Hard work and team harmony paid off for Neal Towlson and his Wingate University team-mates in South Carolina over the Easter weekend.

The Bermuda player helped the Bulldogs clinch a second Food Lion South Atlantic Conference (SAC) title in three years following a hard fought 5-3 victory against Tusculum College at the Rock Hill Tennis Centre.

The victory was redemption for a loss to Lincoln Memorial University in last season’s SAC final.

“We worked very hard to get this one because last year we were really close but lost in the final to LMU,” Towlson said. “We definitely were more motivated to come back and win it.

“We definitely worked on a lot of things, on and off the court, and being closer as a team helped us on court as well. We push each other on and off the court each day to get better.”

Towlson, 20, lost his singles match with Tusculum junior Lukas Winkelmann 6-2, 6-4 in the battle of the number one players that evened the championship series between the two colleges at 3-3.

“When I came off the court I was a little bit upset because it was a tough match,” Towlson said.

The Bulldogs regained the lead for good after freshman Connor Kudrick, the tournament’s most valuable player, defeated David Siegle 6-2, 7-6 in singles play before Towlson’s doubles partner, Sebastian Hall, sealed the deal with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Nicolas Planchard also in singles play.

“As soon as I came off I was focused on cheering on my teammates to make sure they knew I was there — and luckily we pulled it off,” Towlson said.

With the victory, Towlson and his team-mates gained automatic qualification to next month’s NCAA Division II play-offs.

The Bulldogs, who are ranked 34th nationally, will participate in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regionals between May 3-6.

Towlson is fired up for the big occasion.

“We will not know until April 29 what team we will be playing and where we will actually be playing,” he said. “But it does not matter because either way we are going to come out fired up with nothing to lose.

“We are the only school from our region going to the play offs, so it is a big deal and we definitely want to improve our national ranking. We are currently ranked 34th, but our goal is to get into the top twenty.”

The Bulldogs compiled an overall 18-7 record during the regular season and remained unbeaten against other colleges in their conference.

Wingate University’s SAC title clinching win over Tusculum capped off an extraordinary week for Towlson who also earned SAC first team doubles accolades along with doubles partner Hall.

It was the first time that Towlson has earned the distinction having previously earned second team doubles accolades in 2012.

“Over the course of the season my partner [Hall] and I have definitely gelled really well,” Towlson said. “We just play off each other and I think that chemistry we have on court really shows the way we play now.”