THE ATENEO Blue and Lady Woodpushers failed to move up the standings as they ended their Season 71 University Athletics Association of the Philippines campaign on September 21 at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Tan Yan Kee Student Center.
The women’s team finished sixth among the eight schools, while the men’s team ranked last.
Young team
The women’s team came out with a better performance compared to the first rounds of the season. Although the weekend began with a 4-0 loss to the UST on September 6, the Lady Woodpushers got their first taste of victory in their win against National University, 3.5-0.5, on September 7.
De La Salle University (DLSU) stole the celebratory mood when they handed the distaff team another defeat, 3.5-0.5, on September 13. The weekend ended with a 2-2 draw against University of the Philippines. On September 21, the women’s team managed to get a draw in their 3.5-0.5 loss to Far Eastern University (FEU), their last game of the season.
“The team is so young,” said Sheila Mendoza (IV BS Bio-A). “I guess a lot of our players lack the experience, iba kasi yung pressure pag naglalaro ka na (the pressure is different when you’re playing the actual games). And four out of six of our members are freshmen,” she added.
“One can’t remove the edge one gains from experience but I think the team now shows a lot of promise and I’m sure we will be a force to be reckoned with come next season,” Mendoza said.
DLSU finished at the top of the women’s division, followed by FEU and UST.
Swept away
September opened up with two losses for the Blue Woodpushers, who bowed to University of the East, 3.5-0.5, and DLSU, 4-0 on September 6 and 7. The loss against DLSU marked the first game the men’s team would lose in four matches.
The team did not fare any better the following week as they fell to FEU, 3.5-0.5 on September 13. Their losing woes continued the following day, as they dropped a 4-0 decision at the hands of UST. EJ Plan (I BS Mgt) scored both of the draws in the team’s four losses.
The final weekend ended with another loss for the men’s team, under the hands of NU, 2.5-1.5. Plan and Enrique Santos (II BS ME) drew and scored respectively.
“Heartbreaking”
“We learned a lot of new things this season…in a hard way. We’ve gained a lot of experience through heartbreaking loss but we will try to bounce back next season [with] intense training,” said Team Captain Eddan Macabulos (II AB Psy).
FEU took the men’s overall crown, while UST and Adamson University rounded out the tournament with podium finishes.
