Tiger Female Shuttlers go 0–2, falter against defending WBD champion Lady Blue Eagles
By Charles Nicholas
The UST Tiger Female Shuttlers succumbed to their second straight defeat, 1–4, against S82 Women’s Badminton champions Ateneo Lady Blue Eagles in the UAAP Season 85 Women’s Badminton Tournament, Monday afternoon at the Centro Atletico Badminton Center in Quezon City.
The match between UST and ADMU was initially scheduled for October 29 but was postponed due to Typhoon Paeng.
The sole victory of the Espana-based shuttlers came from the Tiger duo of Rhafi Santos and Jennifer Saladaga as they managed to rout Ateneo’s Alvarez-Cervantes duo from the second doubles matchup, 21–15, 17–21, 21–12.
Ateneo’s National Athlete Mika De Guzman dominated the first singles clinching two sets in her hands against UST’s Charlize Belen, 21–11, 21–9.
In the second singles, Espana-based Shuttler Santos tried to bounce back against Ateneo Rookie Jochelle Alvarez but the Katipunan-based Shuttler managed to secure the second win of the matchup against UST, 21–13, 21–8.
Tiger Female Shuttlers Chloe Ignacio and Daine Pena failed to notch the win for the first doubles matchup against Ateneo’s De Guzman and Chanelle Lunod, 13–21, 8–21.
Santos teamed up with Saladaga to redeem the second doubles as they face her single counterpart Alvarez along with Missy Cervantes. UST’s tandem of Santos and Saladaga sealed the deal grabbing its first-set win against Ateneo, 21–15.
Ateneo’s Alvarez-Cervantes duo managed to win the second set, 21–17, having both teams tied at one. However, Ateneo wasn’t able to maintain their momentum giving UST their first team-tie victory, 21–12.
Lunod ended the third singles with a strong smash against Saladaga, 21–15, 21–15.
The winless Female Tiger Shuttlers look to bag their first win as they face National University on November 5, at the same venue.
