Peterson: Iowa State will miss coach who took women's tennis to places it had never been

Boomer Saia is leaving Iowa State women’s tennis in a wonderful place – a better place than it’s ever been in the 50-year history of the program.

First NCAA Tournament appearance in Cyclones women’s tennis history?

Check.

Two-time Big 12 Coach of the Year?

Check.

Stability in a program that darn near made the national semifinals this spring?

Check.

More: Iowa State women's tennis heading to NCAA Super Regional for first time in program history

Inability to turn down what was probably a nice offer from one of the nation’s top southern programs?

Unfortunately for Iowa State ...

Check.

We figured it’d be just a matter of time before one of the powers swept away the likable Saia, which is exactly what happened. Clemson announced Thursday that it had hired the five-season Iowa State coach.

Saia led the program to levels never reached by Cyclone tennis, and if you thought schools across the country hadn't noticed, you found out otherwise on Thursday.

• Quarterfinal round of the most recent NCAA Tournament.

• A No. 8 final ranking.

• Ranked fourth nationally at one point during the indoor season.

• And get this: The Cyclones had never been ranked among the nation’s top-75 before Boomer came onto the Iowa State scene.

“If you would have asked me 18 years ago, ‘What’s impossible?’ — that might have been on the list,” athletics director Jamie Pollard said recently about the success of Iowa State women’s tennis. “There’s a valuable lesson there, probably, that nothing’s impossible.

“What Boomer has done is proven it’s about people.”

It’s about the right people – like assistant Kenna Kilgo, and like the players (mostly international) they recruit.

“Your vision has to be stronger than your limitations,” Saia once told me. “We had to implement a certain level of culture and expectations.

“We’re going to believe in ourselves, and we’re never going to play against a ranking or a logo. We’re never going to bow down to anybody.”

More: How Iowa State women's tennis made two NCAA Tournaments after 50 years of futility

His program broke the Cyclones’ 96-match losing streak against teams from the state of Texas that he inherited when becoming the coach in 2018.

His team broke a string of 39 dual losses against Iowa.

Thasaporn Naklo became the first player in school history to earn a bid to the NCAA singles competition.

“We had struggled for years to make our tennis program competitive, and in just a short time Boomer and Kenna have elevated our team in every aspect,” said Calli Sanders, Iowa State senior associate athletics director. “It really is a remarkable story that Boomer was able to come in with a detailed plan, executing it to perfection.”

And for my Clemson reporting friends, here’s the “Boomer” back story.

“I was born on Super Bowl Sunday, when Boomer Esiason was the (Bengals) quarterback,” Saia told me, referencing the 1988 Super Bowl. “My dad was a football coach.

“From Day One, I was nicknamed 'Boomer.'

Boomer. Vincent (his given name). Whatever you call him, he left Iowa State women’s tennis in a place it had never been − in a place that some people probably figured to be impossible.

Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson is in his 51st year writing sports for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at rpeterson@dmreg.com, and on Twitter @RandyPete

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State women's tennis will miss the coach that changed the program