THE ATENEO Lady Eagles cruised to victory against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigresses, winning all five matches (5-0) on Thursday, October 5 at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.
This team-tie victory means that the Lady Eagles finish third out of seven teams with a 4-2 win-loss record in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), similar to their Season 79 finish.
The Lady Eagles were represented by Bianca Carlos in the first singles against Growling Tigress Maria Vizmonte. Carlos exerted her dominance early in the match and finished strongly at 21-8, 21-12, to give Ateneo the advantage in the team-tie.
Former team captain Trixie Malibiran took to the court against UST’s Venice Panotes with the objective of claiming the second match to pile the pressure on the Tigresses. Malibiran looked in control all throughout the match, garnering the victory at 21-8, 21-14.
The Ateneo duo of Carlos and Chanelle Lunod represented the Blue and White against Vizmonte and Ann Pimentel of the Manila-based Tigresses. As was the story for the previous matches, the Lady Eagles were in total domination of all aspects of the match as they managed to sweep the UST tandem at 21-12, 21-9, to ensure a team-tie victory and a Final Four spot for Ateneo.
The second doubles match against UST’s Panotes and Evan Teope saw Malibiran team up with Geva De Vera as they continued their demolition of UST. The Ateneo duo successfully overcame initial pressure to run to a 21-8, 21-11 finish, giving Ateneo a 4-0 team-tie standing against UST.
Lady Eagle skipper Cassie Lim was the final representative for the Blue and White against UST’s Pimentel. Lim dazzled the crowd with near-perfect play as she cruised to a 21-11, 21-5 win over her UST counterpart, consequently handing Ateneo a perfect team-tie result in the last round.
Clearly ecstatic about the performance of the team, captain Lim applauded the individual and team effort the Lady Eagles put in on the day. “Everyone played well, everyone [played their] games, hopefully this will continue all the way,” she said.
In familiar territory, with competitors University of the Philippines (UP), De La Salle University (DLSU), and National University (NU) also finishing in similar positions as last season, Lim was adamant to state that the Lady Eagles are not fazed and will focus on each match, one at a time.
“It’ll be tough [to go against NU] because they will try to go for it, but at the same time, we’ll still be playing the same way we have been playing. We won’t relax and we’ll just take it one at a time,” Lim stated.
The Lady Eagles will take on fourth-placed NU while holding a twice-to-beat advantage on Sunday, October 8, at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.
Match Score
Ateneo 5 UST 0
Set Scores
First Women’s Singles (Carlos vs. Vizmonte): 21-8, 21-12
Second Women’s Singles (Malibiran vs Panotes): 21-8, 21-14
First Women’s Doubles (Carlos and Lunod vs. Vizmonte and Pimentel): 21-12, 21-9
Second Women’s Doubles (Malibiran and De Vera vs. Panotes and Teope): 21-8, 21-11
Third Women’s Singles (Lim vs. Pimentel): 21-11, 21-5
