The Ateneo Women’s Badminton team took home a pristine 6-0 win-loss slate after conquering the University of Santo Tomas (UST), 4-1, on the sixth day of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 82 Women’s Badminton Tournament on Sunday, September 29, at the Camp Crame Gymnasium. 

Standout rookie Mika De Guzman was the first to grace the court in the First Singles match against UST’s Elij Pena. De Guzman took her opponent to task in two sets, 21-9 and 21-12, to take first blood in the team-tie.

The Second Singles duel saw Beatrice Felizardo face UST’s Stephanie Mortera. Errors from Felizardo surrendered an early lead, but the Lady Eagle seized back control and rallied her way to a 21-13, 21-8 triumph. 

The veteran duo of Joella De Vera and Chanelle Lunod started slow in the First Doubles matchup against Growling Tigresses Mortera and Kristeen Geronimo. However, the Blue and White tandem found their footing over the course of the match and knocked their opponents out, 21-16, 21-17, for Ateneo’s third team-tie point.  

With momentum in their favor, Sam Ramos and Geia De Vera squared off to face UST’s Pena and Lexie Aguilar in the Second Doubles showdown. Easing their way through both sets with an effortless 21-10, 21-10 straight-set victory, the electrifying duo clinched a 4-0 team-tie lead for Ateneo. 

In the final match of the day, Joella De Vera and UST’s Geronimo clashed once again, this time in the Third Singles. De Vera managed to escape a tight first set, 21-19, but Geronimo kept the pressure on and stole, 22-20. The Growling Tigress kept her composure to win the deciding third set, 21-15, earning UST their lone team-tie point.

Up next for the dominant Lady Eagles is a semi-finals showdown. Their opponents and match schedule will be announced in the coming days.

Team-tie Score: Ateneo 4 UST 1

Match Scores:

First Singles: Mika De Guzman (Ateneo) defeated Elij Pena (UST) 2-0: 21-9, 21-12.

Second Singles: Beatrice Felizardo (Ateneo) defeated Stephanie Mortera (UST) 2-0: 21-13, 21-8.

First Doubles: Chanelle Lunod and Joella De Vera (Ateneo) defeated Kristeen Geronimo and Stephanie Mortera (UST) 2-0: 21-16 21-17

Second Doubles: Sam Ramos and Geia De Vera (Ateneo) defeated Lexie Aguilar and Elij Pena (UST) 2-0: 21-10, 21-10 Third Singles: Kristeen Geronimo (UST) defeated Joella De Vera (Ateneo) 2-1: 19-21, 22-20, 21-15.

ERRATUM: An earlier version of this article mistakenly cited Beatrice Felizardo as Bianca Felizardo. The article has been updated to reflect the changes. We apologize for the oversight.