Eva Alvarez Sande Named ITA Northwest Region Rookie of the Year

PULLMAN, Wash. (June 6, 2023) – Washington State University tennis student-athlete Eva Alvarez Sande was awarded the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Northwest Region Rookie of the Year, the organization announced Tuesday.
 
Alvarez Sande, a rising sophomore from Coruna, Galicia, Spain, capped her 2022-23 campaign by being named to the All-Pac-12 Conference Second Team, the first Cougar freshman to earn All-Pac-12 honors since Michaela Bayerlova was a first-team selection in 2018. This past season, Alvarez Sande posted a team-best 19-16 singles record and 21-15 doubles mark. In Pac-12 play, she had a 5-4 record, all coming at the No. 1 singles position. That included wins over No. 24 Eryn Cayetano of USC and Cal’s Haley Giavara, who finished last season No. 36 nationally.
 
She teamed with Elyse Tse midway through the season and the duo finished the year with a 10-2 record, 5-0 at No. 2 and 5-2 at No. 1. In March, the pair entered the ITA Doubles ranking at No. 38 and finished the year at No. 51. They were selected as alternates for the 2023 NCAA Women’s Doubles Championship.
 
Last month, Alvarez Sande advanced through qualifying to reach the main draw at the ITF $40k Montemor-O-Novo event in Portugal, falling to the No. 2 seed in the first round.
 
Alvarez Sande is just the second Cougar player to capture Northwest Region Rookie of the Year honors, joining Hikaru Sato who earned the honor in 2019. The ITA will announce national award winners Monday, June 12.