Gators Perfect on Opening Day of NCAA Singles Championships
Monday, May 20, 2019 | Men's Tennis
SINGLES BRACKET | DOUBLES BRACKET
LAKE NONA, Fla. – Florida opened the NCAA Individual Championships with three straight-set victories from Andy Andrade, Oliver Crawford and Sam Riffice and all three advanced to the singles round of 32.
The two sophomores and the freshman will join Duarte Vale and McClain Kessler in Tuesday's competitions.
No. 59 Andrade opened the tournament with a win over No. 104 Felipe Sarrasaque of Elon. He cruised through the first set 6-1, and then narrowly escaped with the 7-2 advantage in the second-set tiebreak.
"It was a solid match for me to gain more confidence going into my second round," Andrade said "I like the conditions here in Orlando so I will try and use them tomorrow as well."
Andrade advances to the round of 32 and will face the top seed in the singles bracket, Nuno Borges of Mississippi State. Borges opened up with a strong first-round victory, downing No. 21 Alexis Galarneau of North Carolina State 6-4, 6-2. With the win, Borges extended his career-long winning streak to a school-record 27 matches. Match time is slated for 4 p.m. ET with the match being shown live on the Tennis Channel.
No. 8 seeded and No. 9 ranked Crawford downed UCLA's Govind Nanda in the first round, 7-6(7), 6-3. Crawford, who is making his second-straight appearance in the NCAA Singles Championships, earned his first career win in the championships.
"It was a good test for me first round against a very good opponent," Crawford said. "I am very happy with my performance and look forward to my second round tomorrow."
Crawford will meet Tanner Smith of USC in his second round match tomorrow at 3 p.m. Smith advanced to the round of 32 with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Abilene Christian's Josh Sheehy. Smith, a redshirt senior, posted a 6-1 dual singles record, mainly at the No. 4-6 positions.
Riffice, the SEC Freshman of the Year, met one of the No. 9-16 seeds in Baylor's Johannes Schretter, who is currently ranked No. 20 in the latest ITA poll. Riffice jumped out to a 2-0 lead and saw that lead dwindle and he fell into a 4-2 deficit, but rallied back to take the first set 7-5. Then he surged ahead in the second set and won the 6-2 as he upset the Bear's No. 1 singles player on his hometown courts.
"It was a great opportunity to get back on the courts and compete for the Gators after the tough defeat on Saturday," Riffice said.
Riffice will be the second Gator to face a USC Trojan in tomorrow's round of 32. The Orlando native is scheduled against Daniel Cukierman at 6 p.m. and will be live on the Tennis Channel. This will be the second time this season that these two will meet. In Florida's match against USC at the ITA Indoor National Championships, Cukierman defeated Riffice in a three-set battle (7-5, 2-6, 6-4). Cukierman has been ranked as high as No. 4 in the ITA and recorded a 17-6 dual singles record, 15-6 at No. 2. The sophomore advanced to the round of 32 with a two-set decision over Adam Walton from Tennessee.
No. 19 Duarte Vale and McClain Kessler are slated for the 7:30 p.m. match on Tennis Channel for first round action of the NCAA Doubles Championships. The returning All-American duo will meet No. 29 Marko Ilic and Hendrick Inno of Belmont.
Belmont's duo recorded a 12-3 dual doubles record, all at the No. 1 position and were 2-0 against nationally ranked pairs.
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LAKE NONA, Fla. – Florida opened the NCAA Individual Championships with three straight-set victories from Andy Andrade, Oliver Crawford and Sam Riffice and all three advanced to the singles round of 32.
The two sophomores and the freshman will join Duarte Vale and McClain Kessler in Tuesday's competitions.
No. 59 Andrade opened the tournament with a win over No. 104 Felipe Sarrasaque of Elon. He cruised through the first set 6-1, and then narrowly escaped with the 7-2 advantage in the second-set tiebreak.
"It was a solid match for me to gain more confidence going into my second round," Andrade said "I like the conditions here in Orlando so I will try and use them tomorrow as well."
Andrade advances to the round of 32 and will face the top seed in the singles bracket, Nuno Borges of Mississippi State. Borges opened up with a strong first-round victory, downing No. 21 Alexis Galarneau of North Carolina State 6-4, 6-2. With the win, Borges extended his career-long winning streak to a school-record 27 matches. Match time is slated for 4 p.m. ET with the match being shown live on the Tennis Channel.
No. 8 seeded and No. 9 ranked Crawford downed UCLA's Govind Nanda in the first round, 7-6(7), 6-3. Crawford, who is making his second-straight appearance in the NCAA Singles Championships, earned his first career win in the championships.
"It was a good test for me first round against a very good opponent," Crawford said. "I am very happy with my performance and look forward to my second round tomorrow."
Crawford will meet Tanner Smith of USC in his second round match tomorrow at 3 p.m. Smith advanced to the round of 32 with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Abilene Christian's Josh Sheehy. Smith, a redshirt senior, posted a 6-1 dual singles record, mainly at the No. 4-6 positions.
Riffice, the SEC Freshman of the Year, met one of the No. 9-16 seeds in Baylor's Johannes Schretter, who is currently ranked No. 20 in the latest ITA poll. Riffice jumped out to a 2-0 lead and saw that lead dwindle and he fell into a 4-2 deficit, but rallied back to take the first set 7-5. Then he surged ahead in the second set and won the 6-2 as he upset the Bear's No. 1 singles player on his hometown courts.
"It was a great opportunity to get back on the courts and compete for the Gators after the tough defeat on Saturday," Riffice said.
Riffice will be the second Gator to face a USC Trojan in tomorrow's round of 32. The Orlando native is scheduled against Daniel Cukierman at 6 p.m. and will be live on the Tennis Channel. This will be the second time this season that these two will meet. In Florida's match against USC at the ITA Indoor National Championships, Cukierman defeated Riffice in a three-set battle (7-5, 2-6, 6-4). Cukierman has been ranked as high as No. 4 in the ITA and recorded a 17-6 dual singles record, 15-6 at No. 2. The sophomore advanced to the round of 32 with a two-set decision over Adam Walton from Tennessee.
No. 19 Duarte Vale and McClain Kessler are slated for the 7:30 p.m. match on Tennis Channel for first round action of the NCAA Doubles Championships. The returning All-American duo will meet No. 29 Marko Ilic and Hendrick Inno of Belmont.
Belmont's duo recorded a 12-3 dual doubles record, all at the No. 1 position and were 2-0 against nationally ranked pairs.
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