THE BLUE and Lady Eagles have been identified as underdogs in years past, with the Men’s team routinely holding sixth or seventh place finishes in the UAAP while the Women’s team struggles with a small composition of players.

These struggles have mostly been due to the challenge of finding new recruits and facing opponents with more experience in the sport. Captains of the Men’s and Women’s teams, Jan Emmanuel Garcia and Brena Membrere, respectively, both state that they look forward to training hard with their teammates to overcome these challenges.

The blue woodpushers have Garcia, Louell Jude Que, Ricki Yao, Jolo Lat, Anfernee Bonifacio, and Renzo Marquez representing the Blue and White this Season 78. Meanwhile, the lady woodpushers have Membrere, Jasmine Principe, Gabrielle Ablang, Ana de Duque, Aryanne De Ocampo, Annelle Chua, Minella Sandoval, and Jill Feliciano all coming into the fold.

These struggles have mostly been due to the challenge of finding new recruits and facing opponents with more experience in the sport.

While most of their members are relatively new, the Lady Eagles have added six more players to their previous rotation of two. These rookies have been contributing ideas, learning new skills, and working to build on their strategic moves and tactics.

Even with their progress, both chess teams still hope to sharpen their skills by training with grandmasters in chess, developing a better recruitment system, and participating in competitions other than the UAAP. “Our team [wants] to try competing in national competitions, and hopefully find ways to participate in international tournaments as well,” says Membrere.

However, with the 78th season of the UAAP just around the corner, there is no time to relax for these Eagles. “Expect us to do our best,” says Garcia.