Born in what was then Czechoslovakia, Zuzana Klimešová came to Vanderbilt a decade after her homeland’s Velvet Revolution marked the end of communist rule. A Czech Olympian, European champion and WNBA draftee, the path to realizing her own newfound world of opportunities ran through Vanderbilt and the SEC.
Few Commodores can boast a more distinguished athletic lineage than Klimešová. Her mother, Dana Ptáčková, and father, Vlastibor Klimeš, were Czechoslovak Olympic basketball athletes, as was her uncle, Vladimir Ptáček (who told stories of smuggling coffee past custom officials when returning from tournaments; the kitchen staple was largely unavailable behind the Iron Curtain). And her grandmother, Jirina Klimešová, was a women’s basketball trailblazer in Czechoslovakia in the years before the women’s game was afforded Olympic status.
After coming to the United States in high school to advance her language and basketball skills, Klimešová made a name for herself at Vanderbilt. In fact, her name is impossible to miss in the program record book. Nearly two decades after her final game, she’s still fourth in career rebounding (she led the team three consecutive seasons), fifth in scoring and second in minutes played.
She was a three-time All-SEC selection, including first-team honors in 2001 and 2002. In 2002, she also earned AP honorable mention All-America honors and was the MVP of the SEC Tournament after Vanderbilt’s run to the title. Always reliable in the clutch, she was named to NCAA Tournament All-Region teams in 2001 and 2002.
In addition to the unforgettable SEC Tournament title run at what was then Nashville’s Gaylord Entertainment Center, when Vanderbilt defeated Auburn, Arkansas and LSU, Klimešová helped lead the Commodores to a Sweet 16 and back-to-back Elite Eight appearances. She was part of two memorable wins against Tennessee, upsetting the top-ranked Lady Vols in the 2001 SEC Tournament and again when Pat Summitt’s team was ranked No. 2 in 2002.
As a double major in human and organizational development and Russian, Klimešová was equally impressive in the classroom. She was an Academic All-American in each of her final two seasons and a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
Drafted by the WNBA’s Indiana Fever in 2002, Klimešová also played extensively in European professional leagues. She found her greatest post-college success by continuing the family tradition at the international level. She helped the Czech Republic finish fifth in the 2004 Olympics, laying the groundwork for the team to win gold in the 2005 European Championship (she was also part of the team that won Euro silver in 2003).
