FOR THE España army, love was not the only cause for celebration last Valentine’s Day.
Bouncing back from a disappointing bridesmaid finish last year, the UST Male Tennisters returned with a vengeance this time around to end as champions, punctuating their dominance with an 8-0 sweep.
The Tennisters authored a 4-1 season-ender, dethroning defending champion De La Salle University last February 14 at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Court.
“I was not expecting anything from this team, I thought we’d end up second,” coach Karl Sta. Maria said. “It was their heart that really took us to victory.”
Season 70 Rookie of the Year Raymond Villarete sluggishly ended the second singles match, 7-5, 6-2, against Taft-based tennister Michael Basco, putting the cherry on top of UST’s unblemished record.
In the first singles match, UST’s mean-machine Miguel Narvaez easily thumped La Salle’s Juan Fidel Regis, 6-1, 6-2, giving UST a nice headstart.But the tandem of Pemrik Alina and Ed Amor from La Salle quickly erased the gap, 6-7, 3-6, against UST duo Ryan Montalbo and Gerard Pinili.
UST then looked to team captain Keane Barraquias, and promising upstart Bernardine Bering to subdue La Salle’s David Dee Koenigswarter and Marlo Espedido. The black-gold-white duo prevailed and even went the extra mile, 6-3, 6-3.
With Villarete’s victory, the third singles battle of UST’s Arn Procianos versus John Will Baldonado became a non-bearing game and was cut after a La Salle-favored 0-3 first set match.
Making their Valentine’s Day even sweeter, Narvaez and Villarete copped the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.
The road to a sweep
The Tennisters essayed their seventh consecutive victory after a 5-0 whitewashing of University of the East (UE) at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Court last February 7 en route to carving a Finals battle against La Salle.
The virtuoso performance was a follow-up to their second-round twin kill against the University of the Philippines (UP), 4-1, and Ateneo de Manila University, 5-0,
last February 6 and January 31, respectively.
Their hard-earned first round sweep seemed to be in peril as they faced defending champions La Salle last January 16, but the Male Tennisters escaped with 3-2 victory.
On the distaff side, the UST Lady Tennisters failed to build a four-peat after a close fight against rival La Salle, 2-3, last February 14.
“Sayang. We were hoping for a four-peat, but the odds were in favor of La Salle because of their line-up,” coach Dennis Sta. Maria said.
The eagerness of UST’s Hazel Grecia in creating another battle for the championship title was not enough as she easily surrendered against La Salle’s Martina Guba, 6-1, 6-1, in the third singles match.
Two-time MVP Nikki Manalo created a dismal 6-4, 6-4 upset of La Salle’s Regina Santiago in the opening game.
The tandem of UST’s Kat Castro and Cristina Santos also succumbed to the pair of Trudy Amoranto and Kristie Barraquias, 6-2, 7-5.
However, Len Santos kept UST hoping after pounding La Salle’s Nikki De Dios, 3-6, 3-6. The tandem of Jhiji Hellar and Dianne Bautista thwarted Enah Baba and Steffi Dizon, 5-7, 4-6, paving a way for a crucial deciding game.
Previously, they carved a win-some, lose-some scenario with a 3-2 record.Looking to redeem themselves from an opening game upset in the first round of eliminations, the Lady Tennisters exacted vengeance against UP, 4-1, last February 6.
Meanwhile, the Lady Tennisters fashioned a 5-0 bulldozing of Ateneo, 5-0, last January 30 after suffering their second defeat in the hands of La Salle, 1-4, last January 24.
