Luke Helm enters his fifth season as the head coach of the Concordia men's and women's tennis programs.
Helm's fourth year at the helm was limited to a spring season only due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but he led the Tornados to historic new highs during the shortened 2021 campaign, earning his second ASC West Division Coach of the Year award.Â
The men's squad enjoyed the most successful season in program history, winning their first-ever ASC Tournament title and reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time in club history. The Tornados finished with 13 wins, the second-most in program history despite the season being shortened. A team-record seven Tornados received All-ASC and All-ASC West Division honors, including ASC West Division Freshman of the Year Joeri Bregman. Â
On the women's side, the Tornados saw their best finish in program history as the No. 3 team in the ASC West Division. The squad reached the ASC Tournament for the fourth straight season, and three Tornados were named to the All-ASC and All-ASC West Division teams, including Alejandra Rueda who became the first player in school history to earn a spot on the ASC All-Conference team.Â
In his third year, the 2019-20 season, Helm and the Tornados were beginning to show success on the courts before having it cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the men's side, in the fall portion of the season, Concordia showed dominance at the season-opening ASC Fall Tournament, where Joshua Bode, Robin van Der Heijden and Esteban Arredondo all won their singles flight titles. In the following ITA Regional, Jorge Garcia and Michael Davis highlighted the Tornados' success, walking away as doubles winners in flight B of the tournament.
In the spring portion of the year, the Tornados won four of its first five matches, dropping its lone match to No. 13 Trinity, before having the season canceled by COVID-19.
On the women's side, Concordia had a youthful squad which included only one upperclassmen. In the ASC Fall Tournament, newcomers Isabella Wiik and Cassandra Landeros-Cabrera shined, winning the flight A doubles title.Â
In the spring, the Tornados picked up their first win of the season with a 4-3 defeat of Texas Wesleyan. They followed with three more wins in a row, including a 6-3 defeat of East Texas Baptist before having the season cut short by COVID-19.
In year two, Helm led the men's team to program bests while the women's team reached the ASC Tournament for the third consecutive season.
On the men's side, the Tornados won a program-best 14 matches, including going undefeated in conference play to clinch the program's first ASC West division title. Concordia Texas finished the year 14-3 (5-0 ASC). At the ASC Tournament, the men would win the program's first match at the conference tournament, making a run to the ASC Championship match. Six players earned All-ASC honors, including Evan Pena Jr. and Adam Compton being named to the ASC All-Conference Team. Helm, meanwhile, was voted as the ASC West Coach of the Year, his first in his coaching career.Â
In the fall season, Joshua Bode won the program's first Intercollegiate Tennis Association Southwest Regional singles title and reached the ITA Cup. For his performance, Bode was named an ITA All-American, the first player in school history to garner the honor.Â
The women's team, meanwhile, went 7-8 (2-3 ASC) on the year and qualified as the fourth seed for their third straight ASC Tournament appearance. Genna Ellinwood and Camille Kempf were named to the ASC All-Conference Teams for their play as a doubles team. Both were named to the ASC West Second Team at line three and were the first pair of Tornados to earn All-ASC honors in doubles play since 2016.
Helm was named the head coach in August of 2017 and led both the men's and women's tennis teams to the American Southwest Tournament in his first season.
On the women's side, CTX finished with an 8-10 overall record and advanced to the ASC tournament for the second straight season. The eight wins on the season were the most in program history for the Tornados. The season was also highlighted by Alexis Popovich, who earned ASC West Division second team honors.
The men's team closed the 2018 campaign by advancing to their third straight ASC Tournament. CTX also earned their first ever regional ranking in 2018, climbing all the way to 18th in the West Regional rankings. Adam Compton and Hoanh Le both earned ASC all-conference honors, being named ASC freshman of the year and ASC newcomer of the year, respectively.Â
Helm is a 2007 Magna Cum Laude graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University where he was a tennis standout. He comes to CTX from St. Edward's University, where he was the assistant men's tennis coach for the 2016-17 season.
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Prior to coaching at St. Edward's, Helm was the assistant women's tennis coach for Texas State University from 2015-2016. He also served as the director of men's tennis and teaching pro for the College Park Athletic Club from 2008-2015.
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Helm was also a standout on the court in his time at Indiana Wesleyan. He took home seventh place in the NAIA National Championship in 2006 and was the NAIA Midwest Regional Champion. He was also a seven-time conference champion while playing in both singles and doubles.
Coaching highlights:Â
• Led the men's team to first ever NCAA Tournament appearance after winning a program-first ASC Tournament Championship title in 2021
• Captured the men's ASC West Division regular season title in 2019
• Secured three ASC Tournament appearances on both men's and women's sides. Â
• Two-time ASC West Coach of the Year in 2019 and 2021
• 2019 ITA Singles All-American Joshua Bode
• 2018 ASC West Freshman of the Year Adam ComptonÂ
• 2018 ASC West Newcomer of the Year Hoanh Lee
• 13 All-ASC selections
• 16 All-ASC West selections
• 21 ASC All-Academic honorees
 Helm's Year-by-Year Record
| Year |
School |
Men's Record |
Conference |
Women's Record |
Conference |
| 2018 |
Concordia Texas |
8-9 |
2-4 (5th/ASC West) |
8-10 |
2-4 (5th/ASC West) |
| 2019 |
Concordia Texas |
14-3 |
5-0 (1st/ASC West) |
7-8 |
2-4 (4th/ASC West) |
| 2020* |
Concordia Texas |
4-1 |
0-0 |
4-3 |
0-0 |
| 2021 |
Concordia Texas |
13-5 |
4-1 (2nd/ASC West) |
7-5 |
3-2 (3rd/ASC West) |
| Totals |
4 seasons |
39-18 (.684) |
11-5 (.688) |
26-26Â (.500) |
7-10 (.412) |
*2020 season cut short due to COVID-19 pandemic.
