CHICAGO - The Bradley women's tennis team will open its 39th season Friday when the Braves begin play in the 3-day Chicago State Cougar Invitational.

All 10 team members will participate in the season-opening event, which will include five teams - Bowling Green, Bradley, Chicago State, Lewis and Oakland - competing in two doubles flights and four singles draws. Play begins at 9 a.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the CSU Tennis Courts.

Bradley will fill three of the eight slots in the doubles Green Flight with pairings of Alexa Brandt/Malini Wijesinghe, Alejandra de Lasa/Ashley Thai and Aimee Manfredo/Emma Sodergren. The other two doubles teams - Ariel Dechter/Irinka Toidze and Lindsay Haight/Julie Martin will compete in the doubles White Flight.

The singles competition will be divided into four flights. Brandt, Dechter, de Lasa and Sodergren all will compete in the Green Flight; Manfredo, Thai and Wijesinghe in the White Flight; Martin and Toidze in the Black Flight; and Haight in the Grey Flight.

Following the season-opening tournament, the Braves will have a week off before hosting the Bradley Invitational Sept. 25-27 at the David Markin Tennis Courts and lower Bradley Park courts.