Gators Face No. 7 Virginia in NCAA Quarterfinals
Tuesday, May 17, 2022 | Men's Tennis
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The No. 2 Florida Gators (26-2) face a tough opponent in the No. 7-ranked Virginia Cavaliers on Thursday, May 19 at 8 p.m. Eastern at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex for the NCAA Quarterfinals.
The Gators are coming off a dominant first three rounds of play after being one of only three schools left in the tournament to sweep all three of their opponents by a 4-0 score.
Last Friday, after an over two-hour weather delay, Florida put up a 4-0 score against the No. 15 North Carolina Tar Heels to advance to the Elite 8. In the match, the doubles competition came down to the wire as Florida won at court one and North Carolina took the match at court two. It would be the duo of Nate Bonetto and Duarte Vale to give the Gators their 21st doubles point in a row with a tiebreak victory at court three. Following this, Ben Shelton, Josh Goodger and Vale all claimed their singles matches in straight-sets to seal the victory for Florida.
In addition to winning 21-consecutive doubles points, the Gators are also on a 21-match win streak and completed a perfect 13-0 season at home.
With Shelton's win on Friday, he now boasts a 31-5 singles record and is only one win away from ranking tied for 10th in program history for single-season singles wins. Both Shelton and senior captain Sam Riffice are the only Gators with 20 or more dual singles wins on the year, with a few guys close to that feat as Vale is 18-5 and Andy Andrade is 18-4 in dual play. In doubles, Andrade and Mattis Siimar lead the way with 20 overall wins, while Riffice and Shelton have 18.
Florida has five players ranked in singles and three teams ranked in doubles. Shelton is the highest-ranked Gator, checking in at No. 2, while Riffice follows at No. 28. Vale is next at No. 115, Andrade sits at No. 117 and Goodger rounds out the singles rankings at No. 119. In doubles, Riffice and Shelton boast their highest ranking together at No. 5, Andrade and Siimar are ranked No. 65, and Siimar and Abedallah Shelbayh check in at No. 59.
Riffice and Shelton are the two Gators to qualify for the NCAA Individual Championships as they will both compete in singles and doubles competition. Shelton comes in as the No. 1 overall seed in singles while they both are a 5-8 seed in doubles.
Scouting the Opponent
No. 7 Virginia (25-5) is a familiar opponent of the Gators as the two teams met earlier in February at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, with Florida pulling out a tough, 4-2 victory. Virginia, just like Florida, is on a massive win streak. The Cavaliers haven't lost since their match against the Gators, as they went 12-0 in the ACC, won their conference tournament and extended their win streak to 20 matches.
Virginia recently defeated South Carolina in the Sweet 16 by a score of 4-0 and join both Florida and TCU as the only Elite 8 squads to sweep all three of their NCAA Tournament opponents. The Cavaliers have four players who tally 20 or more singles wins on the season – Ryan Goetz (25-6), Chris Rodesch (25-8), Gianni Ross (21-2) and Jeffrey von der Schulenburg (21-4). In doubles, the duo of Goetz and Inaki Montes de la Torre have the most wins with 16, and are 8-1 in the No. 2 position.
Virginia's only losses came against Florida, TCU, Baylor and Ohio State – all of which are in the NCAA Quarterfinals. They also posted wins against North Carolina, Duke, NC State, Wake Forest, Florida State, Miami and Kentucky. In the rankings, UVA has four singles players and four doubles teams ranked. Rodesch is their highest ranked player at No. 30, Montes follows at No. 39, von der Schulenburg checks in at No. 45 and Goetz sits at No. 96. In doubles, Rodesch is ranked with three teams, but his highest doubles ranking is with Goetz at No. 12, while von der Schulenburg and Montes are at No. 84. Rodesch and Bar Botzer, the team's No. 1 doubles pairing, checks in at No. 61.
Virginia in the Rankings
Singles
No. 30 Chris Rodesch
No. 39 Inaki Montes de la Torre
No. 45 Jeffrey von der Schulenburg
No. 96 Ryan Goetz
Doubles
No. 12 Chris Rodesch/Ryan Goetz
No. 61 Bar Botzer/Chris Rodesch
No. 81 Chris Rodesch/William Woodall
No. 84 Inaki Montes de la Torre/Jeffrey von der Schulenburg
Gators in the Rankings
Singles
No. 2 Ben Shelton
No. 28 Sam Riffice
No. 115 Duarte Vale
No. 117 Andy Andrade
No. 119 Josh Goodger
Doubles
No. 5 Sam Riffice/Ben Shelton
No. 59 Abedallah Shelbayh/Mattias Siimar
No. 65 Andy Andrade/Mattias Siimar
PARKING
Parking is free for the duration of the championships. Parking is available in the paved lot adjacent to the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex entrance. Entry to that lot is from South Goodwin Avenue, east of the courts. If that main parking lot reaches capacity, there is an additional paved lot further east of the Tennis Complex, with entry from Florida Avenue. It is approximately a five-minute walk from that further Florida Avenue lot to the courts.
LIVE VIDEO / LIVE STATS / TICKETS
All video streams will be carried on the TennisONE App. TennisONE will produce a broadcast with announcers for the semifinal and final rounds of team, singles and doubles competition. Live stats will also be provided here.
Tickets are available for purchase here. Fans can buy All-Session, Team Sessions and Individual Sessions tickets.
