UAAP: Green Tennisters remain winless; Lady Tennisters fall to NU

After two straight losses to start their season, the DLSU Green Tennisters looked to finally get on the winning track. Unfortunately for them, the holiday weekend ended with still no victories to their name. Meanwhile, the DLSU Lady Tennisters could not capitalize on their extra rest days as they could not fend off NU in their lone match this week.

Sunday struggles

With last Saturday’s games canceled due to inclement weather, the men looked to draw extra motivation from the opportunity to rest during the off-day.

In the first match last Sunday, two team captains faced off in a single’s match that looked to set the tone for the rest of their teams. Both men left it all on the court but it was Ateneo’s Ino Canlas that got the better of La Salle’s Kyle Parpan. Canlas was just able to execute his shots more accurately, leaving the DLSU junior on his toes the entire match.

After La Salle’s Jonah Cano and Hans Assistio lost their doubles match to Johann Exconde and rookie Luke Flores in three sets, the team had no room for error, needing to win all three of their remaining matches to secure a victory.

All three matches occurred at once, which made for a dramatic finish. On court three, Green Tennister Qoqo Allian was able to gain a victory after his opponent Iyo Canlas was forced to retire due to cramps. On court two, Argil Canizares was able to win the first set over Ateneo’s Marcen Gonzales, increasing the pressure on DLSU players Akio Sy and Betto Orendain, who lost the first set of their doubles match. In the second set, both Canizares and Gonzales continually broke their opponent’s serve setting up a tie-break for the set. While DLSU gained an early advantage in the tie-break, it was Ateneo who ended up winning it, 7-5. With that match win, Ateneo clinched the victory.

Monday blues

At the height of Chinese New Year celebrations, both the Green and Lady Tennisters suited up for a Monday morning showdown against the UP Fighting Maroons and the NU Lady Bulldogs, respectively. However, luck was not on their side as both squads suffered losses that rendered their weekend winless.

The Green Tennisters continue to stay below the standings with a 3-2 decision against the Fighting Maroons, keeping them without a win in their Season 78 campaign thus far. The Lady Tennisters, on the other hand, were handed their second defeat of the year with a 4-1 result against the Lady Bulldogs.

Things weren’t going well for the Men’s squad after losing the first two singles matches to their opponents. Canizares lost a hard fought contest to UP’s Angelo Esguerra, while Allian was overwhelmed by Vince Salas in the next. Orendain avenged his teammates with a three-set win over Joshua Cano to keep their winning hopes alive.

However, in the first doubles match, DLSU’s Asistio and Sy were swept by the tandem of Romnee Joseph and Joshua Miranda to end La Salle’s chances of winning the game. A consolation for the Taft-based squad was Jose Cano and Kyle Parpan’s doubles victory in the last game against Maroons Gab Gutierrez and Reynaldo Mariano.

At the women’s side, Marinel Rudas drew first blood versus NU with an emphatic victory over Clarice Patrimonio in three sets. Despite this, things would only get ugly for the Lady Tennisters as the rest of Rudas’ teammates ended up not winning a single set over their opponents. As a result, the Lady Bulldogs cruised to victory after a dominating performance.

Results:

Sunday, February 8

Mens (vs Ateneo)

• In. Canlas d. Parpan (6-3, 6-0)
• Exconde/Flores d. Cano/Assistio (6-2, 6-7(6), 6-3)
• Allian d. Iy. Canlas (3-6, 7-6(1), 4-2(ret))
• Rivero/Gatdula d. Orendain/Sy (6-4, 7-6(5))
• Canizares d. Gonzales (7-6(5), 7-5)

Monday, February 9

Mens (vs UP)

• Esguerra d. Canizares (6-4, 4-6, 6-3)
• Salas d. Allian (6-3, 6-3)
• Orendain d. Cano (3-6, 6-4, 6-3)
• Joseph/Miranda d. Asistio/Sy (6-0, 6-2)
• Cano/Parpan d. Gutierrez/Mariano (3-6, 6-2, 7(3)-6)

Womens (vs NU)

• Rudas d. Cl. Patrimonio (6-3, 3-6, 6-3)
• Canja d. Atangan (6-3, 6-1)
• Ch. Patrimonio d. Luis (6-1, 6-0)
• Espinosa/Polito d. Arandia/Castillo (6-0, 6-4)
• Paulini/Nagret d. Aquino/Hitosis (6-2, 6-2)

*Bold indicates DLSU players