THE ATENEO Blue and Lady Eagles began their University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 78 Lawn Tennis campaigns on Saturday, January 30 at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex Tennis Courts.

Both the Men’s and Women’s teams were immediately faced with tough match-ups, with the Blue Eagles getting paired up against defending champion National University (NU) in their first contest of the season. Although the Blue and White came close in several matches, the experience of the champions eventually proved to be too much. Led by reigning Most Valuable Player Fritz Verdad, NU proceeded to win 4-1, with rookie Marcen Gonzales nabbing the sole win for the Ateneo.

However, the Blue Eagles learned from this tough bout and rebounded in their very next match against the University of the Philippines (UP) on Sunday, January 31, when the Ateneo was able to squeeze out a hard-earned 3-2 victory.

Team Captain Ino Canlas kicked things off by winning the first singles match of the day, while Iyo Canlas and the duo of Johann Exconde and Luke Flores were defeated in the second singles and first doubles matches, respectively.

Down 1-2, the Blue Eagles needed to win both the second doubles and third singles matches to emerge victorious. They were able to do just that, with the pairing of AJ Rivero and Erj Gatdula, and Marcen Gonzales able to pull out decisive straight set victories to win it for the Ateneo.

“The goal [next game] is to just do everything step by step, to go for every point and win game per game,” said sophomore Iyo Canlas after the win.

Meanwhile, the Women’s team was also heavily tested on the opening day; the young squad was matched up against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigresses. Although Khrizelle Sampaton was able to swing her way to a singles win, UST would end up sweeping the succeeding four matches. The Katipunan-based squad ultimately fell to UST, 1-4, but still have three games left in the first elimination round to find their rhythm and move up the standings.

The Lady Eagles are set to take on UP on Monday, February 1 while the Blue Eagles’ next match is schedule on Saturday, February 6, with both games happening at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex Tennis Courts.

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