TYLER -- The UT Tyler men's tennis team has won their fifth straight American Southwest Conference championship by defeating Mississippi College, 5-4, on Sunday afternoon at the UT Tyler Summers Tennis Center.

Despite losing all three doubles matches, the Patriots stormed back in the singles competition to take the title.

Ryan Spencer defeated the Choctaw's Christian Branning, 6-2 and 6-1, to set the Patriots on the right path towards the comeback. Kevin Wright then defeated Jacob Womack, 6-1 and 6-2.

The ASC title came down to the match between the Patriots' Rob Hodous and the Choctaws' Dudley Lampton where both players went back and forth in the first set, before Hodous came out ahead.

The last set went into a dramatic tie breaker, and with Hodous down 5-2, the Patriots' championship run appeared in jeopardy.  But Hodous, a freshman, rallied back to overtake Lampton and win the tie breaker 7-5, and the match 7-6.

With their ASC crown, the Patriots earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Regional Tournament, the weekend of May 11-13.

Kevin Wright was named the tournament's MVP, while Hodous, Ryan Spencer and Edward Timponi joined him on the All-Tournament team.