NATIONAL University earned a return trip to the women’s Final for the eighth time in nine seasons after overwhelming Ateneo, 5-0, in the UAAP tennis tournament on Sunday.

Jasmine Jaran delivered a statement win in the third singles match, fending off Althea Martirez to help the Lady Bulldogs secure their place in the championship tie for a third straight year after improving to 6-1.

NU will take on University of Santo Tomas, which has a league-leading 7-1 record, in the Final.

“May pressure po, but depende na ‘yun samin how to handle that pressure para maka-perform well this coming finals game namin…mas dodoble kami ng kayod sa training at saka magfo-focus kami doon kami sa mga kulang namin na skills,” said co-captain JM Carcueva on setting up another finals rematch with the Female Tennisters.

“Para hindi mawala ‘yung kumpiyansa ng teammates ko, andoon kami with my captain to support them, to cheer them on every match. And as a co-captain, we need to step up din in every game that we play para may kumpiyansa din ‘yung mga teammates namin na naglalaro.”

Carcueva initiated the rout with a decisive 6-0, 6-1 victory over Blue Eagle Adriana Cabahug in second singles. Danna Abad swiftly doubled the lead, mirroring Carcueva’s scoreline with a 6-0, 6-1 triumph over Chelsea Roque in first singles.

Luivy Carvajal and Juliana Carvajal continued the onslaught, crushing Reizel Coco and Audrey Ruiz 6-1, 6-0 in first doubles to continue the Lady Bulldogs’ domination. Adeline Abadia and Rovie Baulete sealed NU’s sweep with a resounding 6-0, 6-0 victory over Zaina Omar and Angela Buyante in second doubles.

In the men’s division, after falling to NU in the first round, UST turned the tables in a grueling 4-1 encounter, securing at least a playoff for a twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four.

With the win, the Male Tennisters tightened their grip on the top seed at 9-1, while the Bulldogs, now 8-2, slipped to second place.

Meanwhile, University of the East kept its twice-to-beat hopes alive with a decisive 3-2 win over La Salle.

On the other hand, University of the Philippines also kept its twice-to-beat aspirations on track with a big 4-1 win over Adamson.

The Red Warriors and the Fighting Maroons remained level at 7-3.

“Sobrang exciting kasi this is what we’ve been trying to do for the past two seasons so being here right now for the first time, hearing that secured spot na na Final Four makes us hungrier kasi it’s gonna be my first time and I know it’s a different atmosphere out there so I can’t wait,” said UP team captain Loucas Fernandez.

“We haven’t beaten UST and UE so far pero maybe we need to adjust a few things lang in terms of lineup, work, or maybe overall fitness namin, because tennis is a game of inches eh. ‘Yung margins are so small. Every step we do, every conditioning we do in training matters so that could be the difference for winning and losing.”

AUTHOR PROFILE

Theodore P. Jurado