NEWARK, N.J. – The LIU Brooklyn women's tennis team opened the 2017 season this weekend, taking part in the NJIT Invitational Tournament. The Blackbirds won seven of the 12 matches they took part in.

In doubles action, two LIU pairs split their matches, while one Blackbirds duo went undefeated. Anna Grigoryan and Malin Leysen teamed up to beat Ally Haley and Yuka Lin from Army, 6-2 in their first match, before falling to Nathalie Habergger and Alba Rosas Garcia from host NJIT, 7-6.  Isabella Wagener and Ana Leonte teamed up for an opening round loss against Gigi Isogna and Maia Balce from Fordham, 6-1, but bounced back to beat Anmol Narong and Stella Fedele from Army, 6-1. And the Blackbird duo of Jennifer Gogova and Sasha Bollweg won two matches to start the season, beating Rafaella Sampaio and Natacha Minc from NJIT, 6-2, as well as Mayo Sato and Alexis Zobeideh from Fordham, 7-5.

In singles, Grigoryan had win over Sampaio from NJIT, 6-1, 6-0, while Bollweg beat Ari Spirtos from Army, 6-1, 6-0. Leysen also had a win for the Blackbirds, beating Natacha Minc from NJIT, 6-4, 3-6, 10-5. Gogova had a loss to Estelle Wong from Fordham, 4-6, 6-2, 10-7, while Wagener fell to Insogna from Fordham, 7-5, 6-1. Leonte also fell to a player from Fordham, dropping a 6-1, 6-2 decision to Destiny Grunin.

Up next, the Blackbirds open dual match play at St. Peter's University, taking on the Peacocks, Sunday, January 29 at 1 p.m.