Tigers, Lady Archers sweep way to tennis crowns

University of Santo Tomas and De La Salle completed a sweep of the elimination round of the 72nd UAAP tennis tournament on Sunday to lay claim to the title in the men’s and women’s division, respectively.

The Tigers beat dethroned titlist De La Salle, 3-1, in the men’s tournament while the Lady Archers downed last season’s champion UST, 3-2, in the women’s side to clinch the outright title by winning all their games in the preliminaries. Last season, the Tigers and the Lady Archers were on the losing end of the chase for the title as the Green Archers and the Tigresses grabbed the crown via sweep at their expense. Miguel Narvaez and Raymond Villarete were named the men’s Most Valuable Players and set the stage for the win. Narvaez defeated Juan Fidel Regis, 6-1, 6-2, while Villarete won over Mike Basco, 7-5, 6-2, in the singles matches. Keane Barraquias and Bernardine Bering secured the title for Tigers after beating David Dekoenigswarter and Marlon Espedido, 6-3, 6-3, in the doubles. Rookie of the Year Pemrick Alina, along with Ed Amor, nipped Ryan Montalbo and Gerard Pinili, 7-6 (2), 6-3, for the Green Archers’ lone win. Trudy Amoranto grabbed the women’s MVP honors while Regina Santiago captured the Rookie of the Year plum as they set up the Lady Archers’ win. Amoranto and Kristie Barraquias drubbed Kat Castro and Cristina Santos, 6-2, 7-5, while Santiago edged Nikki Manalo, 6-4, 6-4. UST bounced back as Len Santos trounced Nikki de Dios, 6-3, 6-3, and Jhiji Hellar and Dianne Bautista turned back Enah Baba and Steffi Dizon, 7-5, 6-4. De La Salle sealed the title with Martina Guba defeating Hazel Grecia, 6-1, 6-1, in the deciding match. The Tigers won their third title in four years while the Lady Archers snapped the Tigresses’ four-year reign. - GMANews.TV