UST netters keep unbeaten slate

Ralph Kevin Barte and rookie Kim Saraza breezed past their opponents as University of Santo Tomas opened the second round of the UAAP men’s tennis tournament with a sweep of University of the Philippines, 5-0, Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center. Barte won over Jay Lance Kerwin Cinco, 6-1, 6-0, while Saraza defeated Dennis Vitaliano, 6-2, 6-2, to extend the Tigers’ unbeaten slate to five matches. Bernan Lou Bering bucked a first-set loss before winning over Chadi Lao, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, in the other singles match. The pairs of Gerard Pinili and June Ryan Montalbo and Arn Procianos and Bernardine Bering also made their presence felt in the doubles division. Pinili and Montalbo beat the tandem of Franklin Encarnacion and Leandro Fernandez, 7-5, 6-1, while Procianos and Bering brought down the duo of Austin Chan and Miguel Belda, 6-3, 6-4. La Salle also swept Ateneo, 5-0, to stay in second place with a 5-1 record. Following their 5-0 win over University of the East in the second-round opener Saturday, the Archers continued their perfect run, winning all their games via straight sets. Ernesto Pantua beat Christian Canlas, 7-5, 6-4, John Will Baldonado defeated Julius Lagman, 6-3, 6-1, and Alberto Villamore won over Mark Jaypee Balce, 6-1, 7-6, in the singles matches. Michael Basco and David De Koenigswarter won over Leyan Moncera and Andre Banate, 6-4, 7-6, while last season’s Rookie of the Year Pemrick Alina and Ed Amor beat Jose Opulencia and Mark Joseph Trinos, 6-1, 6-0. Ateneo dropped to 3-3 while University of the Philippines lay at fourth with 1-5. UE remained winless in five outings. - KY, RCJ, GMANews.TV