THE ATENEO Women’s Badminton Team (AWBT) notched a 4-1 win over the De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Shuttlers earlier today at the Centro Atletico Badminton Center in Quezon City.

Today’s victory over their fierce rivals gave the Blue Eagles a clean 3-0 win-loss slate in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 86 Women’s Badminton Tournament, placing them atop the standings.

The Blue and White started strong as Team Captain Mika De Guzman secured a 2-0 win over DLSU’s Lady Tuario in the first singles match. The national team veteran made quick work of her opponent in the first set, 21-10. In the second set, several errors from both shuttlers kept the contest close in the opening stages, but De Guzman pulled away for the 21-9 victory.

Jochelle Alvarez followed suit in the second singles bout with a 2-0 sweep over Ghiselle Bautista. Initially facing a tight matchup early in the first set, 6-5, the Ateneo veteran managed to scrape past her Taft-based counterpart, 21-13. Alvarez’s 11-5 lead at the halfway mark of the second set would prove to be the difference as a back-and-forth exchange in the latter half resulted in a 21-11 win for the Blue Eagle.

Looking to secure the team-tie win for Ateneo, Missy Cervantes and Maxene Olango opened doubles action against Palma Cruz and Mia Manguilimotan. Despite a gallant stand against the DLSU duo, the latter’s relentless attacks and late-game execution proved too much for the Katipunan-based pair, yielding both sets 17-21 and 19-21, respectively.

With another chance to give the Blue and White the overall victory, Alvarez and De Guzman returned to square off against Shane Boloron and Kishia Coleen Dedicatoria. With a flurry of powerful hits, the Ateneo duo would sneak past their opponents in the first set, 21-14. Both squads went on a back-and-forth exchange in the opening stages of the second set, 4-4. However, the Blue Eagles mounted a 13-1 scoring burst, including eight straight points en route to a dominant 21-7 victory and the match win for Ateneo.

Capping off the afternoon was Angel Valle, who scored a 2-0 victory in her UAAP debut against Viana Antonio. The AWBT rookie came out firing in the first set with an 8-0 start, breezing past her Taft-based counterpart, 21-10. As multiple errors and a heated exchange transpired, neither shuttler was able to mount a comfortable advantage, with Ateneo holding a narrow 11-10 lead at the halfway mark of the second set. With the score tied at 14-all, the newest Blue Eagle unleashed a flurry of aggressive hits to end a heated battle, 21-15.

The Blue Eagles look to continue their unbeaten run as they go up against the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs on Sunday, November 5, 1:00 PM at the same venue.