CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The No. 19 Queens University of Charlotte women's tennis team handed Tusculum University its first South Atlantic Conference loss of the season and won its third straight match with a 6-1 victory on Saturday at the Howard Levine Tennis Center.

"I am very proud of our team today. We have a lot of respect for the Tusculum tennis program- they are well-coached and always a national force in Division II," said Head Tennis Coach Billy Boykin. "We've had a lot of great matches with them over the years. Our girls played very well today. We are showing improvement each each and we are really coming together as a team. I'm happy for this group."
 
The Royals won the doubles points with wins at Nos. 1 and 3, including a 6-4 win for Sasha Davidzenka/Yana Fleyer over Annie McCullough/Caitlin McCullough.
 
A 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 2 by Viktorija Veselinova opened singles play for the Roylas before Fleyer secured a 6-3, 6-0 win at No. 1. Kate Halickman put the match away with a 6-1, 6-0 victory at No. 6 as Davidzenka and Grace Forbes also collected singles wins at Nos. 3 and 5, respectively.
 
The Royals host UVA Wise tomorrow in the second match of a two-game homestand.
 
#19 Queens University of Charlotte 6, Tusculum University 1
 
Singles competition
1. Yana Fleyer (QUEENSW) def. Annie McCullough (TU) 6-3, 6-0
2. Viktorija Veselinova (QUEENSW) def. Julia Lopez (TU) 6-2, 6-1
3. Sasha Davidzenka (QUEENSW) def. Emilie Hansen (TU) 6-0, 6-7 (5-10), 1-0 (10-5)
4. Caitlin McCullough (TU) def. Caity Klaassen (QUEENSW) 2-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-6)
5. Grace Forbes (QUEENSW) def. Paulina Loretz (TU) 6-3, 7-6 (10-4)
6. Kate Halickman (QUEENSW) def. Rory Church (TU) 6-1, 6-0
 
Doubles competition
1. Sasha Davidzenka/Yana Fleyer (QUEENSW) def. Annie McCullough/Caitlin McCullough (TU) 6-4
2. Emilie Hansen/Amber Lackey (TU) def. Caity Klaassen/Viktorija Veselinova (QUEENSW) 6-4
3. Grace Forbes/Kate Halickman (QUEENSW) def. Julia Lopez/Paulina Loretz (TU) 6-0
 
Match Notes:
Tusculum University 6-3, 3-1 SAC
Queens University of Charlotte 8-1, 7-1 SAC; National ranking #19
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (2,1,6,3,4,5)