UAAP: Green Tennisters struggle in first round finale, Lady Tennisters split series with Ateneo

The DLSU Green Tennisters and Lady Tennisters produced mixed results in the middle leg of the UAAP Season 78 Lawn Tennis Tournament last weekend. The Green Tennisters were overpowered by the UE Red Warriors and the NU Bulldogs, while the Lady Tennisters split their matches with the Ateneo Lady Eagles in the Rizal Memorial Tennis Courts.

Continuing woes

After going winless against the UP Fighting Maroons and the NU Lady Bulldogs, the Green Tennisters’ and the Lady Tennisters’ struggles continued as they lost to the UE Red Warriors (4-1) and the Ateneo Lady Eagles (3-2), respectively, last Saturday, February 13.

The Lady Tennisters could not close out the Lady Eagles in their first round finale. However, despite the overall loss, the Lady Tennisters had bright spots in Marinel Rudas, who won over Ateneo’s Rocio Climent, and the Duo Nikki Arandia and Anne Castillo, who handed DLSU a doubles win after defeating their opponents Alexis Mclean and Jana Exconde in two sets.

Things weren’t going well either for the men’s squad as they managed to only win one out of their five matches against the Red Warriors. Their sole victory came from an excellent doubles match between La Salle’s Jose Cano and Kyle Parpan and UE’s Baran and Delos Santos. Despite the DLSU duo’s bad start, they managed to make a comeback in the first set to slowly trim the deficit and eventually win the set. They remained in control in the second set, surrendering only one game to UE on the way to victory.

Contrasting results

After tasting defeat at the hands of the same Ateneo team a day earlier, DLSU looked to exact revenge on their archrivals. Rudas set the tone early by defeating Climent once again in straight sets. After Lady Tennisters Castillo and Arandia lost in their respective singles matches, it looked like DLSU was headed for another loss. Both Lasallian doubles teams, however, remained resilient and closed out the Lady Eagles. First, the team of Dizon and Hitosis was able to win the match against Ateneo’s Olivarez and Hernandez in straight sets. In the deciding match, DLSU’s Atangan and Aquino won a crucial tiebreak to win the first set, 7-6. They never looked back as they took the next set, 6-0, sealing the match for La Salle.

The men’s squad could not end the first round on a high note after being dominated by the NU Bulldogs in all five of their matches. Going into this match, La Salle knew it would need to play perfectly to pull off an upset against the undefeated Bulldogs. Instead, DLSU surrendered all their games to the defending champions.

The Green Tennisters end round one without a win, placing them at the bottom of the standings. With their win on Sunday, the Lady Tennisters improved to 2-3 on the season, putting them in a tie for third place with Ateneo. La Salle will look to build on this win as it tries to clinch a spot in the Final Four.

The Green Tennisters resume action against UE, while the Lady Tennisters face undefeated NU on Wednesday, February 17. Both matches will be held at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Courts at 8 am.

Results:

Saturday, February 13

Women’s (vs Ateneo)

• Pages d. Hitosis (6-0, 6-3)
• Rudas d. Climent (6-0, 6-1)
• Sampaton d. Atangan (6-1, 6-1)
• Arandia/Castillo d. Mclean/Exconde (6-1, 6-0)
• Olivarez/ Hernandez d. Dizon/Aquino (6-2, 6-3)

Men’s (vs UE)

• Amazona d. Canizares (1-6, 7-6, 6-4)
• Kinaadman d. Orendan (6-1, 4-6. 6-3)
• Barquin d. Allian (6-3, 1-6, 6-1)
• Cano/Parpan d. Baran/Delos Santos (7-6, 6-1 {4})
• Saga/Estano d. Asistio/Mayo (6-3, 6-1)

Sunday, February 14

Men (vs NU)

• Lazaro d. Cano (6-1, 6-1)
• Talatayod d. Arguelles (6-2, 6-4)
• Verdad d. Parpan (6-2, 6-0)
• Madrid/Pena d. Assistio/Allian (6-3, 6-2)
• Manlangit/Alcantara d. Gorospe/Orendain (6-0, 6-1)

Women (vs Ateneo)

• Rudas d. Climent (6-0, 6-2)
• Pages d. Castillo (6-2, 6-3)
• Sampaton d. Arandia (6-1, 6-1)
• Dizon/Hitosis d. Olivarez/Hernandez (7-5, 6-4)
• Atangan/Aquino d. Exconde/McLean (7-6(4), 6-0)

*DLSU players in bold