THE ATENEO Men’s Lawn Tennis Team (AMLTT) open the second round of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 85 with a statement win over the Adamson University (AdU) Soaring Falcons, 5-0. The Blue Eagles’ resounding five match win took place earlier today at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, in the City of Manila.
Jed Olivarez opened today’s competition with a strong outing against Adamson’s Jerald Delos Santos in the first Singles match. The Blue Eagle’s dominant play this season continues as he quickly won both sets, 6-0, 6-0. This allowed Ateneo to get their first team-tie point of the day.
JJ Llavore and Mik Balce gave Ateneo their second team-tie point as they won the first Doubles match against AdU’s Ramon Bentillo and Jefrey Burgos. The Ateneo duo dropped the first set, 4-6. However, they quickly recovered after winning the second set, 6-3. A tightly-contested third set ensued, with the Blue and White clinching the match at 7-5.
Nio Tria carried over the AMLTT’s momentum into the second Doubles match against AdU’s Cateo Jayme. The highly-touted Ateneo rookie opened the bout aggressively, taking the first set, 6-0. The second set saw similar results as Tria’s offensive display gave him another set win, 6-1. This matchup gave Ateneo the early win, 3-0.
Steff Gurria and Co-Captain Chester Tiongson captured Ateneo’s fourth team-tie point in the second Doubles bout against Reymoses Amba and Junel Canal. The Blue and White eased through the first set, 6-2. Despite the looming efforts of the Falcons to push the match to a third set, the Ateneo duo powered through to win the tiebreak, 7-5.
AMLTT Co-Captain Gab Tiamson closed off today by securing the sweep with a win over Emmanuel Pedrosa in the third Singles match. The Ateneo Lawn Tennis veteran stopped any momentum coming from the Falcon, as Tiamson ended the matchup in two straight sets, 6-1, 6-1.
This win gives Ateneo a winning record of 6-1, currently putting them at second place below the undefeated University of Santo Tomas Tigers Tennis Team (6-0).
The AMLTT look to continue their dominant campaign this season as they go against defending champions, the National University Tennisters, Saturday, April 1, at 7:30 AM in the same venue.
Men’s Team Tie Score: Ateneo 5 – UST 0
First Men’s Singles: Olivarez def. Delos Santos, 6-0, 6-0
First Men’s Doubles: Llavore & Balce def. Bentillo & Burgos, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
Second Men’s Singles: Tria def. Jayme, 6-1, 6-0
Second Men’s Doubles: Tiongson & Gurria def. Amba & Canal, 6-2, 7-5
Third Men’s Singles: Tiamson def. Pedrosa, 6-1, 6-1
