DLSU’s chess teams opened the first weekend of the UAAP Season 78 Chess Tournament on a good note after surrendering only one match last weekend at the Henry Sy, Sr. Hall in De La Salle University-Manila.
The Green Woodpushers have been on a roll, winning their first three games to tie the NU Bulldogs for first place. The Lady Woodpushers, meanwhile, are tied for third place with the UP Lady Maroons after bowing out to the FEU Lady Tamaraws in their second game.
“Feeling ko nagpapainit palang yung team kasi parang yung frosh namin, first three games palang nila, kaya siguro naninibago [sila] sa pressure ng team tournament,” Lady Woodpushers team captain Cherry Meija said.
Continuing last year’s run
Despite not having Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player Jerad Docena in their line-up, the men’s team didn’t lose a step from their run in the previous year. In their first game against the UE Red Warriors, the Taft-based squad defeated their opponents, 3.0-1.0. Giovanni Meija, Aglipay Oberio, and Christian Nanola all scored victories despite Denzel Amar’s loss.
In their next game, this time against the Adamson Soaring Falcons, the team replicated their result from the first match. Meija and Oberio managed to get a win while Nanola and Kline Surposa settled for draws.
Their third match pitted them against then undefeated UST in a battle of early contenders. It lived up to its billing as the Green Woodpushers won by a narrow score of 2.5 – 1.5 . Meija kept his clean sheet and Nanola avenged his defeat in the previous game, although this time Oberio lost his match. Needing to avoid a loss to prevent a draw, Surposa got a tie in his face-off to save the win.
![MCC_5145 []](http://thelasallian.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/MCC_5145-.jpg)
Warming up
The Lady Woodpushers suffered an early setback as they accumulated a loss against FEU, 2.5-1.5, during the second day. Nevertheless, the Lady Woodpushers had a good start after posting a 2-1 win-loss record.
La Salle’s first game started out well as they beat the UE Lady Warriors, 3.5-0.5. Moreover, their matchup against rival Ateneo ended in similar fashion, with DLSU securing a 3.0-1.0 victory.
The next matchups for the Woodpushers will be this coming weekend with the Green Woodpushers taking on the FEU Tamaraws and NU, while the Lady Woodpushers will face UP and the NU Lady Bulldogs on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
