Lady Tennisters clinch third, Green Tennisters stumble to sixth place

It was a year to forget for both of La Salle’s tennis teams as neither squad was able to advance to the finals of the UAAP Season 78 Lawn Tennis Tournaments held at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Courts earlier this year.

The Green Tennisters finished in last place among the six competing teams in the Men’s division as they were unable to score a victory in 10 matches. The Lady Tennisters, meanwhile, performed slightly better as they were able to notch three wins in eight games, good enough for third place in the five-team field.

The boys started their tournament with a heartbreaking 3-2 loss against the UST Growling Tigers. However, things quickly turned sour for the team as they would lose their remaining first round matches, with their battles against UP and ADMU once again ending in 3-2 decisions.

Despite their desire to redeem themselves in the second round, the Green Tennisters suffered a crushing 5-0 defeat against the defending champions NU in their opening match. UE and ADMU would further add salt to the wounds of La Salle with two more one-sided encounters, with both games ending at 4-1 and 5-0, respectively. Despite being out of the finals picture, DLSU still played hard in their remaining games against UST and UP. While they were unable to come away with a victory against the two squads, they were able to push them to the brink after settling for 3-2 scores.

On the other hand, the Lady Tennisters, who were headed by team captain Marinel Rudas, went through the season significantly better than their male counterparts. They began the tournament with a statement win over UP, sweeping them 5-0. They were not able to follow through the following day, losing to UST, 3-2, behind wins from Rudas and the duo of Nikki Arandia and Anne Castillo. In their next match-up against the dominant NU Lady Bulldogs, they were only able to procure one victory behind an emphatic win by Rudas against Clarice Patrimonio.

In their midseason weekend match-ups, they went up against the Ateneo Lady Eagles twice. They bowed down to Ateneo in the first match-up, losing 3-2 but the following day, they were able to turn it around with a 3-2 win thanks to another Rudas victory and wins from Dizon/Hitosis and Atangan/Aquino. They couldn’t build on their win as they failed to clinch their two matchups against NU and UST, both of which they lost at 4-1. In the end however, they were able to end the season on a high note, defeating UP again, 4-1.

With the conclusion of this season’s tourney, DLSU will look to regroup and work hard in the offseason to bounce back from their unsuccessful campaign this year. One of the season’s highlights was that Rudas won all of her matches, remaining undefeated and guaranteeing at least one victory in their team’s matchups. In the end, NU was able to claim double championships this year, dominating both divisions while extending their winning streak in the women’s division to 44.