Any other information such as weather updates, latest schedules, results, brackets and more, can be found at the Championship Central page. Live updates can also be found on the GatorsMTN Twitter account.
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
The Gators are coming off a dominant first three rounds of play after being one of only three schools left in the tournament to sweep all three of their opponents by a 4-0 score.
Last Friday, after an over two-hour weather delay, Florida put up a 4-0 score against the No. 15 North Carolina Tar Heels to advance to the Elite 8. In the match, the doubles competition came down to the wire as Florida won at court one and North Carolina took the match at court two. It would be the duo of Nate Bonetto and Duarte Vale to give the Gators their 21st doubles point in a row with a tiebreak victory at court three. Following this, Ben Shelton, Josh Goodger and Vale all claimed their singles matches in straight-sets to seal the victory for Florida.
In addition to winning 21-consecutive doubles points, the Gators are also on a 21-match win streak and completed a perfect 13-0 season at home.
With Shelton's win on Friday, he now boasts a 31-5 singles record and is only one win away from ranking tied for 10th in program history for single-season singles wins. Both Shelton and senior captain Sam Riffice are the only Gators with 20 or more dual singles wins on the year, with a few guys close to that feat as Vale is 18-5 and Andy Andrade is 18-4 in dual play. In doubles, Andrade and Mattis Siimar lead the way with 20 overall wins, while Riffice and Shelton have 18.
Florida has five players ranked in singles and three teams ranked in doubles. Shelton is the highest-ranked Gator, checking in at No. 2, while Riffice follows at No. 28. Vale is next at No. 115, Andrade sits at No. 117 and Goodger rounds out the singles rankings at No. 119. In doubles, Riffice and Shelton boast their highest ranking together at No. 5, Andrade and Siimar are ranked No. 65, and Siimar and Abedallah Shelbayh check in at No. 59.
Riffice and Shelton are the two Gators to qualify for the NCAA Individual Championships as they will both compete in singles and doubles competition. Shelton comes in as the No. 1 overall seed in singles while they both are a 5-8 seed in doubles.
Scouting the Opponent
No. 7 Virginia (25-5) is a familiar opponent of the Gators as the two teams met earlier in February at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, with Florida pulling out a tough, 4-2 victory. Virginia, just like Florida, is on a massive win streak. The Cavaliers haven't lost since their match against the Gators, as they went 12-0 in the ACC, won their conference tournament and extended their win streak to 20 matches.
Virginia recently defeated South Carolina in the Sweet 16 by a score of 4-0 and join both Florida and TCU as the only Elite 8 squads to sweep all three of their NCAA Tournament opponents. The Cavaliers have four players who tally 20 or more singles wins on the season – Ryan Goetz (25-6), Chris Rodesch (25-8), Gianni Ross (21-2) and Jeffrey von der Schulenburg (21-4). In doubles, the duo of Goetz and Inaki Montes de la Torre have the most wins with 16, and are 8-1 in the No. 2 position.
Virginia's only losses came against Florida, TCU, Baylor and Ohio State – all of which are in the NCAA Quarterfinals. They also posted wins against North Carolina, Duke, NC State, Wake Forest, Florida State, Miami and Kentucky. In the rankings, UVA has four singles players and four doubles teams ranked. Rodesch is their highest ranked player at No. 30, Montes follows at No. 39, von der Schulenburg checks in at No. 45 and Goetz sits at No. 96. In doubles, Rodesch is ranked with three teams, but his highest doubles ranking is with Goetz at No. 12, while von der Schulenburg and Montes are at No. 84. Rodesch and Bar Botzer, the team's No. 1 doubles pairing, checks in at No. 61.
Virginia in the Rankings
Singles
No. 30 Chris Rodesch
No. 39 Inaki Montes de la Torre
No. 45 Jeffrey von der Schulenburg
No. 96 Ryan Goetz
Doubles
No. 12 Chris Rodesch/Ryan Goetz
No. 61 Bar Botzer/Chris Rodesch
No. 81 Chris Rodesch/William Woodall
No. 84 Inaki Montes de la Torre/Jeffrey von der Schulenburg
Gators in the Rankings
Singles
No. 2 Ben Shelton
No. 28 Sam Riffice
No. 115 Duarte Vale
No. 117 Andy Andrade
No. 119 Josh Goodger
Doubles
No. 5 Sam Riffice/Ben Shelton
No. 59 Abedallah Shelbayh/Mattias Siimar
No. 65 Andy Andrade/Mattias Siimar
PARKING
Parking is free for the duration of the championships. Parking is available in the paved lot adjacent to the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex entrance. Entry to that lot is from South Goodwin Avenue, east of the courts. If that main parking lot reaches capacity, there is an additional paved lot further east of the Tennis Complex, with entry from Florida Avenue. It is approximately a five-minute walk from that further Florida Avenue lot to the courts.
LIVE VIDEO / LIVE STATS / TICKETS
All video streams will be carried on the TennisONE App. TennisONE will produce a broadcast with announcers for the semifinal and final rounds of team, singles and doubles competition. Live stats will also be provided here.
Tickets are available for purchase here. Fans can buy All-Session, Team Sessions and Individual Sessions tickets.
Any other information such as weather updates, latest schedules, results, brackets and more, can be found at the Championship Central page. Live updates can also be found on the GatorsMTN Twitter account.
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Players Mentioned
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