THE ATENEO Lady Eagles defeated the De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Archers in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Women’s Lawn Tennis Tournament on Sunday, February 18, at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center in Manila.

In the first singles event, rookie Carmen So faced DLSU’s Rachelle De Guzman. Despite having good shots of her own, the Assumption alumna had trouble stringing them together as she dropped the match, 6-0, 6-1. In the first doubles match, however, Nicole Amistad and Team Captain Jana Hernandez left their tie unscathed as they took a 6-0, 6-0 in forty minutes.

The second doubles match was between the pairs of Lady Eagles Martina Bautista and Annika Mallari and Lady Archers Kiana Gacias and Kylla Orillosa. The match was a fairly straightforward encounter that ended, 6-0, 6-3, in favor of the Lady Eagles.

Khrizelle Sampaton suited up for the next singles match, where she dispatched DLSU’s Nikki Arandia, 6-1, 6-4 to secure the victory for the Katipunan-based side in the team-tie.

This left Jana Pages and Jed Aquino’s matchup as the only ongoing match that entered the third set after two hours of play. The match ended prematurely, however, as Pages retired early in the third to prevent further aggravation of her elbow.

After the tie, the team had a rather lengthy discussion where Coach Jennifer Saret called on the team to be more “whole.”

“It seems [like] we’re vulnerable kasi,” shared captain Jana Hernandez. “We’re not showing that we’re that strong of a team, but we actually really are.”

This win leaves the Lady Eagles at a 2-1 record, second place at the end of the first round of the tourney.