Friday, April 14, 2007 Barte, Dizon reach semis By Marianne L. Saberon-Abalayan
THE Davao City tandem of Ralph Kevin Barte and Andrei Dizon entered the boys 18-under doubles semi-finals even as Steffi Marie Dizon and her partner advanced to the next round in girls 18-under doubles of the 2007 Tru-Flex Age-Group Tennis Championships in Manila Thursday.
Barte and Dizon drew a bye earlier to play against the duo of Marlo Espedido and Juan Fidel Regis for a finals berth late Friday afternoon.
Dizon teamed up with Ana Buenviaje to pull off a 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 victory over Trisha Lucero and Karen Quirrez in the Grade 1 event sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association (Philta).
Andrei, however, bowed out of contention in the boys singles after bowing to Fritz Verdad, 6-0, 5-7, 4-6, while youngest Dizon, Jenni, was also booted out of the 10-under unisex event.
Jenni suffered a 0-6, 0-6, beating at the hands of Eric Olivarez, Jr. in the quarterfinals. Jenni's loss came on the heels of her sterling 6-3, 7-5 triumph against Andrew Lim Wednesday.
Steffi, who is seeking admission at the De La Salle University (DLSU) as a tennis varsity scholar along with Barte, was also eliminated in the girls 18 under singles after succumbing to Regina Santiago, 2-6, 2-6.
Barte, the country's 18-under No. 1, decided not to compete in the singles category to give more time for his review before taking the DLSU admission test.
