Far Eastern University (FEU) ended a 15-year title drought in spectacular fashion, completing a perfect season sweep of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 88 Collegiate Women’s Table Tennis tournament. The Lady Tamaraws capped their campaign with a 2-0 sweep of the finals series against defending champions University of Santo Tomas (UST) Lady Paddlers last Nov. 21 at the Amoranto Sports Arena in Diliman, Quezon City.
After winning four consecutive championships from Season 70 (2007) to 73 (2010), FEU had often been in contention but could never reclaim the crown in this tournament supported by Huaching Foundation and Topcoms Marketing Inc.—until now.
Glieza Ampalid and Krisha Reyes, veterans from previous squads that fell short against De La Salle University and UST, sealed the Finals and ended the championship drought with an 11-4, 6-11, 11-9, 11-4 victory over Samanta Bandojo and Leigh Villanueva.
“I am immensely happy; even as head coach I can’t put into words the happiness that we have brought home the crown to FEU, Morayta after so many years. My feelings are unspeakable,” said long-time head coach Noel Gonzales in a mix of English and Filipino. Earlier, Shairah Gabisay overcame Kaye Encarnacion in the first set before closing the match decisively, 12-10, 11-1, 11-3, while eventual Most Valuable Player (MVP) Chrishein Santillan defeated Janna Paculba, 11-4, 11-7, 11-5, giving FEU a comfortable 2-0 lead.
That lead proved decisive as Ampalid and Reyes completed a sweep of their matches for the day, including a 3-0 win in the second tie, culminating in a flawless 14-0 season. Rookie of the Year Christine Golez then clinched the deciding singles match against Paculba, 11-4, 11-6, 15-17, 11-9, after the first Finals tie ended in a 2-2 split. The Lady Paddlers and Lady Tamaraws exchanged victories in a back-and-forth series. Encarnacion put last year’s champions on the board first, defeating rookie Cate Sarmiento, 11-2, 9-11, 11-7, 4-11, 11-9. Santillan answered with a 16-14, 11-5, 11-2 win over Keya Manada, while Ampalid and Reyes gave FEU the lead with an 11-7, 11-5, 11-3 win over Bandojo and Jaylyn Valencia.
Last season’s rookie-MVP Althea Gudes then forced a decider, defeating Gabisay, 11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 7-11, 11-3. Notably, Ateneo’s Andrea Deondo was among multiple top newcomers, marking a rare occurrence of multiple Rookie of the Year awardees.
With most of his players returning for next season, Gonzales emphasized the key to sustained success: “The secret is, number one, their training but most important is self-discipline. No matter how good you are as a player, if you don’t have self-discipline, you will not prosper, you will not be successful. That’s what I want to see in them, to maintain that kind of discipline,” said Gonzales.
This season, the Lady Tamaraws combined experienced holdovers with promising rookies to secure FEU’s second championship of the year, following their fourth straight title in women’s football.
