Ateneo prevents La Salle sweep in UAAP women's tennis

Ateneo put a stain on defending champion La Salle's clean slate as the Lady Eagles defeated the Lady Archers, 3-2, Saturday in the UAAP women's tennis tournament at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center. Ivy De Castro and Joanne Opulencia defeated Trudy Amoranto and Kirstie Barraquias, 7-6, 6-4, in the second doubles and the deciding match of the tie as Ateneo stopped La Salle’s bid of winning the title outright via a sweep. Martina Guba and Ma. Regina Santiago blanked Ma. Akita San Andres and Jessica Lagman, respectively, in singles matches by the same 6-0, 6-0 scores, but the Lady Eagles bounced back as Mary Grace Rivero and Nique Angelo defeated twin sisters Riza and Ria Opulencia, 7-5, 6-3, in the first doubles, while Michelle Pang beat Enah Baba, 6-1, 6-0, in the third singles contest. With the win, the Lady Eagles improved to 3-2 for second place while the Lady Archers remained on top of the standings with a 4-1 mark. In the other women's game, University of the Philippines defeated University of Santo Tomas, 4-1, for its second win in five matches. Zhane Quitara downed Andrea Regino, 6-1, 6-0, while Sarah Jane Lim defeated Len Santos, 6-1, 6-3. Also adding to the win column were JV Custodio and Karen Guillermo, who were 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 winners over Kathleen Castro and Nikki Manalo, and Mari Joie Altiche, who outclassed Louise Magaway, 6-2, 6-2. Chrizanth Hellar and Dianne Bautista gave the Tigresses their lone win when they beat Julie Em Botor and Medelene Ramos, 2-6, 6-2, 6-0. The Tigresses dropped to 1-4. In the men's side, UST remained undefeated as the Tigers coasted to a 5-0 blanking of University of the East to win its sixth match. Ralph Kevin Barte swept past Neil Patrick Paez, 6-0, 6-1, while Kim Saraza and Bernan Lou Bering downed Michael Angelo Destura and Charles Ivan Maneja, 6-0, 6-1. June Ryan Montalbo defeated Michael Belen, 6-3, 6-3, while Arn Procianos and Bernadine Bering beat Rolex Rivera and Rene Santos, 6-1, 6-2. Robert Ortellano completed UST’s lopsided win when he trounced Prince Orilla, 6-4, 6-1. La Salle, meanwhile, dispatched UP, 3-2, to stay in second place with a 6-1 record. – JVP, GMANews.TV