THE ATENEO Women’s Tennis Team (AWTT) opened their University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 match in defeat against the Season 87 silver medalists National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs, 0-5. The match was held earlier today at the Colegio San Agustin Tennis Stadium in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan.
This loss puts the Blue Eagles at a 0-1 win-loss record in the elimination round, placing them fifth overall in the standings.
To commence the first singles match, returning veteran Althea Ong competed against Nationalian Adeline Abadia. The Blue Eagle attained the first two games through calculated shots that scrambled Abadia’s court placement, 2-0. However, the Gold and Blue representative upended Ong with a 3-0 scoring spree to gain a one-game advantage. In spite of Ong’s success to equalize the score, the Atenean fell short of securing the first set after Abadia won three consecutive games, 3-6.
In an effort to extend the match to a third set, Ong exchanged blows with Abadia to level the games at 3-all. Although multiple deuces were incurred, Ong ultimately failed to contain the Season 87 silver medalist’s prowess, eventually conceding to a 3-0 run, 3-6.
Looking to destabilize the momentum of the Jhocson-based squad, Althea Martirez faced Elizabeth Abarquez for the second singles match. Despite the Blue Eagle’s commendable efforts to sustain the rallies, Martirez fell short on power as her tactics were highly pressured by Abarquez, 0-6.
Martirez continued to stay composed on the hard clay to halt the Gold and Blue’s streak, 1-2. Although the Katipunan-based player managed to minimize the bleeding, 2-5, Abarquez denied any more chances of another deuce and sealed the match early, 2-6.
In the third singles match, Angela Buyante represented the Blue and White against Gold and Blue athlete JM Carcueva. At the onset, the Atenean faltered before Carcueva’s passes, accumulating a 4-0 game deficit in the opening set. Albeit attaining the next game, Buyante stumbled at the hands of Carcueva’s precision to hand the first set in favor of the Lady Bulldogs, 2-6. The Blue Eagle was then toppled over in the second set, overwhelmed by the Lady Bulldogs’ excellence, 0-6.
Stepping onto the UAAP tennis court for the first time, the Atenean duumvirate of Zaina Omar and Elohgracie Castolo opened the first doubles match against NU’s Rovie Baulete and AJ Acabo. The Katipunan-based duo struggled to find their rhythm as miscommunications proved costly against the Lady Bulldogs’ powerful volleys, 0-6.
To cap off the final match of the day, Blue Eagles Chelsea Roque and Casey Padilla dueled against Juliana Carvajal and Fil Cornell in the second doubles match. The Ateneans overwhelmed their adversaries in the first set with unexpected overhead smashes and refined court synergy, 4-2. Insistent on the set win, the Blue and White instead suffered before the Lady Bulldogs’ strike after picking up on their pace and tactics, leading to a 5-1 counter that gave the Sampaloc-based athletes the set, 5-7.
Ignited to redeem themselves from a solid first set performance, Roque and Padilla conducted a 4-game winning streak, outplaying the Gold and Blue’s offensive patterns. Exerting sufficient power in each stroke, the Blue Eagles clinched the second set in a dominant fashion, 6-3, to force a tiebreaker third set. In their race to 10 points, however, the dynamic duo were dealt a 4-10 loss by Carvajal and Cornell, facing defeat despite their midgame heroics.
Moving forward, the AWTT hopes to bounce back and gain their first win of the season against the De La Salle University Lady Tennisters tomorrow, February 15, at 11:00 AM in the same venue.
Team-tie Score:
Ateneo-NU: 0-5
Results:
First Singles: Adeline Abadia (NU) def. Althea Ong (Ateneo) – 6-3, 6-3
Second Singles: Elizabeth Abarquez (NU) def. Althea Martirez (Ateneo) – 6-0, 6-2
Third Singles: JM Carcueva (NU) def. Angela Buyante (Ateneo) – 6-2, 6-0
First Doubles: Rovie Baulete and AJ Acabo (NU) def. Zaina Omar and Elohgracie Castolo (Ateneo) – 6-0, 6-0
Second Doubles: Juliana Carvajal and Fil Cornell (NU) def. Chelsea Roque and Casey Padilla (Ateneo) – 7-5, 3-6, 10-4
Current Standings (W-L):
- NU Lady Bulldogs (1-0)
- UP Fighting Maroons (1-0)
- UST Female Tennisters (0-0)
- DLSU Lady Tennisters (0-1)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (0-1)
