Nov. 11, 2012

Story and photo courtesy of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association

NEW YORK - Sophomore Robin Anderson became the first UCLA player to capture a National Indoor title since 1995 on Sunday afternoon, as she cruised to a straight-set victory in the finals of the 2012 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships at the USTA's Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Anderson, the tournament's No. 5 seed, jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead against Cal's Anett Schutting in Sunday's final. Schutting, however, was able to put a little pressure on Anderson late in the set, getting one of the breaks back to close the gap to 5-3. However, in the next game, Schutting failed to hold once again, netting a forehand volley on set point.

Anderson sprinted out ahead once again in the second, securing a break for 2-0 when Schutting tossed in a double fault. The Bruin consolidated the break in commanding fashion by holding at love, but the set took a dramatic turn from there. Schutting finally got on the board with a hold in the next game, and then found a way to break Anderson's serve. The momentum was nearly stolen back by Anderson, who had three break points at 3-2, but the Golden Bear came through with some big serving and heavy hitting from the baseline to fend them off.

Ultimately, Schutting's inconsistency from the baseline plagued her, especially with Anderson being able to rely on her movement and defense when needed. On Anderson's second match point on Schutting's serve at 5-4, Schutting dumped a forehand into the net, allowing Anderson to flash a smile to her coach and let out a huge sigh of relief. Anderson is just the second Bruin women's tennis player to claim the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships singles crown, joining the 1995 champion Jane Chi.

"The game plan was to be aggressive, make my serves and make my returns," Anderson explained."She came out firing. She was serving well and was hitting the ball so big, so I kind of had to adjust a little bit. I started playing a little more defense but still trying to be aggressive when I could.Having my friends come out, having the USTA here supporting me, it was so special to win it."

On Saturday, Anderson was named the tournament's Sportsmanship Award winner.

Please visit the ITA's Official Tournament Website for more information.