National University’s three-peat dreams received a boost after securing a spot in the UAAP Season 86 Women’s Tennis Finals with a 4-1 victory over Ateneo de Manila University on Sunday at the Felisicimo Ampon Tennis Center.
The Lady Bulldogs needed only the first three matches to remain undefeated in six ties and earn the first of two tickets to the championship round.
Meanwhile, the Blue Eagles slipped to 1-6, sharing the fifth to sixth places.
Elsie Abarquez continued her fine form this season, following a straight-sets triumph the previous day with a 7-6(3), 6-1 victory over Faye Dizon to secure both the tie at 3-0 and the Finals berth.
This came after Adeline Abadia rolled past Chelsea Roque, 6-3, 6-2, in the opening singles match.
Then Angela Cabaral and Rovie Baulete defeated Tricia Howard and Zaina Omar, 6-0, 6-2, in the first doubles rubber.
Reigning MVP Mae Bornia secured another win, this time with Juliana Carvajal, through a 7-6, 6-3 victory over Althea Martirez and Yam Garsin.
On the other hand, Althea Ong prevented a shutout for Ateneo with a 6-0, 6-3 stunner against JM Carcueva.
On the other hand, University of the East joined University of Santo Tomas and Ateneo de Manila University in the men’s Final Four after defeating University of the Philippines in a 4-1 rout.
Kent Morales and RJ Baje propelled the Red Warriors to a third straight semifinals appearance with a decisive 6-3, 6-4 conquest of Hakim Baolot and Allen Rombawa in the second doubles match.
UP’s Loucas Fernandez threatened to apply pressure with a 7-5 win in the first set over RJ Singson but was pushed into a decider by the latter. The Fighting Maroons co-captain eventually secured the victory with 2-6, 6-3 scorelines in the next two sets.
However, that was all the Diliman-based team could manage as they fell to a precarious 3-7 win-loss slate, a tie behind idle NU’s 4-4 card.
In the remaining ties, the Final Four-bound Ateneo and UST dominated their respective assignments on the men’s side.
Blue Eagles’ JD Velez bounced back from a stinging defeat the previous day to waylay Raven Hitosis, 6-1, 6-1, securing the 5-0 sweep against archrivals De La Salle University Green Tennisters.
Defending champions UST, meanwhile, saw EJ Tangub quickly dispatch Miecoz Candelasa with a 6-2, 6-1 victory for yet another dominant 5-0 win against Adamson University.
Both the Blue Eagles and Male Tennisters now boast 8-1 win-loss records.
The women’s squad of UST made it two-for-two for the España-based institution as they moved into at least a playoff for a Finals spot with a 4-1 win over DLSU.
Senior Female Tennisters’ standout Alexie Santos pounced on Lady Green Tennisters’ Bea Gomez in the third singles match, winning 6-2, 6-0.
Meanwhile, teammates Princess Gom-os and Miles Vitaliano needed three sets to shake off Amor Idjao and Annika Diwa, securing a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory.
The Female Tennisters are now at 5-1 and in second place, just a tie behind NU’s 6-0 and two ties ahead of UP’s 3-3.
