IN THE Battle of Katipunan, the Ateneo Men’s Lawn Tennis Team (AMLTT) hushed the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons in a 4-1 rout to close off the tennis tourney’s first round. The match was held earlier today at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center in the City of Manila.

With this win, the Blue and White cemented its second place seat at 5-1 in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 86 standings, just below defending champions University of Santo Tomas Male Tennisters with a first-round sweep of 6-0.

The first doubles team of Noy Seno and Austin Delos Santos waxed hot from the get-go with a merciless beating over Karl Miguel and Jonas Silva. The dynamic duo survived taxing rallies, slotting stronger shots all throughout for a 6-4 and 6-3 finish.

Drawing steam from the rousing win, Axl Gonzaga engineered a masterclass with repeat five-point runs, leaving Rafael Liangco to respond with only one point apiece for a duplicate 6-1 finish in the second singles match.

Team Co-Captain Antonio Tria eyed to replicate the rousing win against Loucas Fernandez yet fell short in answering the sharper returns of the red-clad foe, yielding with a 3-6, 6-3, and 4-6 showing for the first singles match.

However, JD Velez took matters into his own hands to preserve Gonzaga’s heroics, tallying a blitz of stronger returns despite heated exchanges from UP’s Zire Mina. This run resulted in a similar 6-2 and 6-1 thrashing in the third singles bout.

In a final bid to stamp Ateneo’s class, JJ Llavore and Stef Gurria nullified Hakim Boloto and Andrei Jarata’s second set storm via well-coordinated rallies. The duo found their wind in the last canto for a 6-4, 3-6, and 6-2 win in the second doubles bid.

Looking to reach the pinnacle, the Blue Eagles will double down on their hunt for gold in due time, as the second round’s venue and schedule are yet to be announced.