In day 2 of the Season 79 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Tennis Tournament, the Blue and Lady Eagles faced De La Salle University (DLSU) and National University (NU), respectively.
It was a bag of mixed results for the Blue Eagles and their Lady counterparts, as the former recorded their first team win of the season, while the Lady Eagles stumbled upon a 0-5 loss.
Lady Eagles
In the first singles match, rookie Annika Mallari made her UAAP debut against NU’s Canja, while Rocio Climent took on NU’s Clarice Patrimonio. Both Mallari and Climent struggled, as they lost 0-6, 0-6, and 0-6, 1-6, respectively.
Team Captain Jana Hernandez and Jessica Agra similarly dropped the first set. However, they extended the match to a third set where they failed to close the games of the last set as they fell, 2-6, 6-4, 5-7.
In the second doubles match, Jana Pages and rookie Nicole Amistad dropped the games, 0-6, 2-6. Veteran Khrizelle Sampaton struggled, as well against Christine Patrimonio in the last singles match. Although she attempted a late surge in the second set, she ultimately fell, 1-6, 4-6, to conclude a disappointing day for the Katipunan-based side.
Blue Eagles
The Blue Eagles rekindled their rivarly with the Taft-based team with a three to two win in the overall tie with Team Captain Ino Canlas, Marcen Gonzales, and doubles pair Julian Dayrit and Anton Punzalan snatching wins. Canlas and Gonzales squared off against DLSU’s Canizares and Teng in a fairly straightforward affair, as the former won 6-0, 6-2 and the latter secured a 6-3, 6-1 victory.
In the succeeding events, however, DLSU came alive. In the third singles match, AJ Rivero was dispatched by DLSU’s Betto Orendain, 1-6, 0-6 while duo Luke Flores and Erj Gatudulan dropped the first doubles matchup 1-6, 1-6, leaving the fate of the tie hanging in the balance.
In the second doubles match, Anton Punzalan and rookie Julian Dayrit looked certain to secure a win for the Blue and White after a 6-2 win in the first set. Parpan and Asistio, however, crawled their way back with a service break that gave them a 2-4 lead in the second set after nerves resulted in unforced errors on the part of the Blue Eagles.
After conceding the second set, 2-6, Dayrit and Punzalan found themselves a break down at 0-2. They quickly recovered, however, breaking back at 2-2 and holding serve despite the persistence of Parpan and Asistio. The Blue Eagle duo took their chance in the dying stages of the set as they broke serve to end the match, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.
With that result, the Blue Eagles recovered from their disappointing 1-3 loss against UE on opening day. “Of course, I’m very proud [with the win],” Canlas said. “That confidence boost is a big help also. Coming in to Wednesday, I hope we can maintain the level [of play].”
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Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to correct the facts reported in the Blue Eagles’ match.
