RICHARDSON, Texas – Joeri Bregman defeated Hardin-Simmons' Josh Lopez 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 in the deciding match at line four singles to clinch the 5-4 victory and the Concordia Texas men's tennis team won their first-ever American Southwest Conference Tournament Championship on Saturday at the UTD Tennis Courts.

The Tornados advanced to their second-straight conference title match after taking down UT Dallas 5-2 on Friday. They faced off against the Cowboys, who were the one seed out of the ASC West, and defeated CTX 6-3 back on April 2.

In the championship match, the Tornados fell behind early, dropping two of the three doubles matches.

Esteban Arredondo and Michael Davis picked up the lone point for CTX, winning at line three 8-5 over HSU's James Moore and Chris Beavers.

In singles play, the Tornados rallied, winning the first three matches to take a 4-2 lead.

Adrian Munguia made quick work of his opponent at line three, winning it 6-1, 6-1. Arredondo followed suit at line five, securing a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Beavers, while Pena Jr. cruised to a 6-1, 6-4 win at line six.

The Cowboys did not go down easily, grabbing wins at line one and two to level the match at 4-all.

In the decisive match at line four, Bregman went toe-to-toe with HSU's Lopez, outlasting him in a first-set tiebreaker 7-5. In the second set, the freshman out of Zoetermeet, The Netherlands, closed out CTX's first-ever conference championship with a 6-4 win.

In the program's sixth year of existence, it is their first ASC title.

Arredondo was named the conference tournament MVP, while teammates Bregman, Munguia and Pena Jr. were named to the ASC All-Tournament Team.

It is the first-ever conference championship for Head Coach Luke Helm, who took over the program in the fall of 2017, and has taken them to new heights.

"My proudest day as a coach," Helm said. "To see this group of guys come together down the stretch to win this championship feels surreal. After everything they've been through, all the resilience they've shown and all the adversity they've had to overcome, I'm truly speechless. What a moment for our program, our young men and our school. Lots of tears out there from the boys after this one, and I'm so grateful for the bond they'll share forever and the men they've become in the process."

With the conference title win, the Tornados earn the automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championship, their first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history.

Concordia Texas will find out their opponent and location on May 10, when the tournament field will be released at 11 a.m. on NCAA.com.