LA Salle reclaimed the UAAP women’s tennis throne with a 3-2 squeaker over University of Santo Tomas on Thursday at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.
Veteran Martina Guba, playing her final season for the Lady Archers, rallied from a 4-5 deficit in the opening set and blanked Tigresses rookie Lenelyn Milo in the second to hammer out a 7-5, 6-0 victory.
La Salle completed a two-game sweep of the best-of-three series to clinch its seventh title and dethroned UST in the process.
Reggie Santiago set the tone for the Lady Archers with a 6-3, 6-1 thumping of Len-len Santos in the opening singles, before the Tigresses fought back with Diane Bautista and Jhie Helar trouncing Lynette Palasan and Aira Putiz, 6-1, 6-2, in the first doubles.
Rookie of the Year winner Marinel Rudas beat Season 74 MVP Macy Gonzales, 6-1, 6-3, in the second singles for La Salle to regain the upper hand, before UST got a reprieve when Zaza Paulino and April Santos subdued Princess Castillo and Nikki Arandia, 6-3, 6-2, in the second doubles.
Santiago was named the tournament MVP on her final season with the team, reprising her feat two years ago when she led the Lady Archers to back-to-back titles.
“She is more than deserving to win the MVP award. In her whole UAAP career, she is undefeated,” said La Salle coach Taddy Cruz on Santiago.
“Hopefully we get new recruits in the coming season to replace to two losses (Guba and Santiago) we have plus we need to step up our double tandems. We will try to be more balanced next season,” he added.
Only volleyball is left to be finished in the Season 75 calendar, with the Lady Archers gunning for a ‘three-peat’ to put the icing on La Salle's cake after clinching its first-ever general championship.
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