IRVINE, Calif. - For the first time in school history, the Concordia University Irvine men's tennis team is heading to the NCAA Division 2 Championships!

Hosting the NCAA DII West Regional in tennis for the first time in program history, Concordia defeated Point Loma Nazarene University 4-1 on a sizzling, hot Friday afternoon at the nearby Racquet Club in Irvine.  

This marks the fourth time this season that the Golden Eagles have bested Point Loma.

More importantly, the victory clinched a spot for CUI in the Field of 16 at the upcoming national tournament which begins Tuesday, May 20 in Altamonte Springs, Florida.

The Golden Eagles rallied to snag the doubles point after a momentum shift late in one particular match up.

Felix Veyhle and Max Mueller had already sewn up a victory on court one but it came down to court two and the pairing of Spencer Cinco and Adam Kartzinel.

A return that narrowly nipped the white line for a Concordia point surprised the Sea Lions and helped give Cinco and Kartzinel a boost. The Golden Eagles flipped the script down the stretch and wound up winning 7-6 on tiebreaker (7-4) to hand CUI a 1-0 lead after doubles was decided.

Point Loma won at the No. 1 singles position thanks to perennial All-Conference selection Alexander Leischner. But Veyhle and Adam Large played big at No. 2 and No. 3 singles respectively to give CUI a 3-1 advantage.

With Oleksandr Kolesnychenko holding his own at court six... the two Maxes started to get into a groove and the large crowd could feel Concordia getting close to clinching. With Max Renz leading 4-1 in the third set over at court four... Max Mueller wound up earning the winning point as he clinched the victory with a 6-4, 6-4 triump at the No. 5 position.

"This is one of the most fun seasons I've had playing," said Mueller. "I just love playing with this team."

About a hundred fans trickled in to watch the historic victory throughout the afternoon, and that clearly helped make it a special and memorable occasion for the Golden Eagles.

"I think the energy and the atmosphere from everyone that came today, just hearing everyone was super exciting and for me personally," admitted Kartzinel. "I know it makes me play better and Spencer play better."

CLICK HERE to watch the full postgame interviews with Cinco, Kartzinel, Mueller and Coach Le Montagner

"I'm really proud of these guys," said CUI interim head coach Mattis Le Montagner, a former Golden Eagles player himself. "They did an amazing job from start to finish. The doubles point was super clutch, very important, and I feel like the guys had less pressure starting out with singles. I'm super happy for us to be going to nationals and to be a part of this program."

The PacWest Conference Champs will now await their next opponent which they will play out in Florida. The NCAA DII men's tennis bracket with reseeded match ups will be announced in the coming days and the tournament will run from May 20 to May 24.

CLICK HERE for the full CUI men's tennis schedule