ITA Announces 2015 ITA Division I National College Players of the Year

ITA Announces 2015 ITA Division I National College Players of the Year

Men's and women's doubles teams also honored

SKILLMAN, NJ (June 17) - UCLA's Robin Anderson and Oklahoma's Axel Alvarez Llamas have been named the 2015 ITA National College Players of the Year, the ITA announced today. Additionally, Julian Lenz and Diego Galeano of Baylor were named the ITA National Men's Doubles Team of the Year, and Alabama's Erin Routliffe and Maya Jansen received ITA National Women's Doubles Team of the Year honors for the second year in a row.

The ITA College Player of the Year Awards are given to the male and female singles and doubles players who have had the most outstanding year in Division I college tennis. Anderson and Alvarez Llamas will be honored on Saturday, July 18 in Newport, RI at a special Awards Luncheon during the Rolex Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend, immediately prior to the 2015 International Tennis Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony.

Anderson, a graduating senior at UCLA, posted a 27-3 singles record this season and was champion of the Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championships in the fall. Ranked No. 2 in the Oracle/ITA Preseason Rankings, Anderson ultimately finished the year ranked No. 1, and also previously achieved the No. 1 doubles ranking during her junior season. Anderson compiled seven ITA All-American honors (four singles, three doubles) over her four seasons with the Bruins, during which she was also champion of the USTA/ITA Southwest Regional Singles and Doubles Championships, the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Singles Championship, and was MVP of UCLA's 2014 NCAA Championship team. The team captain registered over 200 combined win during her collegiate career, finishing with a singles record of 127-15 and a 100-39 mark in doubles. Anderson leaves UCLA as one of the most accomplished college tennis players of all time. 

Alvarez Llamas, a junior at Oklahoma, finished the season ranked No. 1 in the Oracle/ITA Division I National Men's Singles Rankings. He began his successful season in the fall by winning a second consecutive USTA/ITA Central Regional Singles Championship, and he later advanced to the quarterfinals of the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championship. In the spring, Alvarez Llamas strung together 23 straight dual-match victories in singles while helping his team carry the No. 1 overall ranking for much of the season. He also contributed two points to Oklahoma's 4-2 win over USC in the 2015 ITA Division I National Men's Team Indoor Championship, the program's first ever National Championship title. Alvarez Llamas finished the season 39-6 in singles and earned the No. 8 doubles ranking with partner Dane Webb.

In women's doubles, Alabama's Erin Routliffe and Maya Jansen accomplished the year-end No. 1 ranking for the second straight season together. The tenacious Tide duo also won their second consecutive NCAA Doubles Championship in May, becoming the first duo to repeat as NCAA doubles champion since 1999 and just the third repeat winners in 34 seasons. Ranked No. 1 in the fall preseason rankings, Routliffe and Jansen regained the top ranking in mid-April and held it for the final four editions this season. The sophomore-junior pairing has a two-year record together of 57-8.

Baylor's Julian Lenz and Diego Galeano finished the season as the top-ranked men's doubles team in the county. Lenz, a junior, and Galeano, a senior, had not competed together as a doubles team prior to the dual match season this spring. The Baylor twosome got into a groove quickly in February, when they rattled off 19 consecutive victories during an unbeaten streak that lasted nearly three full months. Lenz and Galeano finished their season with a 26-3 record and an appearance in the NCAA Semifinals. Their 14-2 record against ranked opponents included a victory over the 2014 ITA National College Doubles Players of the Year in Tennessee's Hunter Reese and Mikelis Libietis, who finished No. 3 in the rankings this year.

Past ITA National Players of the Year
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Past ITA National Doubles Teams of the Year

About the Intercollegiate Tennis Association

As the governing body of collegiate tennis, the ITA promotes both the athletic and academic achievements of the collegiate tennis community. The ITA, which was founded in 1956 and is based in Skillman, NJ, administers numerous regional and national championships, the ITA Collegiate Summer Circuit, presented by the USTA, and the ITA College Tennis Rankings for men's and women's tennis at the NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and Junior College levels. The ITA also has a comprehensive awards program for players and coaches to honor excellence in academics, leadership and sportsmanship. The official ITA web site is www.itatennis.com.

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