Officially starting round two of the UAAP Season 79 Lawn Tennis tournament at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center, both DLSU Lawn Tennis teams were looking for momentum heading into their final stretch of games. The DLSU Lady Tennisters’ woes continued as they fell to the UST Golden Tigresses, 3-2. The Green Tennisters split their two ties this weekend, winning an intense matchup against the ADMU Blue Eagles, 3-2, before bowing to the UST Growling Tigers, 4-1.
With the results, the Lady Tennisters now hold a 0-5 win-loss standing. Meanwhile, the Green Tennisters sit at 3-4.
Mixed results for Green Tennisters
The Green Tennisters started the weekend on the right foot, emerging triumphant in a competitive match-up against their archrivals, the Blue Eagles, last March 4, Saturday. Initially delayed due to unfavorable weather, the tie eventually got underway amidst intermittent rainfall and heavy winds.
The Green-and-White found themselves in a 2-0 hole, with the duo of Qoqo Allian and Jonah Cano falling to the pair of Anton Punzalan and Julian Dayrit in straight sets. LA Cañizares also bowed to Ino Canlas in similar fashion.
However, the Green Tennisters rallied back and showed resilience in their remaining matches to take the tie, 3-2. First, it was Betto Orendain who emerged victorious against Marcen Gonzales, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6. Down 6-5 in the deciding set, Orendain came back, eventually winning a close-fought tiebreaker to put DLSU on the scoreboard.
Gelo Cerezo also claimed victory against Vernon Huibonhoa, 6-3, 6-4, in a match between southpaws.
Finally, the doubles team of Kyle Parpan and Hans Asistio also defeated the duo of Erj Gatdula and Luke Flores, 7-6, 7-6. Down 5-2 in the first set, the pair from Taft sparked a comeback to eventually take the set. Engaging in another tiebreaker in the second set, Parpan and Asistio emerged victorious, taking not only the match, but the tie for the Green-and-White.
“I was feeling confident,” coach Roland Kraut commented on being down 2-0 against their archrivals. “[The players] found a way to get back. Seeing the other court doing well, I think it gave them some confidence. Overall, they knew [they had] to win, so they responded to it.”
Winners of two straight games, the Green Tennisters looked to continue their momentum as they faced the UST Growling Tigers earlier today, March 5. While DLSU did lose its first round tie against the team, Parpan was able to make quick work of Dave Mosqueda, 6-1, 6-2.
Though UST was able to tie it up with a doubles win against Hans Asistio and Rap Teng, the result was still up in the air with three simultaneous matches ongoing to decide a tie that could play dividends in determining who would continue on to the finals.
On the furthest court, Orendain was fighting to overcome a first set loss to Christian Lopez. The Green Tennister was able to force a tiebreaker, but eventually fell, 6-4, 7-6.
Looking to clinch the win for his team, UST’s Francis Lanzado faced Cañizares on the middle court. The heat seemed to be a factor for the Green Tennister as he needed to be iced in between games, with multiple double faults hampering his chances for victory. Eventually, Cañizares would fall, 6-3, 6-2, to clinch the win for the Growling Tigers.
In the last match, DLSU’s Jonah Cano and Qoqo Allian lost to Clarence Cabahug and Warren Lagahit, 7-6, 5-7, 6-3.
Lady Tennisters remain winless
On the other hand, the Lady Tennisters fell to the UST Lady Tigers last March 4, Saturday, in a closely fought tie, 3-2, to remain winless in Season 79. Rachelle de Guzman continued to be a consistent force for the Lady Tennisters, edging UST’s Erika Manduriao in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4.
Chang Atangan also emerged victorious against Kendies Malinis, 7-6 (5), 6-3. Up 5-0 in the second set, Atangan almost let her counterpart rally back, dropping three games in a row. She eventually found a way to hold on, however, to take another match for the Lady Tennisters.
The pair of Kylla Orillosa and Kiana Gacias fell at the hands of the duo of Ingrid Gonzales and Shymae Gitalan in straight sets. Meanwhile, both Jenni Dizon and the pair of Princess Castillo and Jed Aquino came back from a set down to force a deciding set against Precian Rivera and the team of April Santos and Eb-Eb Caorte, respectively. In both cases, however, the Green-and-White could not hold on for the victory.
