OJAI, Calif. - Washington State’s Michaela Bayerlova has been named the Pac-12 Women’s Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the 2022 season, the conference office announced Wednesday prior to the Cougars' opening match at the Pac-12 Championships. The award, which is presented in each of the 24 sports the Pac-12 sponsors, was established to honor collegiate student-athletes who are standouts both academically and in their sports discipline.

The fifth-year from Krumbach, Germany has maintained a 3.64 grade-point average while majoring in data analytics with a minor in material science, statistics and math. She is the first Cougar to be named Pac-12 Women’s Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year, which was established by the conference in 2008. 

A three-time All-Pac-12 selection, including first-team nods in 2018 and 2019, Bayerlova has played at the No. 1 position in each dual match of her collegiate career is currently tied for No. 7 on WSU's career list with 90 victories. As a sophomore in 2019, she led the Cougars to a team NCAA championships berth and also advanced to the second round in singles, becoming the first in program history to win a match at the NCAA Singles Championship. 

Baylerova has won a school-record three Pac-12 Player of the Week awards in her career, has twice been named an ITA Northwest Region Player to Watch (2018, 2019), and was recently recognized as a WSU Top-10 Senior Award winner for Athletics (2022).

She has won five professional tournaments and reached a career-best 512 in the WTA world rankings, the third-highest ranked collegian on the list. She has finished each of her first four seasons with a national ranking, including a collegiate-high ranking of No. 17 as a sophomore.

Academically, Bayerlova has been on the President's Honor Roll all five of her years at WSU and received Pac-12 and ITA academic recognition three times. A four-time WSU Athletics All-Academic Team member, she speaks four languages: German, English, Czech and French.

Since arriving in Pullman in 2017, Bayerlova has also dedicated her time volunteering for various programs, including Circles of Caring Adult Day Health, a unique day-use program that provides a safe, caring, and nurturing atmosphere for adults and elders. She is a member of Coug Pals, and has participated in exchanging letters with local elementary kids. As a volunteer for WSU, Bayerlova has also helped Butch's Bash, a holiday event for local kids in Pullman, and with yearly tennis clinics for community members. 

In order to be eligible for the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, student-athletes must be a senior (in athletics eligibility) on track to receive a degree, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, participate in at least 50 percent of the scheduled contests in the sport and have a minimum one year in residence at the institution. Each Pac-12 institution may nominate one individual per sport, and the winners are selected by a committee of Pac-12 staff members at the conclusion of each sport’s regular season. The athletics accomplishments of the nominees are a consideration in voting for the award. 

A Scholar-Athlete of the Year is named in each of the Pac-12’s 24 sponsored sports: baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, beach volleyball, men’s cross country, women’s cross country, football, men’s golf, women’s golf, women’s gymnastics, women’s lacrosse, men’s rowing, women’s rowing, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, softball, men’s swimming & diving, women’s swimming & diving, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, men’s track & field, women’s track & field, women’s volleyball, and wrestling. The award was first established during the 2007-08 academic year.

ALSO NOMINATED: Julia Rosenqvist, CAL; Megan Forster, COLO; Allison Mulville, ORE; Elysia Bolton, UCLA; Danielle Willson, USC; Linda Huang, UTAH; Vanessa Wong, WASH. 

Pac-12 Women’s Tennis Scholar-Athletes of the Year
2022 - Michaela Bayerlova, Washington State
2021 - Emily Arbuthnott, Stanford
2020 - No award
2019 - Brianna Chisholm, Utah
2018 - Gabby Smith, USC
2017 - Caroline Doyle, Stanford
2016 - Krista Hardebeck, Stanford
2015 - Kaitlin Ray, UCLA
2014 - Lacey Smyth, Arizona
2013 - Jacqueline Cako, Arizona State
2012 - Jana Juricova, California
2011 - Venise Chan, Washington
2010 - Lindsay Burdette, Stanford
2009 - Danielle Steinberg, Arizona
2008 - Riza Zalameda, UCLA