DESPITE A strong opening, the Ateneo Men’s Tennis Team (AMTT) failed to maintain momentum as they stumbled against the Adamson University (AdU) Soaring Falcons, 1-4. The battle occurred earlier today, March 7, at the Colegio San Agustin Tennis Stadium in the City of Bulacan.
The loss keeps the Blue Eagles at the bottom of the tournament’s standings, with a 0-9 standing.
Team Captain JD Velez opened the match for the Blue Eagles, taking on Soaring Falcons’ Angelo Rosales in a dominant showing. The contest began with both tennisters vying for control in a two-way battle. Velez managed to keep the Rosales at bay with his defensive prowess, taking the first set, 6-4. The Ateneo ace kept up his rhythm, crushing his opponent in a second set rout that gave the Blue and White their first team-tie point, 6-0.
Possessing a team-tie advantage, JB Cuarto battled against AdU’s Miecoz Candelasa. Despite managing to chip out good possessions against his opponent, Cuarto failed to maintain his defensive intensity, which kept him behind Candelasa, 2-6.
The following set went better for the Blue Eagle tennisster, going back-and-forth with his adversary in quickfire battles. Even with Cuarto’s improved offensive output, he could not match Candelasa as he surrendered the team-tie point, 3-6.
The third and crucial singles match saw Gab Quintana stepping onto the court against AdU’s Albretch Job. The first set found Quintana struggling to convert his powerful hits into points, 1-6. While the Atenean athlete adjusted better to his adversary’s pacing in the second frame, Quintana’s offense still could not find its mark as he succumbed shortly after a similar 1-6 result. This result put Ateneo’s chances of victory hanging in the balance as they stared at a team-tie disadvantage, 1-2.
Looking to turn the momentum towards their squad, Ateneo’s Lukas Yupangco and Gabby Calilung took on the duo of Nikki Lumahang and Joseph Butcon. In the first set, the Blue Eagles found difficulties in kickstarting their offensive engine, faltering to a scoreless frame, 0-6.
However, the determined Yupangco and Calilung displayed resiliency in the hopes of making it on the board. Despite capitalizing on their athletic prowess to match their opponent’s power, the Blue Eagles could not sustain their output against their adversaries, ending Ateneo’s day in defeat, 3-6.
Due to undisclosed circumstances, Blue Eagles were unable to participate in the second doubles match. As a result, the final team-tie point was surrendered to the Soaring Falcons by way of a walkover.
Still searching for their first victory of the season, the AMTT will look to overcome the UP Fighting Maroons in their bout tomorrow, March 8, at 7:30 AM in the same venue.
Team-tie Score:
Ateneo-AdU: 1-4
Results:
First Singles: Velez (Ateneo) def. Rosales (AdU), 6-4, 6-0
Second Singles: Candelasa (AdU) def. Cuarto (Ateneo), 6-2, 6-3
Third Singles: Job (AdU) def. Quintana (Pabillore), 6-1, 6-1
First Doubles: Lumahang and Butcon (AdU) def. Yupangco and Calilung (Ateneo), 6-0, 6-3
Second Doubles: Aton and Bering (AdU) win via walkover
Current Standings (W/L):
- UST Tiger Tennisters (7-2)
- NU Bulldogs (6-2)
- UP Fighting Maroons (7-1)
- UE Red Warriors (5-3)
- DLSU Green Tennisters (3-6)
- AdU Soaring Falcons (2-7)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (0-9)
