Only five Alabama women’s tennis players have ever won SEC Player of the Week twice in a season, but senior Alba Cortina Pou did so in back-to-back weeks earlier this month.

She won it the first time on Feb. 5 after going 2-0 in both singles and doubles. A week later, she added three more singles wins and went 2-1 in doubles for the record-setting honor.

“This is a testament to Alba’s work ethic, competitive spirit and positive attitude,” coach Jenny Mainz said. “Alba is going to run down every ball every day in every drill until the practice or matches are finished.”

Cortina Pou, originally from Spain, explained that it is difficult to combine an athletic and academic career after high school. She was offered the opportunity to play tennis and receive a continued education in the U.S. at Texas Tech, but she transferred to Alabama after one season.

“Receiving this award was awesome,” Cortina Pou said. “It showed me that the hard work put in gets an award and has motivated me to keep doing the right things.”

Over her three years in Tuscaloosa, she has a 52-18 (74.3%) record in singles and a 40-31 (56.3%) record in doubles. For her senior season, she has nearly identical winning percentages in singles and doubles: 15-4 (78.9%) in singles and 11-3 (78.6%) in doubles.

Cortina Pou has played 12 singles matches in the spring season, going 11-0 with one match unfinished. In doubles, she is 8-1 with freshman Sasha Gorchanyuk with one match unfinished. All eight wins were by a 6-3 margin or larger.

“She teaches me a lot of stuff on and off the court,” Gorchanyuk said. “Alba is a great friend, teammate and overall person. We have a lot of potential to do well in the SEC.”

This is Cortina Pou’s last season to play for the Crimson Tide. She said all four seniors have motivated each other during their last season together as teammates and competitive athletes.

Her career plan after graduation is to expand on her double major in finance and marketing. She hopes to find a job in sports marketing.

“I am not going to pursue a professional career in tennis,” Cortina Pou said. “I love tennis, but I feel like it is time for something new.”

Until then, she said she and the team want to “keep focusing and taking it one match at a time.”