UAAP: Lady Woodpushers grab fourth straight crown, Green Woodpushers secure third

The DLSU Lady Woodpushers once again emerged as the queens of collegiate chess as they claimed their fourth straight UAAP Women’s Chess championship. On the other hand, DLSU the Green Woodpushers grabbed their second consecutive third place finish in their respective division as both tourneys concluded last February 23 at the Enrique Razon Sports Complex in De La Salle University.

Led by this year’s Most Valuable Player Jodilyn Fronda and Rookie of the Year Bernadette Galas, the 4-peat champions ended the tournament with a record of 13 victories and a single draw. The Green Woodpushers, on the other hand, posted nine wins, three losses, and two deadlocks.

The Woodpushers harvested a handful of individual awards as Fronda, Galas, Judith Pineda, and Rowelyn Acedo each bagged gold while Cherry Mejia clinched bronze. The Green Woodpushers’ UAAP Season 75 Rookie of the Year Jan Galan and Franz Grafil settled for silver and bronze in their respective boards.

A dominant season

Both squads started out hot in the opening weekend last January 11 and 12 as the Green Woodpushers picked up identical 3.0 – 1.0 wins against the previous season’s champions, the UST Growling Tigers, and the ADMU Blue Eagles. The Lady Woodpushers also showcased their own talents with a pair of 3.0 – 1.0 victories against the FEU Lady Tamaraws and the AdU Lady Falcons.

The Green Woodpushers suffered their first loss of the season in the third round against AdU with a score of 3.0 – 1.0, but they quickly bounced back the next day by walloping the UP Fighting Maroons with a 2.5 – 1.5 victory. Their female counterparts kept their momentum going by beating the NU Lady Bulldogs, 3.5 – 0.5, and the UST Tigresses, 3.0 – 1.0. The Green Woodpushers finished the first half of the tournament with a pair of 2.5 – 1.5 victory against the NU Bulldogs and the UE Red Warriors, and a 2.5 – 1.5 defeat at the hands of the AdU Soaring Falcons. The Lady Woodpushers made it seven straight with wins over the UE Lady Warriors, 3.5 – 0.5, the ADMU Lady Eagles, 3.5 – 0.5, and the UP Lady Maroons, 2.5 – 1.5.

Halfway through the tournament, the Green Woodpushers encountered a 2.5 – 1.5 setback against the FEU Tamaraws, but they avenged themselves with a sweep over UE and a draw against AdU. On the other hand, the Lady Woodpushers remained undefeated with victories over ADMU, NU, and FEU. As the season was coming to an end, the Green Woodpushers overcame UST and UP while the Lady Woodpushers swept UE before their 10-game winning streak was snapped by a draw with AdU.

The Lady Woodpushers sealed the deal in their 13th match after sweeping ADMU to extend their lead in the standings over UP to five, securing the tournament championship. They then capped off their season with a win over UP in a non-bearing match on the final day of the tournament. Their male counterpart also battled with the Katipunan-based Eagles in a match which ended up in a draw, forging a tie for third place with UST entering the 14th round. A win over NU broke the deadlock as the Espaňa-based squad bowed down against UP and it gave the Green Woodpushers another third place finish.

Following the four-time champion Lady Woodpushers in the standings were the Lady Maroons and the Lady Tamaraws. FEU managed to reclaim the throne in the Men’s Division and they were succeeded by the Soaring Falcons in the standings.

The success of the DLSU’s chess teams guaranteed the school a second consecutive UAAP General Championship, with the season officially ending during the early stages of March.