AFTER A series of disappointing losses against the UST Growling Tigers and the NU Bulldogs, the Ateneo Men’s Lawn Tennis team persists to be a valiant force on the court as they unleashed their fighting spirit with a team-tie score of 3-2 during Day 5 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 81 Men’s Lawn Tennis Tournament held on Sunday, March 3 at the Colegio San Agustin-Bulacan Tennis Stadium in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan.
Claiming the Blue Eagles’ first victory of the day, Blue Eagles Team Captain Marcen Gonzales faced off DLSU’s Al Francis Andrade in the men’s first singles match, powering through in two sets, 7-5, 6-3.
Blue and White duo Bong Gonzales and Julian Dayrit continued the winning surge as they overpowered their opposition in the first doubles match against DLSU’s King Golfo and Raprap Teng. The Ateneo tandem started strong as they bested their DLSU counterparts, 6-2, in a quick first set. The second half of the match proved a more challenging affair for the Blue and White, with one service break separating the teams, 6-4.
The second singles match pitted Ateneo’s Gab Tiamson against Green Archer Jona Cano, who served Ateneo’s first blow of the day. The Blue Eagle encountered a heated face-off against his DLSU counterpart as Cano managed to answer a 6-4 first set win by Ateneo with a 5-7 second set triumph. In the decider, Tiamson failed to take full control of the match, and retired after a tightly contested third set due to cramps, giving DLSU their first point of the day to put the score at 1-0.
Veterans Luke Flores and Erj Gatdula glided through the second doubles match with ease as they showed their skill and prowess against Green Archers’ Gelo Cerezo and Rey Mayo. The duo exuded a tremendous amount of chemistry and rallied through the match, finishing with straight-set victory, 6-1, 6-1.
The last singles match up saw Blue Eagle Iyo Canlas take on DLSU’s Betto Orendain. The Green Archer took the first set at 2-6, and carved a 3-6 win in the second set against the Blue Eagle. This gave DLSU their second win of the day, but Ateneo still walked away with the precious team-tie victory, 3-2.
The results after Day 5 put the Blue Eagles at 3-2 in the elimination round standings of the tournament. Their next game will be against the University of the Philippines at 8:00 AM on Saturday, March 9, at the same venue.
Team-tie score: Ateneo 3 DLSU 2
Set scores:
First Singles: M Gonzales (Ateneo) def. Lanzado, 7-5, 6-3
Second Singles: Cano def. Tiamson (Ateneo), 4-6, 7-5, 1-0
Third Singles: Orendein def. Canlas (Ateneo), 2-6, 3-6
First Doubles: Dayrit and Gonzales (Ateneo) def. Golfo and Teng, 6-2, 6-4
Second Doubles: Flores and Gatdula (Ateneo) def. Cerezo and Mayo, 6-1, 6-1
Photo by Reyneal Vargas
