Cayce, S.C.----The third-seeded and 36th-ranked Queens University Royals went 2-1 in doubles play Saturday morning en route to a 5-3 victory over top-seeded and 12th-ranked Wingate University in the championship match of the 2018 South Atlantic Conference women's tennis tournament. The Royals improve to 16-3 overall, while the Bulldogs fall to 20-4 on the season.

Senior Maria Garcia (San Carlos, Venezuela) and sophomore Michela Verpelli (Milan, Italy) teamed for an 8-3 victory at number one doubles for the Bulldogs, but Queens won 8-2 and 8-1 at two and three doubles to take a 2-1 lead heading to singles play.

Junior Sydney Homan (Huntsville, Ala.) prevailed 6-4, 6-1 at number six singles, while Verpelli, the SAC Player of the Year, picked up a 6-4, 6-2 victory at one singles over three-time SAC Player of the Year Carlotta Nassi to give Wingate a 3-2 advantage.

The Royals picked up a win at two singles to tie it. Freshman Chyi Lee (Taipei, Taiwan) battled back from a 6-4 loss in set one at three singles to win the second set 6-2, but dropped a 7-5 third set. Senior Oroma Womeodu (Memphis, Tenn.) also forced a third set by taking set two 6-2, but dropped the final frame 6-0 as Queens clinched the match. Sophomore Marisa Ostoja (Split, Croatia) was tied 3-3 in the third set when the match was clinched.

Queens earns the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Wingate was ranked second in the most recent NCAA Southeast Region poll and is likely to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The top two teams in the region will serve as host schools in the regional tournament.