A man broke into a UA student's house, repeatedly punched her in the face, then fled before police arrived early Saturday morning, neighbors said.

The man hopped over a fence to get into the apartment complex in the 1200 block of East Ninth Street, removed the hinges from an outer door of the apartment and entered the student's house, said neighbor Gabby Meghiddo, a physiology senior and a friend of the victim.

The student, a theatre arts major, was asleep in bed. She awoke to see a man right in front of her, before he pounced on her and started punching her in the face, Meghiddo said.

The student said she was punched more than 20 times.

"I have no idea why (it happened)," the student said. "It has been the biggest mystery for me, the police and the detectives."

Though they did not offer details, Tucson police confirmed that an incident did occur around 5 a.m. Saturday near East Ninth Street and North Mountain Avenue.

The Wildcat is withholding the name of the student, as police have not arrested her suspected assailant.

Because the victim had her eyes closed and head turned, she could not identify the man and did not even see his face, Meghiddo said.

"I'm just really lucky he stopped, and I don't know why he stopped," the student said.

When the man left the victim's room, the woman locked herself in her bedroom and called the police, Meghiddo said.

Police knocked down the fence outside and the door to the bedroom in an attempt to catch the suspect, but he had already fled.

Nothing was taken from the victim's apartment and the assault was not sexual, Meghiddo said.

The student is in stable condition and has been released from the hospital.

A metal back door with bars has replaced the old security door, the student added.