Yesterday, April 9, at the CSA Bulacan Tennis Courts, the Lady Tennisters concluded their UAAP Season 81 campaign on a high note as they clinched second place overall in the women’s division. The Green-and-White improved to second place from a third place finish in UAAP Season 80. The last time the team reached the finals was back in 2014. Since then, it has been a rollercoaster ride for the Lady Tennisters in the last five years, and this year, the team climbed back to the top to fight for the title.
The team from Taft finished the elimination round at the top of the standings with a 6-2 win-loss record. Although, in the best-of-three finals series, they bowed to the NU Lady Bulldogs in Game 1, 3-2, last Sunday, April 7 and in Game 2 of the finals, 3-1, yesterday, April 9.
Change in momentum
Fresh off a 12-hour Game 1 finals matchup against NU last Sunday, which resulted in a 3-2 loss to the Bulldogs, the Lady Tennisters were eager to extend the series to a third game.
The second game of the finals began with the first singles match between Angel Santiago and NU’s Zam Dumlao. Santiago put in quick work in the first match with a sweep, 6-3, 6-1, giving DLSU an early 1-0 lead in Game 2.
The first doubles match featured DLSU’s Arianne Nillasca and team captain Jed Aquino facing off against NU’s Mae Bornia and Alliah Ragundon. NU bounced back with a 6-3, 6-4 victory. In the deciding set, both teams face a deuce score of four-all. However, both Bornia and Ragundon finished off the deuce with a 6-4 win, preventing La Salle from extending the set and to tie the match score to one apiece.
Falling short
Lady Tennister Aubrey Calma highlighted the second singles match as she faced Lady Bulldog Clarice Patrimonio. The match resulted in a 6-1, 6-3 outcome favoring Patrimonio. Calma tried to mount a comeback in the second set, toning down the score to 5-3, but an error sealed the match, giving NU a pivotal 2-1 lead in the finals.
In the second doubles match, Jenni Dizon and Kiezl Diaz were in a position with big pressure because a win would decide a final singles match, but a loss would result to a championship clincher for the Bulldogs. However, Annie Tumanda and Jzash Canja of NU did not allow any comeback as they finished off La Salle with a 6-2, 6-2 victory, and a 3-1 match point. NU claimed another UAAP Tennis Championship title, tallying their fifth crown in the last six years.
Looking forward
Lady Tennisters Team Captain Jed Aquino reflected on their unexpected run to the finals and overall performance for the season. “I was surprised [with] how well our team performed this year, given the fact that most members are rookies,” she shared.
Despite falling short in the finals, Aquino hopes to use this experience as a stepping stone for next season. She concluded by saying, “We surely learned a lot from all the games we played, and we are all looking forward to apply them on the next season to hopefully do better.”
