University of Santo Tomas completed a first-round sweep to remain on track for a ‘four-peat’ in the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Table Tennis Tournament on Friday at the Amoranto Sports Complex Arena.
The Tiger Paddlers, aiming to extend their record to 30 championships in this event, finished the round with a clean 6-0 win-loss record.
They took to 3-0 sweeps against Season 85 runners-up Ateneo Blue Eagles, DLSU Green Paddlers, and UE Red Warriors.
John Michael Castro played a pivotal role in the victory against the Blue Eagles, setting the tone for the day with an 11-8, 14-16, 11-8, 4-11, 11-9 marathon over Ateneo’s Mahendra Cabrido in their second singles match.
The senior then secured another win later against De La Salle’s Red Torres, 11-4, 11-7, 11-5, to lead UST.
Ateneo, meanwhile, maintained its second-place position with a 5-1 win-loss record, while Far Eastern University and De La Salle are tied at 3-3 in third place.
On the women’s side, UST also pulled off a stunner over reigning champion La Salle, 3-2, after Corrine Cartera eked out a four-set win over Shyren Redoquero, 17-15, 4-11, 11-8, 11-5, in the deciding singles match.
The Lady Green Paddlers and the Lady Tamaraws ended with a share of the top spot, both with identical 5-1 win-loss records.
National team standout Angel Laude led DLSU’s 3-0 sweeps of FEU and UE.
Laude defeated FEU’s Miriam Martinez, 11-4, 11-4, 11-2, and UE’s Jean Ramos, 11-2, 11-3, 11-5, to restore order for the defending champions.
The Lady Tamaraws, on the other hand, bounced back from their defeat against the Lady Green Paddlers to finish at 5-1 after the first round.
They made amends with a 3-0 sweep of the Lady Warriors and a 3-2 denial of the Blue Eagles.
Liezl Cañada guided the Lady Tamaraws in the deciding singles match against the Blue Eagles with an 8-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-8 victory over fourth-year Kathleen Bulaqueña in an early crucial contest between contenders.
Ateneo and UST are tied for third at 4-2, completing the top four at the end of the first round.
The second round of eliminations will start on Wednesday at 8:00 AM at the same Diliman venue.
