THE ATENEO Blue Eagles suffered a 3-2 loss at the hands of the National University (NU) Lady Tennisters in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 85 Women’s Lawn Tennis Tournament. The match was held yesterday, April 16, at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in the City of Manila. 

Team Captain Bea de Ocampo kicked off the Ateneo Women’s Lawn Tennis Team’s (AWLTT) elimination round tourney with the first Singles matchup against NU’s Elsie Abarquez. The Blue Eagle failed to answer back to the Lady Tennister’s prolific strokes as she dropped both sets, 1-6, 0-6. 

The rookie-sophomore duo of Tricia Howard and Elle Urgello fared similarly in their first Doubles bout against NU’s Alyssa Bornia and Alliah Ragunton. Howard and Urgello were easily thumped by the Lady Tennisters’ senior pairing, posting a 2-6, 2-6, forboth sets in the defeat. 

Althea Ong then stepped in to halt the Blue Eagles’ back-to-back losing skid as she faced Jessica Mae Carcueva. The Atenean stalwart failed to catch up to the large deficit that her NU opponent dealt her in the first set, 1-6. However, Ong quickly turned things around to get back at the Lady Tennister in the remaining two sets, 6-1, 6-3, earning Ateneo its first team-tie point. 

The second Doubles match then pitted Francesca Cruz and Gabby Sandejas against Lady Tennisters Ericka Yap and Bebang Guarde. However, the Ateneo duo missed out on the opportunity to compete in this encounter, owing to their NU counterparts’ decision to concede the match and grant them a walkover victory. 

The final match of the day featured Mariam Garsin, who was poised to engage in a face-off against NU’s Dana Abad. Despite Abad’s strong start with a 7-5 victory in the first set, Garsin quickly answered back with her powerful displays of skill and determination to level out the score in the second set, 6-4. Although the Blue Eagle was able to force out a third decisive set, Garsin was unable to overcome her opponent as she succumbed to a tough 0-6 final defeat. 

With the conclusion of the match, the Blue Eagles now hold a 3-4 win-loss record on their plate. The schedule for the next round of games has yet to be released. 

Team-Tie Score: Ateneo-NU: 3-2 

First Women’s Singles: de Ocampo fell to Abarquez, 1-6, 0-6

First Women’s Doubles: Howard & Urgello fell to Bornia & Ragunton, 2-6, 2-6

Second Women’s Singles: Ong def. Carcueva, 1-6, 6-1, 6-3

Second Women’s Doubles: Cruz & Sandejas def. Guarde & Yap (w.o.)

Third Women’s Singles: Garsin fell to Abad, 5-7, 6-4, 0-6