THE ATENEO Blue Eagles lost against the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors, 2-3, in their second match of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 80 Men’s Tennis tournament while the Lady Eagles won their first match of the season over the University of the Philippines (UP) Lady Maroons, 4-1, in the UAAP Women’s Tennis tournament. Both contests were played on Sunday, February 4, at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center in Manila.
Blue Eagles
The Blue Eagles suffered a dismal start to the season, losing back-to-back in their opening weekend.
In their first simultaneous set of matches, only Team Captain Ino Canlas managed to comfortably pull through against UE’s Harry Karon, 6-1, 6-1. The other singles match, however, saw UE’s Rodolfo Barquin deal a painful loss to Marcen Gonzales, 4-6, 4-6. Meanwhile on the center court, Blue Eagle doubles pair Julian Dayrit and Anton Punzalan drop a tough game against Red Warriors Rogelio Estaño and RJ Saga, 6-7, 3-6.
With Ateneo down in the team-tie, 1-2, Blue Eagles needed to remain perfect to carve out a win against UE. However, in the singles matchup between Blue Eagle Bong Gonzales and UE’s Joshua Kinaadman, the contest was closed promptly in UE’s favor, 1-6, 1-6. The win secured UE’s victory against Ateneo in the team-tie.
Although Ateneo’s fate had already been decided, this did not stop the Blue and White duo Luke Flores and Erj Gatdula to bravely fight against UE’s Veric Delos Santos and Justine Guira. The two Blue Eagles showed grit and persistence, which earned them a victory in three sets, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
Despite losing, Coach Abacan mentioned that he was happy with the team’s showing, saying, “Today was better compared to yesterday in terms of what they did on the court. But UE’s the defending champion. You can’t just play average. You have to play excellent.”
Lady Eagles
On the other hand, the Lady Eagles’ excellent collective display against their Katipunan rivals saw the Blue and White take their team-tie, 4-1. After failing to secure a team-tie victory against any team other than De La Salle University in Season 79, this win is evidence of strong potential for the Lady Eagles this season.
In the first singles match, veteran Khrizelle Sampaton comfortably dispatched UP’s Ria Ramirez, 6-0, 6-0. Ateneo rookie Carmen So made her UAAP debut against Monivic Santos where the Lady Eagle persevered past a first-set loss to take the match in three sets, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. Jana Pages had a similar result against Lady Maroon Theresa Tan, 6-1, 6-0, in the third singles match to complete the Lady Eagles shutout in the singles matches.
In the doubles matches, Lady Eagle Alexis McLean was paired with teammate Annika Mallari as they faced UP’s Willow Day and Dane Carranza. While the Blue and White tandem matched their opponents’ strong groundstrokes, they were unable to keep up as they dropped the match, 5-7, 4-6.
Meanwhile, Team Captain Jana Hernandez and Nicole Amistad had a straightforward encounter against Lady Maroons Monica Cortez and Denise Jimenez.
The Lady Eagle duo worked well together as Amistad’s groundstrokes were complemented by Hernandez’s aggressive play at the net to take the match, 6-1, 6-3, which sealed the win for the lady netters.
The Blue and Lady Eagles resume action against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) at 12:00 PM and 8:00 AM, respectively, on Sunday, February 11 at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center in Manila.
Team-Tie and Set Scores
Blue Eagles: Ateneo 2 UE 3
1st Men’s Singles – Rodolfo Barquin (UE) def. Marcen Gonzales (Ateneo): 6-4, 6-4.
2nd Men’s Singles: Ino Canlas (Ateneo) def. Harry Karon (UE): 6-1, 6-1.
3rd Men’s Singles: Joshua Kinaadman (UE) def. Bong Gonzales (Ateneo): 6-1, 6-1.
1st Men’s Doubles: Rogelio Estaño and RJ Saga (UE) def. Julian Dayrit and Anton Punzalan (Ateneo): 7-6, 6-3.
2nd Men’s Doubles: Luke Flores and Erj Gatdula (Ateneo) def. Veric Delos Santos and Justine Guira (UE): 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
Lady Eagles: Ateneo 4 UP 1
1st Women’s Singles – Khrizelle Sampaton (Ateneo) def. Ria Ramirez (UP): 6-0, 6-0
2nd Women’s Singles: Carmen So (Ateneo) def. Monivic Santos (UP): 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
3rd Women’s Singles: Jana Pages (Ateneo) def. Theresa Tan (UP): 6-1, 6-0
1st Women’s Doubles: Dane Carranza and Willow Day (UP) def. Annika Mallari and Alexis McLean (Ateneo): 5-7, 4-6
2nd Women’s Doubles: Nicole Amistad and Jana Hernandez (Ateneo) def. Monica Cortez and Denise Jimenez (UP): 6-1, 6-3.
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