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Tennis takes home a pair of titles in the Windy City

The Bradley women’s tennis team competed in it’s first tournament of the season at the Chicago State Invitational Sept. 12-14, serving up two title winners by the tournament’s end.

Competing against players from Lewis University, Northern Illinois University, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and the University of Chicago, the Braves went 23-14 in combined singles (17-11) and doubles (6-3).

n his second season as the Braves tennis coach, Matt Tyler looks to improve off of a very dismal four-win season last year. So far, his team looks far ahead of what they used to be.

“I have a team full of hard workers, and it really sort of paid off for us this past weekend,” Tyler said. “Our newcomers really did an outstanding job and really played well in a tough field of competitors.”

This year’s newcomers were the highlight of the Chicago State Invitational, as two of the three took home a White Flight title.

Aimee Manfredo, a freshman from Shoreham, New York, is already making a strong impact in the Braves lineup.

Manfredo won the White Flight’s singles title by going undefeated in the invitational, capping off her weekend with a win over Lewis University’s Megan Ngyuen.

“[Manfredo played] tough opponents, and she came through,” Tyler said. “Same thing with Irinka and Ari Dechter, winning the White Flight for the doubles.”

Dechter and Toidze won the doubles White Flight title by also going an undefeated 3-0 on the weekend.

Toidze, a transfer from West Virginia University, almost won the consolation singles White Flight title along with the doubles title.

“The teams that we played in all of these tournaments have great players one through six,” Tyler said. “You may say it’s a ‘B flight’ or a ‘second Flight’, but it doesn’t mean the competition’s any less. It’s great results for all three of them.”

The Braves return to the court Sept. 26, when they travel to Waterloo, Iowa to participate in the UNI Invitational.

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