IN A rematch of last season’s finals, the Ateneo Men’s Lawn Tennis Team yielded to the undefeated University of Santo Tomas (UST) Male Tennisters, 0-5. The University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 first round matchup was held earlier today at the Felicisimo Ampon Tennis Center in the City of Manila.
The blowout loss puts the Blue Eagles’ Season 87 win-loss record at 2-2, placing them at fourth in the standings alongside the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons.
Replacing Rafa Mendoza in today’s contest, Gab Quintana made his collegiate debut against UST’s Sebastian Santos. The Atenean rookie suffered a rude awakening as Santos leveraged his experience to control the tempo and sweep both sets in the first singles match, 6-0.
Team Co-Captain Stef Gurria also struggled to find his footing against UST’s Ericjay Tangub in the second singles match. Back-to-back errors from the veteran capped off a mistake-plagued first set, allowing the Thomasian to build a 6-2 advantage.
Gurria displayed adjustments in the following set to force multiple rallies. However, Tangub outclassed the Blue Eagle after unleashing a variety of attacks that handed Gurria a 3-6 setback and placed the Katipunan-based team in a 0-2 team-tie deficit.
Aiming to keep the Blue and White alive, JD Velez entered an early slugfest against two-time Most Valuable Player Nilo Ledama. The Blue Eagle utilized drop shots to confuse Ledama who countered with powerful cross-court hits. While the opening of the first set saw Ledama diligently fight for a slim 3-2 lead, the España-based Tennister steamrolled to victory after capturing the next four games, 6-2.
Velez was then unable to recover in the following set, falling victim to Ledama’s forehand prowess, 0-6.
The tandem of JJ Llavore and Gian Camingue hoped to be the silver lining to the embattled Blue Eagles’ day as they went up against Steven Sonsona and Symon Jaculan in the first doubles match. While victory was virtually out of reach for Ateneo, the Blue and White pairing still put up a tenacious stand in the first set, forcing a 4-4 tie before dropping the last two games, 4-6.
An identical flow was seen in the next canto, as the Blue Eagles conceded in another 4-6 scoreline after previously keeping close with Sonsona and Jaculan.
With Ateneo being on the verge of another sweeping loss, Aidyll Ignacio and JB Cuarto attempted to exert all their might against UST’s Richard Bautista and Nash Agustines in the second doubles match.
A multitude of errors from the Blue and White obstructed any hopes for a first-set stunner as the defending champions looked to cruise to a shutout, 2-6. While Ignacio and Cuarto’s unrelenting fight helped extend the second frame, more net violations spelled a 5-7 second set loss for Ateneo—who were ultimately handed their second 0-5 defeat in five days.
Following the game, Blue Eagles Head Coach Chris Cuarto discussed the challenges being currently faced by his rookie-laden unit. “They’re not yet used to the level of game that the top teams are playing. But in the end, I think [they] will get much better,” Cuarto said.
The Blue and White will seek to surge back into winning form in their next match against the University of the East Red Warriors next Saturday, March 8, 7:30 AM at the same venue.
Team-tie Score:
Ateneo-UST: 0-5
Results:
First Singles: Santos (UST) def. Quintero (Ateneo) – 6-0, 6-0
Second Singles: Tangub (UST) def. Gurria (UST) – 6-2, 6-3
Third Singles: Ledama (UST) def. Velez (Ateneo) – 6-2, 6-0
First Doubles: Sonsona and Jaculan (UST) def. Llavore and Camingue (Ateneo) – 6-4, 6-4
Second Doubles: Bautista and Agustines (UST) def. Ignacio and Cuarto (Ateneo) – 6-2, 7-5
Current Standings:
- UST Male Tennisters (4-0)
- NU Bulldogs (3-1)
- UE Red Warriors (3-1)
- Ateneo Blue Eagles (2-2)
- UP Fighting Maroons (2-2)
- AdU Soaring Falcons (1-4)
- DLSU Green Tennisters (0-5)
