THE UST Female Tennisters are headed back to the finals after outlasting the erstwhile undefeated NU Lady Bulldogs, 3-2, in the UAAP Season 87 women’s tennis tournament on March 22, Saturday, at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
The tandem of Minnete Bentillo and Justine Maneja sealed UST’s finals return as they beat Kolin Cornell and Jasmine Jara, 6-1, 6-3.
Reigning Rookie of the Year Kaye Emana opened the scoring for the Female Tennisters with a commanding 6-2, 6-2, win over Elsie Abarquez in the second singles match.
Her younger sister, Mica Emana, followed suit with a dominant 6-3, 6-3, victory against JM Carcueva in the third singles match.
In the first singles match, Lady Bulldog Dana Abad downed Patricia Lim, 6-0, 7-5. Meanwhile, Adeline Abadia and Rovie Baulete toppled UST’s Debbie Gom-os and Judy Padilla, 6-1, 6-3, in the first doubles to force a decider.
UST moved to a 6-1 win-loss card to top the standings, while NU dropped to second place with a 5-1 slate.
In the men’s division, the UST Male Tennisters staged a 5-0 sweep over the Adamson Soaring Falcons to reinforce their hold at the top of the leaderboard.
Ericjay Tangub wasted no time setting the tone with a clinical win against Lander Butcon in the first singles match, 6-0, 6-2.
Season 86 MVP Nilo Ledama smashed Miecoz Candelasa in the second singles match, 6-3, 6-0. Christopher Sonsona followed it up with a 6-3, 6-3, victory over Ramon Bentillo.
In doubles play, Steven Sonsona and Brent Cortes outlasted Angelo Rosales and Emmanuel Pedrosa in three sets, 6(3)-7(7), 6-2, 10-8.
The UST duo of Richard Bautista and Geo Serino capped off the shutout with a 7-5, 6-2, win against Tristan Correos and Nikko Lumahang.
With the win, UST improved to 8-1 keeping them atop the standings. Adamson, meanwhile, slipped to 2-8. F
