Tigresses halt Archers, force tennis title duel

MANILA, Philippines - University of Santo Tomas (UST) shredded erstwhile unbeaten La Salle’s cloak of invincibility, hacking out a 3-2 triumph to force a winner-take-all showdown for the UAAP Season 74 women’s lawn tennis title yesterday at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

Facing a 1-2 deficit in race-to-three-matches affair, Tigresses April Santos and Macy Gonzales rose to the challenge and bundled out Kirstie Barraquias and Trudy Amoranto in the second doubles, 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-2, to set the stage for a deciding third singles.

With momentum on their side, UST’s last bet Zaza Paulino buckled down to work and hacked out a 6-2, 6-1 romp over DLSU’s Enah Baba to complete the ambush, handing the top-seeded and twice-to-beat Lady Archers their very first loss this season.

The Tigresses and the three-peat-seeking Lady Archers will dispute the crown tomorrow starting at 9 a.m. at the same venue.

“That was really our goal, to take the second doubles against Barraquias and Amoranto, and of course, the last singles, wherein our bet (Paulino) hits well,” said UST mentor Dennis Sta. Cruz.

Reggie Santiago gave La Salle a 1-0 headstart after dismantling Hazel Grecia, 6-0, 6-2, in the first singles, but UST drew level via Diane Bautista and Jhie Helar’s 6-1, 6-0 dispatching of Aira Putiz and Nadine Castillo, 6-1, 6-0, in the first doubles.

DLSU got on the brink of their third straight title when Martina Guba nipped Lenlen Santos, 6-1, 6-1, in the second singles.

But then the Santos-Gonzales pair and Paulino spoiled DLSU’s grand plan of duplicating the championship feat of their men’s team.

Santos and Gonzales broke Barraquias and Amoranto twice to seize a 4-0 cushion in the deciding third set that all but secured the tying match for UST.

Paulino then shook off a jittery start that saw her trailing 0-2 after an erratic first two games, establishing her solid groundstrokes to take the next six games and the set and cruising from there.