Velez powers Ateneo over UE

c/o UAAP

UAAP Season 86 Men's Tennis Standings

Ateneo 2-0

UST 2-0

UE 2-1

NU 1-1

UP 1-2

DLSU 1-2

AdU 0-3

Ties on Saturday at the Felicisimo Ampon Tennis Center

7:30 a.m. - NU vs UP (Men's)

8 a.m. - Ateneo vs UP (Women's)

11 a.m. - Ateneo vs AdU (Men's)

1 p.m. - DLSU vs NU (Women's)

2:30 p.m. - UST vs DLSU (Men's)

JD Velez helped Ateneo eke out a 3-2 win against the University of the East in their tie on Wednesday for the UAAP Season 86 Men's Tennis Tournament at the Felicisimo Ampon Tennis Center inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

The freshman from Ormoc outlasted Marc Suson, 0-6 6-4 7-5, in the final match of the tie to lock in the win for the Blue Eagles. Suson had battled back from being 1-5 down to tying things at 5-5, and even got to score the opening two points of the 11th game before Velez settled things down.

Ateneo head coach Gee Abacan shares, "I lost several key players from last season, but I got new ones, which is a good thing."

He adds about the difficulty of dealing with the Red Warriors, "Kapag kalaban talaga namin UE, it's always been 3-2, not 4-1 nor 5-0; pahirapan talaga. Happy ako na napanalo ni Velez because imagine 6-0 sa first set at nagka-cramps na siya."

The Blue Eagles got two wins on the board with Noy Seno defeating Jarell Edangga, 6-2 6-4, and the duo of Nio Tria and Axl Gonzaga topping Dawson Ormoc and RJ Singson, 7-6 (7) 6-2.

UE would knot things up with Romeo Largo Jr's 6-3 6-2 victory over Austin Delos Santos in the second singles, followed by Kent Morales and RJ Baje neutralizing JJ Llavore and Stef Gurria, 5-7 6-1 7-6(7).

Ateneo now joins the University of Santo Tomas atop the standings at 2-0, with UE dropping into third at 2-1.

The Male Tennisters dispatched the University of the Philippines, 4-1, to keep their record unscathed.

Last season's MVP Nilo Ledama clinched the tie with a 6-2 6-3 victory over Andrei Jarata.

Ericjay Tangub kicked things off for the defending champions with a 6-0 6-2 victory over Zire Mina, while their doubles tandems also snapping up wins. Richard Bautista and Vince Sereno turned back Karl Miguel and Jonas Silva, 7-5 6-4, and Steven Sonsona and Symon Jaculan dispatched Rafael Liangco and Hakim Boloto, 6-2 6-3.

The lone win of UP came from Loucas Fernandez, securing a 6-3 6-2 win over Brent Cortes.

The final men's tie of the day saw La Salle secure their first win of the season, claiming a 4-1 triumph over Adamson in a battle of winless teams.

EJ Geluz nipped Jerald Delos Santos, 6-4 6-0 to lock in the tie during the third singles match.

DLSU joins UP at 1-2, while Adamson slips to 0-3.