UAAP Season 78 Table Tennis hasn’t been kind to the University of the East, with both the Red Warriors and Lady Warriors finding it difficult to win ties in the first elimination round.
The Red Warriors finished the first elimination round with a 1-6 record, and the Lady Warriors fared better to finish 5th at 3-4.
The Red Warriors’ sole win came from their tie against the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles. UE secured a 3-0 sweep that condemned the Blue Eagles to 8th place in the first elimination round.
UE’s six losses in the first round make for some painful reading. While they won the second singles match, the Red Warriors lost three matches to defending champions De La Salle University 1-3. They also lost to Far Eastern University, National University, and Adamson University by the same scoreline.
The Red Warriors almost won against the UP Fighting Maroons, only to succumb to a 2-3 defeat. They took the first and fourth singles matches with scores of 3-1, with the Fighting Maroons winning the ones in between 0-3. They eventually faltered in the fifth match to UP with a score of 2-3. It would be the same story as they lost to the NU Bulldogs 2-3. It was a missed opportunity for the Red Warriors as they were leading the tie 2-1, only for the Bulldogs to eventually come back to triumph 2-3.
Meanwhile, the Lady Warriors coped better than their male counterparts. The Lady Warriors won against the likes of the NU Lady Bulldogs, ADMU Lady Eagles and AdU Lady Falcons.
The Lady Warriors swept the Lady Eagles 3-0; they also defeated the Lady Falcons despite having conceded the doubles match to win the tie 3-1. They then squeaked past the Lady Bulldogs with a close 3-2 win after winning alternate matches.
For their losses, the Lady Warriors were swept by DLSU and FEU with a score of 0-3. Ties against UST and UP resulted in 1-3 defeats, with just a win in the singles match before falling apart at the end in both fixtures.
With the second elimination round next, UE will be hoping the Warriors will be able to win more ties to show some signs of progress for its Table Tennis program in the UAAP.
