COLLEGE of St. Benilde prevailed over Emilio Aguinaldo College with wins in the opening singles and doubles to clinch the first round pennant of the 92nd NCAA lawn tennis tournament at the Rizal Tennis Center.
Josh Relatores struck down Paul Justine Lavanes, 6-1, 6-0, while Jet Asilo and Carl Catedral teamed up to ease out Jose Barcelon and Frexy Villamo, 6-0, 6-0, in the doubles.
With the two-game sweep of CSB, both St. Benilde and EAC decided not to play the reverse singles match between Ricarte Santos and Mikko Ogfimina.
San Beda, the defending champion, finished with an 8-1 (win-loss) record.
The Red Lions blanked Letran, 3-0, to earn a chance to move into the finals.
Ormoc Dawson drew first blood with a win over Mina Zerach, 6-1, 6-1, in the opening singles.
Aidyll Ignacio and Patrick Mendoza gave another point in the doubles with their conquest over Al Quiza and Jeffrey Burgos, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2.
Then, Eduardo Bagaforo finished with his domination of Ken dela Cruz, 8-2.
They can earn a championship duel with the Blazers if San Beda tops the four-team second round.
In juniors’ play, Arellano U stayed unbeaten with six wins while San Beda, the current title-holder, remained in the hunt with a 7-1 slate.