranking marked a 211-spot improvement from when Saia took over the program in 2018. Iowa State had never been ranked among the top-75 in the nation before Saia took the helm, and he set records in Big 12 wins, overall wins, all-conference selections, NCAA appearances, and broke several winless streaks. The Cyclones were 21-6 this season, and 66-38 (.635) overall in Saia’s five seasons. Prior to Iowa State, Saia was an assistant at Texas Tech, helping the Red Raiders to the NCAA Quarterfinal in 2018. He spent the 2016-17 season at Vanderbilt as an assistant, winning the SEC and earning a top-five ranking. He was an assistant coach at Oklahoma from 2014-16, bringing the team into the top-25, and served as a volunteer assistant at Kansas from 2010-14. Saia and his wife Whitney have two sons, Ryder and Weston. He played tennis at Cowley College before earning a B.S. in Sport Management (2011) and an M.S. in Sports Administration (2013) from Kansas.
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