MERION STATION, Pa. - The Saint Joseph's women's tennis team opened play at the eighth annual SJU Invitational with doubles matches Friday afternoon. 

At Doubles Flight 1, Saint Joseph's team of Claire Minnoe and Alex Zachem opened play with an 8-4 win over Villanova's Aphrah Brokaw and Sydney Kung. Advancing to the quarterfinals, the Hawk pair faced a strong George Washington duo in Melis Bayraktaroglu and Maria Siopachia to advance to the semifinals. Despite showing grit, the Hawks would eventually fall, 8-6.

On the other side of the draw, junior Maureen Devlin and sophomore Isis Gill-Reid put up a strong fight in their opening match, but fell to Bucknell's Lauren Fishbein and Michele Urbinati, 8-2. In the consolation the pair was tripped up by the Colonials' Allison Hansen and Taylor Nederlander, 8-2.

In the second flight, Katherine Devlin and Sarah Contrata opened with an 8-3 win over Lafayette's Gabby Montes and Lauren Tracy. The SJU pair followed with Kamilla Beisenova and Victoria Kogan of George Washington. Fighting for every point, the Hawks' team battled but would fall to GW, 8-3.

Day two of the tournament begins Saturday at 8:30 a.m.