THE ATENEO Men’s Lawn Tennis Team (AMLTT) carved out its fourth straight win after defeating the National University (NU) Tennisters, 3-2. The two heavy hitters battled it out on Day Four of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 85 in the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center in Manila City.
Jed Olivarez began today’s bout in the first Singles match with a win over NU’s Jude Ceniza. Olivarez set the tone by taking command of the first set, 6-1. Ateneo’s winning spunk carried over, with the Blue Eagle dominating the second set, 6-0. This gave Ateneo the first team-tie point.
Diego Dayrit and Gab Gurria looked to continue the momentum in the first Doubles match but were halted by NU’s Rucel Cero and Aljon Talatayod. The Tennisters managed to quickly capture the first set, 6-0. Despite Ateneo’s efforts to push the match to a tiebreak, NU closed any chances by taking the second set, 6-4. This allowed the Tennisters to tie the matchup, 1-1.
In the second Singles match, Nio Tria fought back for the Blue and White by winning over Jules Lazaro. Tria won over the tightly-contested first set with an emphatic 7-5 triunph over Lazaro. Any chances of a comeback by NU were shut down by the Ateneo rookie, dominating the second set, 6-1. This gave Ateneo the early team-tie lead, 2-1.
Co-Captain Gab Tiamson secured Ateneo’s win over the defending champions in the third Singles match against NU’s Vince Tugade. Tiamson’s commanding offense allowed the veteran to take the first set, 6-2. The AMLTT veteran made quick work of the competition, with the second set seeing the same results, 6-2. This gave Ateneo the crucial third team-tie point of the day.
Mik Balce and JJ Llavore looked to close off Ateneo’s outing with a win in the second Doubles matchup but were unable to overcome Tennisters Ibarra Ortega and Gab Bandoquillo. The Ateneo duo won a hard-fought first set, 7-6. Yet, NU was still able to take over the second set, 6-2. The Tennisters then carried over their winning ways in the third set, 6-1. This victory gave NU their second team-tie point, ultimately ending the match in a 3-2 team-tie score in favor of the Blue Eagles.
The AMLTT will fight to protect its spot on top as they face off against the joint first-placers, the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigers, at 12:00 PM on Wednesday, March 22.
Men’s Team Tie Score: Ateneo 3 NU 2
First Men’s Singles: Olivarez def. Ceniza, 6-1, 6-0
First Men’s Doubles: Gurria & Dayrit fell to Cero & Talatayod, 0-6, 4-6
Second Men’s Singles: Tria def. Lazaro, 7-5, 6-1
Second Men’s Doubles: Balce & Llavore fell to Ortega & Bandoquillo, 7-6, 2-6, 1-6
Third Men’s Singles: Tiamson def. Tugade, 6-2, 6-2
