THE ATENEO Blue Eagles lost a nail-biter to rival De La Salle University (DLSU) with a score of 3-2, while the Lady Eagles ended the day in a 2-2 tie against the University of the Philippines (UP) on Saturday, March 4 at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Courts in Manila.
Blue Eagles
The Blue Eagles were looking to build on an impressive rout of the University of Santo Tomas in their last game, but just fell short against DLSU.
Captain Ino Canlas began the day carrying his undefeated record of 5-0 against DLSU’s Argil Canizares. Canlas showed his skill playing a balanced offense and defense to come out on top in 2 sets (6-4, 6-2). In the second singles match, Marcen Gonzales faced Betto Orendain in three grueling sets. It was a back and forth matchup with Gonzales taking the first set, but Orendain was able to win the second by mixing up his shots. The third set went to a tiebreaker with Orendain winning (3-6, 6-4, 7-6). Vernon Huibonhoa faced John Cerezo in the third singles match. Huibonhoa committed unforced errors in both sets as Cereza took advantage of them to come out on top in two sets (6-3, 6-4).
In the first doubles match, Anton Punzalan teamed up with Julian Dayrit to take on Abdulqoahar Allian and Jose Cano. Punzalan and Dayrit had excellent chemistry from the beginning, finding every crease in the La Salle defense. They took the match in just two sets (6-3, 6-2). Luke Flores and Erj Gatdula represented the second doubles as usual and went against Hans Asistio and Kyle Parpan. It was a hard-fought match as both sets went to tiebreakers. The match could have gone either way, but Parpan and Asistio defended well enough to earn the victory (7-6, 7-6).
The Blue Eagles’ failure to win tiebreakers was what cost them this game. When asked about how his team lacks when closing out games, Captain Ino Canlas responded by saying: “I don’t think we lack anything, we have two of the best coaches. We’re good enough to beat any team. I think it has to begin in believing in ourselves.”
They will have an opportunity to bounce back against the University of the Philippines on Sunday, March 5 at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Courts.
Lady Eagles
The Lady Eagles were on a quest for a much needed win, but it was put on hold as Jessica Agra’s match with Nicole Eugenio was postponed due to the lack of lights at the venue to continue at a late hour. They stopped the match with Eugenio up one set (6-2, 6-6).
Khrizelle Sampaton led off as the first singles player for Ateneo. She was defeated in two sets by CJ Valdez (6-3, 6-3), but was resilient the whole match defending tough hits. Rocio Climent was matched up against Dane Carranza from UP. Climent was able to make Carranza work hard for her points, but it was not enough to earn the win. Carranza won in two sets (6-4, 6-4).
The doubles matches were where the rookies of the Lady Eagles shined. Rookie Nicole Amistad and Jana Hernandez sparked the Blue and White as they battled Monivic Santos and Dana Uy. After taking the first set, they lost a tough tiebreaker to the UP duo. In the third set, Hernandez and a confident Amistad never gave UP a chance to catch up, ending the match (7-5, 6-7, 6-3). The second doubles match also featured an outstanding rookie performance by Annika Mallari. Mallari and Jana Pages went against Monica Bañez and Monika Cortez. Mallari exemplified stellar defense in the backline, while adding a service ace for good measure. While Pages’ steady leadership and communication sealed a dominant performance in two sets (6-1, 6-1).
The Lady Eagles will face National University Lady Bulldogs on Sunday, March 5 at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Courts.
Scores:
Men’s Team
(DLSU-Ateneo)
1st singles: 4-6, 2-6
2nd singles: 3-6, 6-4, 7-6
3rd singles: 6-3, 6-4
1st doubles: 3-6, 2-6
2nd doubles: 7-6, 7-6
Women’s Team
(Ateneo-UP)
1st singles: 3-6, 3-6
2nd singles: 4-6, 4-6
3rd singles (postponed): 2-6, 6-6
1st doubles: 7-5, 6-7, 6-3
2nd doubles: 6-1, 6-1
Blue Eagles lose a close match to DLSU, Lady Eagle’s rookies impress against UP in UAAP lawn tennis.
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