Maria's and Nole's Stories Everywhere

Maria Sharápova wins her 1st Australian Open Championship

Maria Sharapova of Russia collected her third major tennis trophy - the Australian Open 2008 (adding to her Wimbledon 2004 and US Open 2006 wins) at Melbourne Park Saturday afternoon after dispatching Serbian sensation Ana Ivanovic in straight sets 7-5 6-3.

On her way to the finals, she never dropped a single set nor got engaged in any tiebreak. Seeded fifth this year, she defeated Jelena Kostanic Tosic 6-4 6-3 in the 1st Round, former world #1 Lindsay Davenport 6-1 6-3 in the 2nd Round, fellow Russians Elena Vesnina 6-3 6-0 and Elena Dementieva 6-2 6-0 in the 3rd and 4th Rounds, top seed and current world #1 Justine Henin 6-4 6-0 in the Quarterfinals and third seed Jelena Jankovic 6-3 6-1 in the Semifinals.

Read more of the stories of her successful comeback here.

Novak Đoković wins his 1st Grand Slam Championship at Melbourne

Serbian Novak Djokovic ended Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's suprising run at the Australian Open 2008 by defeating the Frenchman at Rod Laver Arena Sunday evening 4-6 6-4 6-3 7-6 (2) to grab his first ever Grand Slam trophy.

On his way to the finals, he never dropped a single set and even managed to conquer current world #1 Roger Federer in straight sets 7-5 6-3 7-6 (5) during their Semifinal showdown last Friday - ending Federer's run of 10 successive Grand Slam finals appearance and freezing his hopes to match Pete Sampras's record of 14 major championships. Seeded #3, he thrashed German Benjamin Becker 6-0 6-2 7-6 (5) in the 1st Round, Simone Bolelli 6-1 6-2 6-2 in the 2nd Round, Sam Querry 6-3 6-1 6-3 in the 3rd Round, local bet and former world #1 Lleyton Hewitt 7-5 6-3 6-3 in the 4th Round, and #5 seed David Ferrer 6-0 6-3 7-5 in the Quarterfinals.

Read more of the stories of this fast-rising tennis star here.

Survey Here, There, Everywhere

1. Student number?
01-26719

2. College?
Engineering

3. Course?
BS Electronics and Communications Engineering

4. Nag-shift ka ba o na-kickout?
Neither.

5. Saan ka kumuha ng UPCAT?
Palma Hall aka AS

6. Favorite GE subject?
Kasaysayan 2

7. Favorite PE?
Camping

8. Saan ka nag-aabang ng hot chick sa UP?
BA or Tourism

9. Favorite prof(s)
Ma’am Orillos (Kas 2), Dean Gev (EEE 35, DSP Founder), Sir Templo (ES 21)

10. Pinaka-ayaw na GE subject.
STS, okay sana yung subject kaso terror yung prof haha.

11. Kumuha ka ba ng Wed or Sat classes?
Yup, usually PE and/or ROTC saka nung graduating year ko – EEE 190/198.

12. Nakapag-field trip ka ba?
Hindi yata… Na-cancel yung Corregidor namin eh.

Considered field trip daw yung Company Tours sa Globe, Canon, at ASTEC.

13. Naging CS ka na ba or US sa UP?
Oo naman. Haha. First and last semesters. :P

14. Ano ang Org/Frat/Soro mo?
SAVER, Circuit, FORCE, etc.

15. Saan ka tumatambay palagi?
Circuit Tambayan and DSP Lab

16. Dorm, Boarding house, o Bahay?
Own house

17. Kung walang UPCAT test at malaya kang nakapili ng kurso mo sa UP, ano yun?
ECE or Civil Engg.

18. Sino ang mga pinaka-una mong nakilala sa UP?
Jen Regua and Ralph Miranda – both HS classmates and former EEE colleagues; Ghe del Rosario, Marien Dy, Larisse Garcia, Glenn Kilayko, May Que, Liz Sagucio – EEE Berks; and UP SAVER Bloc Handlers

19. First play na napanood mo sa UP?
Nalimutan ko title eh, basta sa Guererro Theatre sa AS ko siya napanood noong first year with May.

20. Name the 5 most conyo orgs in UP
OBEM, JMA, CE, IE Club, Circuit

21. Name 5 of the coolest orgs/frats/soro in UP.
Circuit, IE Club, APO, Tau Alpha, Beta Epsilon

22. May frat/soro bang nag-recruit sa yo?
Nag-alok, yes.

23. Saan ka madalas mag-lunch?
CS Canteen or pa-deliver sa DSP Lab.

24. Masaya ba sa UP?
Syempre.

25. Nakasama ka na ba sa rally?
Nope. Call me apathetic…

26. Ilang beses ka bumoto sa Student Council
Almost every year naman yata… Though, mas madalas yata sa ESC kaysa sa USC.

27. Name at least 5 leftist groups in UP
LFS at Stand-UP lang naaalala ko eh. Saka subjective yung leftist, mas okay yata kung idealist. :)

28. Pinangarap mo rin bang mag-laude nung freshman ka?
Of course.

29. Kanino ka pinaka-patay sa UP?
Pinaka-patay na patay? Wala naman…

30. Kung di ka UP, anong school ka?
Baka hindi na lang ako nag-aral haha. Kasi sa UP lang ako nag college entrance exam eh. Ika nga natin, “The two top universities in the Philippines are UP and others.” Hahahahaha. :D

Celebrations Here, There, Everywhere

The University of the Philippines' Centennial Celebration starts tomorrow January 8, 2008 with the UP@100 Kickoff to commence the 162-day countdown to UP's 100th Foundation Day.

Here's the schedule for tomorrow's events (click the image to visit the UP Centennial Website):