GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Nicola James recorded a pair of points, including the match-winner at No. 5 singles to lead the Lander University women's tennis team to a 5-4 win over host Tusculum College Sunday afternoon at the Nichols Tennis Complex.

The Bearcats snap a three-match losing streak to improve to 12-8 on the season, while the Pioneers fall to 16-3 in their regular-season finale. Tusculum also has its home match winning streak snapped at 12 in a row.

Tusculum returns to action April 22-24 for the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament in Rock Hill, S.C. Opponent and seeding will be announced by the league office next weekend.

Lander captured two of the three doubles points, including an 8-5 win at the third flight as James and Caitlin Fell defeated Blake Thompson and Katie Hillis.

Tusculum's Caroline Crowe, the lone senior on this year's squad, accounted for two her team's four points, including an 8-3 win with No. 1 doubles partner Katelyn Doss as they knocked off the LU duo of Aurelia Ruffat and Ana Luiza Zaia.

Ruffat and Cordell won their singles matches at the first and second flight, respectively to take a 4-1 lead. Tusculum's Taylor Patterson made it 4-2 with her 6-4, 6-3 win over Fell at No. 3 singles.

James clinched the match for the visitors with her 6-4, 6-1 win over Thompson at No. 5 singles. It was also Thompson's first singles loss this season, snapping a winning streak that covered 22 singles victories in a row.

Megan Buckmaster won her No. 6 singles match over Melanise Newbold, 6-3, 6-1.

Appropriately, Crowe closed out the match with a hard-fought three-set win in her final home contest at Tusculum. Crowe defeated Eliza Adusumilli, 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 7-5.

- TC -