It was a disappointing match day for the Green and Lady Tennisters as the UST Growling Tigers were able to defeat both teams at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Courts. The loss drops the Green Tennisters to a 1-1 standing after two days of play, while the Lady Tennisters hold a 0-1 standing after their first tie of the season.
After winning against Ateneo the previous day, the Green Tennisters were not able to keep the winning momentum going once they faced last year’s runner-up. It was a close tie that saw the men lose, 3-2. “We came up literally one point short, we had one point to win the doubles, which would have given us a 3-2 win. It was literally one point short, but we came up short, so now we’re 1-1 for the boys,” said coach Roland Kraut.
Close affair
First up on the courts for the single matches were Green Tennisters Betto Orendain and Kyle Parpan going up against Dave Mosqueda and Jaffry Cariga, respectively. In the third singles match, it was LA Cañizares battling against Francis Lanzado.
Team captain Parpan was able to immediately give DLSU a win after a landslide victory against Cariga, winning in straight sets. Meanwhile, Orendain was not able to take a win against UST’s Mosqueda in the second singles match as he lost 2-6 in both sets. Cañizares, however, was able to take another win for the Tennisters against Lanzado, 7-6, 6-3.
For the doubles action, the first match had Green Tennisters Qoqo Allian and Jonah Cano going up against Christian Lopez and Mart Cabahug. Allian and Cano were not successful in bringing home the win after a marathon match against Lopez and Cabahug that scored, 6-7, 6-4, 6-7,
The second pair to face the Growling Tigers were Gelo Cerezo and Dale Gorospe, who faced Warren Lagahit, who paired up with Bernlou Bering. Cerezo and Gorospe, after three sets, also failed to win for the Green Tennisters, losing, 2-6, 6-4, 2-6, giving UST the win for the day and a final standing of 2-3.
Putting up a fight
The Lady Tennisters were not able to take the win on their first day of the season despite their coach’s satisfaction with the match-ups. “We had chances because the line-ups came up how we wanted; it looked good on paper for us, we had a chance, it was head to head, our one against their one, for doubles: our stronger ones against their weaker ones,” said Kraut. “So it came out how we wanted, but unfortunately we were leading in one but we lost it.”
The first singles matches of the day had Lady Tennister Kylla Orillosa up against Kandace Malinis, while Jenni Dizon challenged Erika Manduriao. The last singles match-up featured team captain Rachelle De Guzman going against UST’s ex-national team player Monica Cruz.
Both Orillosa and Dizon were not able to take a win against their respective opponents in the first two singles matches but De Guzman was able to take a win home for the team, as she defeated UST’s star, Cruz, 6-0, 6-2.
Nikki Arandia and Jed Aquino teamed up for the first doubles match of the season, going up against UST’s Caorte and Rivera. Also pairing up on this first day were Kianna Gacias and Anika Silangcruz, who faced UST’s Gonzales and Bautista.
Even with De Guzman’s win, though, the other Lady Tennisters were unable to take any further victories from the Growling Tigers. Despite the tight match, Arandia and Aquino fell short against Rivera and Caorte, 5-7, 4-6. The same can be said for Gacias and Silangcruz, as they failed to win against their counterparts, ending tie with a 4-1 score in favor of UST.
Despite the loss of both teams, Kraut still has faith in his teams. He hopes that the stellar play of seniors Parpan, Cañizares, and De Guzman inspires the rest of the team to believe in themselves. “They are leading by example and we need the others na mahawa naman sila and ma-inspire naman sila na not to work hard, because they are working so hard, but to believe in themselves to win it, not just work hard and do well, but actually win it; that’s what they lack,” explained Kraut after the long day of tennis.
The Green Tennisters next face UP on Saturday, February 10, while the Lady Tennisters will face the same school the next day, February 11, at the same venue.
