UAAP: Green, Lady Shuttlers open Season 79 with victories over FEU

The DLSU Green and Lady Shuttlers formally began their UAAP Season 79 yesterday, September 17, at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall.

Entering the competition as second placers and third placers, respectively, the Green and Lady Shuttlers proved in their opening games that they are still teams hungry  for the title. The Lady Shuttlers dominated the FEU Lady Tamaraws, going undefeated in five games to finish their opening game. The Green Shuttlers, on the other hand, ended with a lone loss against the FEU Tamaraws, ending with a 4-1 win-loss record.

Starting with a bang

The Green Shuttlers began the season with four consecutive straight-set wins against FEU and only losing Andrew Pineda’s singles match to finish with a 4-1 slate.

Kenneth Monterubio opened the matches for DLSU as he went against FEU’s Justin Tercias. The veteran Green Shuttler overcame his opponent with a first set score of 21-17, following through with a 21-10 to give La Salle its first point, 1-0. Likewise, DLSU’s Anton Cayanan defeated Estario Bacalso with relative ease in a sweep, 21-15, 21-15.

Meanwhile, the La Salle’s first doubles duo Cayel Pajarillo and Jerickson Obaob struggled at the start of their first set again FEU’s Josh Maquelabit and Rafael Dionisio. It was the Green-and-White pair, however, who became victorious as they finished with scores of 25-23 and 21-18.

To grab DLSU’s fourth win, the Green Shuttlers’ second doubles pair of Kenneth Monterubio and Prince Monterubio won in straight sets against Tercias and Bacalso, 21-19, 21-18.

Pineda took the first set in his match against FEU’s Maquelabit, 21-18. However, Maquelabit fought back in the second set, outlasting Pineda at 26-24. With the momentum at his side, the FEU shuttler finished the set and match with a score of 21-18, in favor of FEU.

Shutout victory

The opening game of the DLSU Lady Shuttlers proved to be successful, after sweeping the FEU Lady Tamaraws, 5-0.

In their first singles match, DLSU veteran Mayira Sevilla conquered FEU’s Michal Del Duquilla in two games, scoring 21-19 and 21-17. Continuing to build up La Salle’s confidence, Monica Rivera of DLSU ended her two matches with 21-10 scores against Iris Molina of FEU.

Sevilla and Alyssa Leonardo continued the winning ways of La Salle as they out hustled FEU’s duo of Duquilla and Maribel Rivera. They ended their two matches with scores of 21-15 and 21-12. DLSU’s combo of Kristelle Salatan and Aires Montilla then equaled the hustle of Sevilla and Leonardo as they overcame the FEU Tamaraws doubles team of Molina and Klowe Garcia. The Taft based squad finished the match with a 21-18 and 21-9 score.

Ending the Lady Shuttlers opening game, was a breathtaking match between DLSU’s Leonardo and FEU’s Ma. Rivera. The FEU shuttler managed to capture the first set with a score of 20-22, but Leonardo was not discouraged and won the following set, 21-19. With the crucial third set, Leonardo sealed the victory for La Salle by winning the last match with a score of 21-11.

Up next, the DLSU Shuttlers will go against the men’s and women’s teams of the University of the Philippines today, September 18. The Green Shuttlers start their matches at 8 am in the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall. Meanwhile, the Lady Shuttlers will have their matchup at 1 pm in the same venue.