THE ATENEO Lady Eagles defeated National University (NU) in a 4-1 team-tie victory on the second day of Season 80 of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Badminton tournament on Sunday, September 24 at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.
This win puts the Lady Eagles at a 2-0 win-loss record in UAAP, a striking improvement on their 1-1 record at the same point in the tournament last season.
The first women’s singles match saw Lady Eagles team captain Cassie Lim take on NU’s Mitzi Pantoja. Lim led by example as she dispatched the Lady Bulldog in two straight sets, 21-17, 21-15, giving Ateneo the first team-tie advantage.
Former team captain Bianca Carlos took to court against NU’s Thea Pomar in a bid to double the Blue and White team-tie advantage. Carlos put in a confident first set display to eventually claim a 21-13 set win, despite early pressure from the Lady Bulldog. Pomar, however, managed to snatch a second set victory at 18-21. After a flying start to the third set, Carlos stole the show at 21-12 and kept her undefeated singles record intact.
Carlos found herself on court once more, fighting alongside fellow shuttler and UAAP veteran Trixie Malibiran in the first doubles event of the team-tie. The Lady Eagles faced NU’s Kezziah Cuilao and Jhayvin Dizon in the match. The experienced duo of Carlos and Malibiran demolished Cuilao and Dizon in consecutive sets, earning their quickest victory of the day at 21-10, 21-11 to seal the team-tie in favor of the Katipunan-based team.
Doubles specialists Chanelle Lunod and Geva De Vera faced-off against Lady Bulldogs Pomar and Jhiselle Capillo in the second doubles match of the showdown, despite already claiming a team-tie victory. As with the second singles of the day, the Ateneo duo dazzled in the first set, coming up with a 21-19 victory before narrowly losing the second at 17-21. Cool-headed and collected, the Lady Eagles pushed to overcome the powerful NU duo in the final set, 21-18.
The final singles of the day saw Lady Eagle Samantha Ramos step up to take on Capillo. The opening set saw Capillo take an initial lead, only for Ramos to pile pressure at the closing moments of the set, 16-19. While backpedaling for a lob from Capillo, Ramos misstepped and fell to the ground clutching her knee. Ateneo and UAAP medics, as well as Ateneo coaches Kennie Asuncion-Robles and Kennevic Asuncion, rushed to the court to tend to Ramos. The Lady Eagle was determined unfit to continue the match, handing NU the consolationary win.
The Lady Eagles will face Adamson University (AdU) on Friday, September 29 at 1:00 PM at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.
Match Score
Ateneo-UE: 4-1
Set Scores
First Women’s Singles (Lim vs Pantoja): 21-17, 21-15
Second Women’s Singles (Carlos vs Pomar): 21-13, 18-21, 21-12
First Women’s Doubles (Carlos and Malibiran vs Cuilao and Dizon): 21-10, 21-11
Second Women’s Doubles (Lunod and de Vera vs Pomar and Capillo): 21-19, 17-21, 21-18
Third Women’s Singles (Ramos vs Capillo): 16-19, (Forfeited)
