The UST Lady Paddlers swept the FEU Lady Tamaraws and the UP Lady Maroons but bowed down to the Ateneo Blue Eagles to cap their UAAP first-round campaign at second place with a 4-2 record.
The Blue Eagles went 3-1 against the Lady Paddlers to hand UST its second loss.
Ateneo’s duo of Kathleene Bulaqueña and Ana Calvo defeated Emery Digamon and Leigh Villanueva in the doubles category, 11-8, 11-10, 8-11, 11-06.
Anna Fabregar defeated UST’s Julie de Leon, 11-9, 11-5, 12-14, 11-8, in the singles division, while Kaela Aguilar mauled Lady Paddler Kathlyn Gabisay, 11-4, 7-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9.
Rookie Kaye Encarnacion trounced Ann Borbon, 11-4, 11-8, 11-13, 11-9, to grab UST’s lone win against Ateneo.
The Lady Paddlers retaliated with dominant victories over FEU and UP.
UST team captain Ciara Derecho downed Aizel Rom, 11-9,11-4,11-8, 11-5, while Encarnacion conquered Liezl Canada, 11-4,11-9,11-8, in singles play.
Leigh Villanueva and Gabisay dominated FEU’s duo of Miriam Martinez and Clarizza Yu, 11-6, 11-6, 11-7.
UST’s domination of UP was completed by the Gabisay-Villanueva tandem’s drubbing of Ella Hicap and Rea Rusiana, 11-8, 11-8, 12-10, and Corrine Cartera’s straight-set victory over UP’s Jely Dayrit, 11-4, 11-7, 11-5.
UP’s Anna Cabrera and Vianne Depiedro surrendered to Encarnacion and Digamon in their respective individual matches.
“Mixed emotion po, kasi siyempre may panalo may talo, kinulang lang talaga kami, pero it’s a good fight I’m happy and proud kasi lumaban at lalaban pa,” Derecho told the Varsitarian.
The Lady Paddlers’ 4-2 was good for second place through the first round, behind the DLSU Lady Archers who tallied a 6-0 record.
In the junior’s division, the girls’ team swept Ateneo High School and University of the East before they survived the De La Salle-Zobel School to improve to a 5-0 record.The second round of the UAAP women’s table tennis tournament will continue on Nov. 22 at the same venue. Bjorn Del B. Deade
