Greenville, S.C. – The Furman men's tennis team secured its first victory of the season Friday following a 5-2 win over the Queens (N.C.) Royals in non-conference play at Mickel Tennis Center.

Furman improves to 1-2 on the season while Queens (N.C.) drops to 0-2 overall.

The Paladins, who opened a four-match homestand on Friday, swept through doubles play to take an early 1-0 lead over the Royals. In the No. 2 match, Ben Cahill and Emil Westling topped Laurenz Blickwede and Arenui Luethi, 6-1, followed by a pair of 6-4 wins at No. 1 and No. 3. The No. 1 combination of Thomas Kennedy and Elijah Poritzky secured the doubles point for Furman with a 6-4 victory against Connor Enslin and Ram Mude. Cole Burnam and Alex Han, playing at No. 3, won their second straight match, 6-4, versus Griffin Lovern and Win Steveker to complete the doubles sweep.

The Paladins began singles competition by winning at No. 1 and No. 2 to increase their lead to 3-0. Leonardo Dal Boni, playing at No. 2, registered his first collegiate victory after defeating Blickwede in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1. Kennedy followed at No. 1 by coming from behind to win in three sets over Steveker, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.

The Royals answered by winning in straight sets at No. 3 to cut Furman's lead to 3-1 before the deciding match went three sets. Connor Laymon, making his first appearance of the season, fell behind, 4-6, after the first set in his No. 6 match against Filippo Verdese. The junior from Delray Beach, Fla., responded by winning, 6-1, in the second set and held on in the third, 7-5, to clinch the match for the Paladins.

John Rado would then top Mude at No. 4 in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0 before Queens (N.C.) closed out the match with a win in the No. 5 match.

Furman remains at home Saturday afternoon hosting James Madison at 1 p.m. Fans can follow the action on www.furmanpaladins.com via live stats and live streaming. Updates will also be posted on the Furman men's tennis Twitter page (@FurmanMTennis).