WAKE FOREST, N.C. – Washington State freshman Michaela Bayerlova begins play at the 2018 NCAA Women's Tennis Singles Championship, Wednesday, May 23 against Virginia Tech's Natalie Novotna.
 
A native of Krumbach, Germany, Bayerlova has put together an impressive freshman campaign, posting a 27-5 singles record and enters the championships with a No. 23 national ranking. Earlier this week she was named the Northwest Region recipient of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Player to Watch Award.
 
Bayerlova becomes just the fifth Cougar players to participate in the singles championship, and first since Liudmila Vasilieva in 2012. She joins Vasilieva, Elizabeth Fournier, Ekaterina Burduli and Erica Perkins as Cougars in the singles field. Bayerlova is also looking to become the first WSU player to win a singles match at the championship.
 
In their only previous meeting, Bayerlova defeated Novotna in the second round of the ITA Charleston event last fall. Bayerlova went on to win that tournament, the second professional title of her career. Novotna enters the championship with a No. 49 national ranking.
 
Bayerlova's 2018 season has been one of the finest 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 and was named an All-Pac-12 First Team selection, the first in program history.