CLINCHING THEIR first win of the season, the Ateneo Men’s Lawn Tennis Team (AMLTT) dominated the Adamson University (AdU) Soaring Falcons in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 85 Men’s Lawn Tennis tournament. The Blue Eagles won all five matches, 5-0, in three Singles matches and two Doubles matches, earlier today at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in the City of Manila.

Co-captain Gabriel Tiamson started strong in the first Men’s Singles match against AdU’s Capto Jayme. Tiamson delivered a commendable performance over Jayme in the first set with his powerful hits, 6-1. Building on his momentum to the second set, Tiamson quickly pulled off with a comfortable lead, 6-2. 

As for the second Singles match, Jed Olivarez swiftly secured it for the Blue and White against AdU’s Ramon Bentillo in two straight sets, 6-2 and 6-0. Olivarez’ quick work of his Adamson counterpart put the Blue and White up another team-tie point at 2-0.

Following Olivarez’s hard-fought win, Antonio Tria faced AdU’s Emmanuel Pedrosa in the Third Singles match. Despite being down early against Pedrosa, 1-2, Tria quickly recovered with his impressive strategies to notch the first set, 6-2. Following a stellar performance in the first set, Tria continued to command the game with a 4-1 lead over the Soaring Falcon in the second set. However, Tria’s errors allowed Pedrosa to come back and tie the set, 4-4. Recovering with his strong hits, Tria clinched the second set, 6-4. 

In the first Doubles match, Ateneo duo Mik Balce and JJ Llavore faced AdU’s Amba and Canal. The Blue Eagles powered through the first set with their aggressive hits, 6-1. However, in the second set, the AdU duo took over the lead against the Blue and White, 4-3. Down by a game, the Blue Eagles pulled through as they managed to secure three straight games and the second set, 6-4. 

Closing the final match of the day, Blue Eagles Chester Tiongson and Steffano Gurria went up against Adamson’s Burgos and Delos Santos in the second Doubles match. The Soaring Falcons quickly snatched the first set as the Blue Eagles failed to contain their errors, 0-6. Bouncing back from their first set loss, the Tiongson and Gurria had a better performance in the second set with their powerful hits, 6-2. A see-saw battle followed in the third set with both teams delivering impressive strategies in a must-win set. Despite giving Adamson the lead towards the latter part of the third set, the Blue and White kept their composure to secure the match, 7-5. 

Finishing their first game in a dominant fashion, AMLTT Head Coach Gee Abacan shares that this is only the start for the team, “Siyempre I’m happy. We’ve been training for this since the very first day of the school year. Deep inside I know, in terms of skills, medyo kulang kami compared to other schools so I’m happy. This is really a good win, good start (Of course I’m happy, we’ve been training for this since the very first day of the school year. Deep inside I know, in terms of skills, we’re quite lacking behind compared to other schools).”

The AMLTT will face the University of the East on Wednesday, March 15 at 8:00 AM in the same venue.

Team-Tie Score: Ateneo-AdU: 5-0

First Men’s Singles: Tiamson def. Jayme, 6-1, 6-2

First Men’s Doubles: Balce & Llavore def. Amba & Canal, 6-1, 6-4

Second Men’s Singles: Olivarez def. Bentillo, 6-2, 6-0

Third Men’s Singles: Tria def. Pedrosa, 6-2, 6-4

Second Men’s Doubles: Tiongson & Gurria def. Burgos & Delos Santos, 0-6, 6-2, 7-5