“Expect us to fight and not back down. The team might not be as strong as last year but we definitely have bigger hearts.”

Those were the words of sophomore hard-hitter Mark Trinos prior the start of the UAAP season opener for tennis. Entering Season 74 as a team comprised mostly of rookies, the Blue and Lady Netters have the odds heavily favored against them. With powerhouses such as La Salle and UP, and with clubs fresh from a successful season such as UST, our tennis teams have their hands full this year.

Rebuilding the core

With both teams’ loss of key veteran players from last year’s podium finish, the Blue and Lady Netters have begun to rebuild. The men’s team currently consists of three juniors, two sophomores and three freshmen, with four players being rookies. The women’s team also has its share of rookies, with, for example, the discovery of Mikh Gomez, a sophomore management engineering major and a regular in the Tennis Club of the Loyola Schools.

Despite these new additions, the young, spirited individuals have yet to be exposed to the collegiate level of the sport. As Niquie Angelo, one of the captains of the team, states, “Since half of our team is composed of rookies, our biggest challenge would probably be familiarizing them to the competitive atmosphere of the UAAP games.”

Rough start

Despite their underdog status, the Netters still managed to step on to the court with their youthful confidence. Unfortunately, confidence is not enough against the winning experience of other teams. The Blue Netters have already dropped all four of their games. In the season opener, they fell at the hands of their Katipunan counterpart, the UP Fighting Maroons, to a 0-5 blowout. Their second loss of the season came from unbeaten La Salle, care of an abundance of unforced errors that left the score at 1-4.

With consecutive losses as a start to the season, they weren’t able to gather enough momentum in their match against UE, as the Blue Netters slipped up with a 2-3 defeat. Their fourth and most recent loss of the season was handed by undefeated UST, giving the young Netters a 1-4 lesson in aggressiveness in the baseline.

The Lady Netters are in a similar state as the men’s team. With the rain disruption the team faced in their opening weekend, momentum was clearly taken away, leading to a loss against UP. The ladies from Diliman were just too much to handle, as the women’s team dropped their first match of the season with a final score of 1-4.

Positive outlook

Despite struggling in the season, the Blue and Lady Netters still have the same fighting spirit they showed in the offseason. They continue to make adjustments throughout the game and look back at their mistakes and adjust during training hours. As veteran Mary Rivero shares, “Since the start of the season, we’ve discussed how the game went: what we lacked and what areas we need to focus on.”

With the veterans of the team—having at least two years of UAAP experience under their belt—stepping up as leaders, the rookies have done their fair share of hard work. “Now that we’re in the middle of our season, and that our rookies have already seen how it is to be part of UAAP, we will work on points that need attention during training in order to bring forth better results in our next games,” captain Niquie Angelo says.

Practice games against certain teams such as Rizal Technical University and International School Manila have lately been ongoing in order to further break the Netters into the collegiate atmosphere of tennis. After all, a losing season does not translate into a defeat; rather, it’s an opportunity to improve and grow.

As Angelo guarantees, “We’ll fight ‘til the end—that I can promise!”