Riffice, Shelton Advance in NCAA Singles Tournament
Monday, May 23, 2022 | Men's Tennis
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Senior captain Sam Riffice and sophomore Ben Shelton, the two Gators representing Florida in the NCAA singles competition, both picked up victories in their first-round matches of the NCAA Individual Championships at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex on Monday afternoon.
No. 28 Riffice (22-6) claimed his highest-ranked singles win of the season with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over No. 9 Cannon Kingsley (22-7) of Ohio State, while No. 2 Shelton (32-5) collected a win against No. 27 Ondrej Styler (23-5) of Michigan by the same score.
Shelton, the No. 1 seed in the tournament, started his match off down 3-0 to Styler, before putting a game on the board for a 3-1 score. The Michigan Wolverine came out firing, though, and quickly took a 5-2 lead in the first set.
Shelton wasn't rattled though, as the Gator proved why he is the top seed in the tournament. The Gainesville native would win five games in a row, breaking a few of Styler's serves along the way, for a 7-5 first-set score.
The second set was more decisive, as Shelton and Styler were only tied at 1-1 before the Gator took off. Shelton would win the next four games to take a 5-1 lead before Styler won just one more game to make it 5-2. Shelton put the Wolverine away in straight-sets as he served up an ace to get to match point, then produced another solid serve to claim the contest, 7-5, 6-2.
With this victory, Shelton moves to 32-5 in singles with 22 ranked wins on the season. He also now ranks tied for 10th all-time in single-season wins, joining teammate Riffice and Ryan Sherry with 32.
On the next court over, the Gators Captain would play a similar match. Taking an early 3-1 lead in his first set, Riffice would drop the next three games to go down 3-4 to the Ohio State player. The Gator held serve in the following game to tie it 4-4, before Kingsley made it 5-4. Again, Riffice wouldn't go down, using his experience in the tournament to win the next three games. After tying the match at 5-5 and breaking the Buckeye's serve for a 6-5 lead, Riffice was tied in points at 40-40 before holding serve to go up a set with a 7-5 win.
And, just like Shelton's match, the following set was a much easier path to victory as Riffice started the match breaking Kingsley's serve for a 1-0 advantage. Down 2-0, Kingsley won a game to cut Riffice's lead in half, 2-1. But, the senior would win three consecutive games for a 5-1 score. The Buckeye held serve in the following game, but Riffice would serve out to win 7-5, 6-2.
Riffice's singles record is now at an impressive 22-6 as he advances to the next round for his third NCAA Tournament in a row.
UP NEXT: Riffice and Shelton moved on to the Round of 32 in singles and will continue play tomorrow, May 24, at times to be determined. Riffice faces No. 49 Garrett Johns (Duke) and Shelton will play the winner of No. 41 Edoardo Graziani (Penn) and No. 57 Axel Nefve (Notre Dame). They duo will also start doubles competition tomorrow, with times to be announced later.
SINGLES RESULTS
#2 Ben Shelton (UF) def. #27 Ondrej Styler (MICH), 7-5, 6-2
#28 Sam Riffice (UF) def. #9 Cannon Kingsley (OSU), 7-5, 6-2
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No. 28 Riffice (22-6) claimed his highest-ranked singles win of the season with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over No. 9 Cannon Kingsley (22-7) of Ohio State, while No. 2 Shelton (32-5) collected a win against No. 27 Ondrej Styler (23-5) of Michigan by the same score.
Shelton, the No. 1 seed in the tournament, started his match off down 3-0 to Styler, before putting a game on the board for a 3-1 score. The Michigan Wolverine came out firing, though, and quickly took a 5-2 lead in the first set.
Shelton wasn't rattled though, as the Gator proved why he is the top seed in the tournament. The Gainesville native would win five games in a row, breaking a few of Styler's serves along the way, for a 7-5 first-set score.
The second set was more decisive, as Shelton and Styler were only tied at 1-1 before the Gator took off. Shelton would win the next four games to take a 5-1 lead before Styler won just one more game to make it 5-2. Shelton put the Wolverine away in straight-sets as he served up an ace to get to match point, then produced another solid serve to claim the contest, 7-5, 6-2.
With this victory, Shelton moves to 32-5 in singles with 22 ranked wins on the season. He also now ranks tied for 10th all-time in single-season wins, joining teammate Riffice and Ryan Sherry with 32.
On the next court over, the Gators Captain would play a similar match. Taking an early 3-1 lead in his first set, Riffice would drop the next three games to go down 3-4 to the Ohio State player. The Gator held serve in the following game to tie it 4-4, before Kingsley made it 5-4. Again, Riffice wouldn't go down, using his experience in the tournament to win the next three games. After tying the match at 5-5 and breaking the Buckeye's serve for a 6-5 lead, Riffice was tied in points at 40-40 before holding serve to go up a set with a 7-5 win.
And, just like Shelton's match, the following set was a much easier path to victory as Riffice started the match breaking Kingsley's serve for a 1-0 advantage. Down 2-0, Kingsley won a game to cut Riffice's lead in half, 2-1. But, the senior would win three consecutive games for a 5-1 score. The Buckeye held serve in the following game, but Riffice would serve out to win 7-5, 6-2.
Riffice's singles record is now at an impressive 22-6 as he advances to the next round for his third NCAA Tournament in a row.
UP NEXT: Riffice and Shelton moved on to the Round of 32 in singles and will continue play tomorrow, May 24, at times to be determined. Riffice faces No. 49 Garrett Johns (Duke) and Shelton will play the winner of No. 41 Edoardo Graziani (Penn) and No. 57 Axel Nefve (Notre Dame). They duo will also start doubles competition tomorrow, with times to be announced later.
SINGLES RESULTS
#2 Ben Shelton (UF) def. #27 Ondrej Styler (MICH), 7-5, 6-2
#28 Sam Riffice (UF) def. #9 Cannon Kingsley (OSU), 7-5, 6-2
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SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Players Mentioned
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