PULLMAN, Wash. (May 15) – Washington State rising sophomore Michaela Bayerlova captured MVP and academic excellence honors for the 2017-18 season to highlight the Cougars season-ending tennis banquet earlier this month.
 
In addition to Bayerlova, other award recipients include Melisa Ates, who received the Most Improved Award, Aneta Miksovska collected the Strength and Conditioning Award, while Ege Tomey garnered the Cougar Pride Award.
 
A native of Krumbach, Germany, Bayerlova has put together an impressive freshman campaign, posting a 27-5 singles record and currently boasts a No. 23 national ranking. Earlier this month, she was selected for the 2018 NCAA Singles Championship field and was named an All-Pac-12 First Team selection, the first in program history. She began her collegiate career with 20-straight singles victories, the second-longest streak in school history, and is 7-4 against nationally ranked players in 2018. That includes wins over No. 15 Michaela Gordon of Stanford, No. 38 Julia Rosenqvist of Cal, No. 39 Marianna Petrei of Idaho and No. 42 Lauryn John-Baptiste of Arizona State. Twice this spring she earned Pac-12 Tennis Player of the Week honors while also clinching team victories on three different occasions.
 
Miksovska, a rising senior from Stramberk, Czech Republic, posted a 24-10 singles record and 34-6 doubles mark this season. She posted key victories in WSU wins over No. 21 Oregon and No. 41 USC, had a season-best eight-match win streak and ended the season with 74 career singles wins, two shy of WSU's career Top 10 list. In the classroom, she has a cumulative 3.85 grade point average majoring in sport science.
 
Ates, a rising junior from Antalya, Turkey, accumulated a 26-7 overall singles and 16-7 doubles record. She had a team-best 17-3 record in dual matches, including 5-1 in Pac-12 play after going 1-6 in conference action in 2017. Ates was the only Cougar player to defeat California twice this season and picked up the lone singles win at Washington. She carries a 3.36 GPA and plans to major in computer science.
 
Tomey, a rising junior from Izmir, Turkey, posted an 8-3 overall record, 2-0- in dual match play. She played an instrumental role with the team's success this season, both on and off the court, always with a team-first approach.  
 
The Cougars ended the 2018 campaign with a 21-7 record, the most wins in school history.