Maya Dutta Named MW Freshman of the Year

LAS VEGAS – Boise State women's tennis freshman standout Maya Dutta was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Year, the conference announced Tuesday night.

Dutta and Zdena Safarova were among the 16 MW players to earn all-conference honors in singles. The duo is also one of eight doubles teams recognized with all-conference honors in doubles.

A Dallas, Texas native, Dutta becomes the second player in Boise State history to be named MW freshman of the year, joining Wihelmina Palmer, who received the honor in 2018.

Dutta and Safarova are the first individual Broncos to earn both all-conference singles and doubles since Joana Baptista in 2021. It also marks the first time two players from Boise State have received both honors in the same year since Palmer and Lilian Poling did so in 2019.

Dutta and Safarova began their Boise State careers by capturing the doubles title at the inaugural MW Fall Qualifier. The win earned them a spot in the ITA Conference Masters, making them the first Bronco duo to directly qualify for the main draw of the tournament.

Dutta carried her strong play into the spring, competing at the No. 1 doubles and No. 2 singles positions. She posted a 12-5 singles record, all victories coming in straight sets, including five wins against MW opponents.

A six-time freshman of the week and one-time player of the week, Dutta broke the program record for most career weekly honors. She also set the conference record for most freshman of the week awards, surpassing the previous mark of five set by Fresno State's Matile Magrini in 2022.

In addition to winning the doubles title at the MW Fall Qualifier, Safarova also claimed the singles championship with a 2-6, 6-6(4), 6-1 win over Nevada's Amahee Charrier at the tournament.

Earlier in the fall, Safarova became the first Bronco to win an ITA Mountain Region championship since 2009, and qualified for the NCAA Individual Championships. She became the program's first qualifier in over a decade, and just the fifth all-time.

The Oklahoma transfer entered the spring season with a 11-1 singles and 9-4 doubles record. She added four MW Player of the Week honors during the spring, more than any other player in the conference, and was the only one to earn the award at least three times.

Heading into the conference tournament, Safarova boasts a 17-2 singles record and 13-4 doubles mark in spring play, all in the No. 1 position. She is undefeated (8-0) in conference singles matches, has won seven of her eight matches in straight sets and is on an 11-match win streak.

Boise State enters the Credit 1 Union 2025 Mountain West Women's Tennis Championship as the No. 4 seed. The Broncos will face No. 5 Fresno State in the quarterfinals, with competition scheduled for Thursday, April 24, at 3 p.m. MT.

Players Mentioned

Joana Baptista

Maya Dutta

Zdena Safarova

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