Gators freshman Ben Shelton, wearing the white head band, is swarmed by teammates following his win to clinch the first national championship in program history for the UF men's tennis team. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/UAA Communications)
A Perfect End to Gators' Championship Journey
Sunday, May 23, 2021 | Men's Tennis, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The swing on the scoreboard happened so fast that it left you dizzy. Down a point after losing in doubles to Baylor, the Florida men's tennis team took the lead in a matter of about 60 seconds when Andy Andrade, Sam Riffice and Josh Goodger won their singles matches in bang-bang-bang fashion.
And then, after the senses aligned properly once more and Saturday night departed and Sunday morning arrived, the possibility of an ending too cringey for Hollywood loomed inevitable.
Yes, this was real, the Gators were going to win the biggest prize of all. No surprise ending there considering their status as the No. 1 overall seed.
Still, the script playing out on the courts of the USTA National Campus in Orlando featured a special twist. UF freshman Ben Shelton, a powerful left-hander and son of veteran head coach Bryan Shelton, had burst from behind the curtain to steal the final scene.
Riding a wave of momentum in his No. 5 singles match against Baylor's Charlie Broom, Young Shelton blasted back after dropping the first set against Broom to clinch Florida's 4-1 win over the Bears and, more importantly, the first national championship in the program's history.
In an instant, agony and ecstasy gulped the midnight air. As the Bears slumped at the death of their dream, the Gators erupted in unbridled joy. Take your pick of snapshots: Young Shelton jumping the net and catching volunteer assistant coach Scott Perelman in an embrace. His teammates rushing the court as Gators fans screamed in the stands above. Dad Shelton hugging assistant coach Tanner Stump and anyone with a pulse.
It all happened around 10 after midnight, igniting an Orange & Blue party they'll be talking about for years at the tennis complex off SW 2nd Ave.
"Nothing was going to stop us,'' Dad Shelton said.
Gators head coach Bryan Shelton takes a moment to look at the NCAA Championship trophy, the first in program history. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/UAA Communications)
Despite the way the night started – Florida's loss in doubles created doubt for many of the Gators fans tuning in to the Tennis Channel for the Gators' first appearance in the NCAA Championship final – those actually on the court never blinked.
They just knew. They didn't know that Young Shelton would clinch the match in a made-for-TV moment, but they were confident this was a team built for the moment.
"Everyone thinks that's the end of the world,'' Riffice said of losing the doubles point. "But when you have six incredible singles players, it's not. We've been doing it all year. I have full faith we're going to win all six singles every time we step on the court."
How confident?
"Super, super confident. I had a big smile on my face after we lost the doubles point, knowing that this is going to be a fun match, it's going to be a battle," Coach Shelton said. "But we've got the guys to do it."
Riffice's victory over Matias Soto in No. 2 singles put the Gators in front, 2-1, seconds after Andrade's win over Sven Lah at No. 3 singles tied the match. Goodger's win at No. 6 singles over Spencer Furman tuned everyone's attention to Ben Shelton's match.
He didn't disappointment, providing the Gators and his dad with a memorable win to sleep on.
"This team made it so easy,'' Ben said. "Whenever I'm out there and I'm looking down the courts not knowing how it's going to come out and what's going to happen at the end of the match, it makes it so easy to just battle knowing every single guy out there is battling so hard. They don't need my point and I can just play freely. It's a really great feeling to be out there with them."
For his breakout role in the Final Four, Ben Shelton was named the Most Outstanding Player on the NCAA Tournament Team. When his dad took the Florida job after the 2012 season, Ben had other plans. He didn't envision following in his dad's footsteps. Bryan was a standout college player at Georgia Tech who later spent nine years playing on the ATP Tour.
"It wasn't but six or seven years ago, this guy was a football player,'' said Dad Shelton, seated next to his son with the NCAA Championship trophy between them at the postmatch press conference. "Tennis wasn't going to be his sport. Something flipped and he started coming out and training. I think God had a plan for him. To see him develop and get to this stage and be able to play on a team like this … for him to be a major part of that, it's really, really cool.
"And to see him shine on the biggest stage under the lights, I'm just really, really proud of him, proud of our guys."
The Gators' championship journey may have had a fairy-tale ending, but they did it the old-fashioned way. They pounded the stone. They showed up each day to work and improve, winning the Southeastern Conference regular-season on the way to outscoring their six opponents in the NCAA Tournament, 24-3.
The UF program is no stranger to success, but the ultimate win had eluded the Gators since they first shuffled onto a court and started hitting balls in 1940. The Gators had been among the Final Four teams standing three previous times, but had lost in the national semifinals each time, including two years ago to Texas.
In another meeting with the Longhorns in the national semifinals, the Gators swept them on Friday night, setting up Saturday's showdown with the Bears. This time, they would not be denied, making Shelton the first tennis coach in NCAA history to lead a men's and women's program (Georgia Tech, 2007) to a national title.
Twenty-one years after he started his coaching career and 14 since he last hoisted a national championship trophy, Shelton is one of the game's most respected members. Classy, humble, the kind of man you want teaching boys how to become men.
His boy took a big step in that direction in the NCAA Tournament. It's a moment his dad won't forget. A championship the Gators will savor.
"When I came to Florida, the mission was let's try to really develop the culture, the character, to a place where it's something we can be proud of, knowing that we're moving guys' lives in the right direction, and we're also helping them become better tennis players,'' Bryan said. "If we do things the right way for long enough, then good things we'll eventually happen. That's kind of been our motto."
The wait was so worth it.
The payoff an instant classic in the annals of Gators lore.
"It's been a process for years,'' said Duarte Vale, one of the team's captains. "It's kind of our job to keep passing along that culture so this thing keeps moving. I don't even know how to act. It couldn't feel more special. To do it with the people that we did it with, there's no words."
Maybe not now. But in time, they will want to reminisce about this one.
