FLUSHING, NY (Nov. 10) -- 2011 ITA National Women’s Co-Rookie of the Year Robin Anderson from UCLA and 2011 ITA National Men’s Player to Watch Sebastian Fanselow of Pepperdine added to their college honors Saturday when they were named the 2012 USTA/ITA Sportsmanship Award winners following their respective semifinal matches at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships, hosted by Columbia University at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Anderson, a sophomore for the Bruins, has had a tremendous week in Flushing, winning all of her singles matches in straight sets en route to reaching the women’s singles final. She also performed well at this national championship a year ago, losing in the consolation singles championship match in a third-set tiebreak. From nearby Matawan, NJ, Anderson is one of the most liked players in college tennis.
“It is an honor to receive the Sportsmanship Award,” Anderson said. “It is great to be given this award, especially here where I used to train. I have felt the support from everyone all week, and it’s great to know that everyone thought I showed good sportsmanship.”
Fanselow, a senior for the Waves, has lived up to his National Player to Watch honors so far this season by reaching the title match of the men’s singles draw this week. He has defeated two seeded players on his way to the finals, taking out No. 8 seed KU Singh of Georgia in the opening round before surviving a three-set thriller against top seed Alex Domijan from Virginia in the semifinals. Despite facing a number of tension-filled moments this week, Fanselow never lost his composure.
“I have never won a sportsmanship award before, so it feels great to be given this award. I try to be as fair as possible on the court, so maybe this is a reward for that.”
Anderson and Fanselow were selected by a panel of coaches, officials and tournament committee members. Both will be in action on Sunday as they try to take home more hardware from the 2012 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships.
