Shelton Advances to First NCAA Singles Championship Appearance in Tournament Debut
Friday, May 27, 2022 | Men's Tennis
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – For the second-straight year, the Florida Gators will have a student-athlete competing in the NCAA Singles Championship Finals as sophomore Ben Shelton solidified a spot in the final two with a tough, three-set victory over No. 3 Adam Walton of Tennessee, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-5, on Friday afternoon at the Atkins Tennis Center. Senior captain Sam Riffice was the other Gator playing in the semifinals today, but fell in a three-set battle to No. 6 August Holmgren.
In No. 2 Shelton's first set, it was a grind from start to finish as both players tied the match every other game, eventually forcing a tiebreaker. In the breaker, No. 3 Walton (26-8) went up 3-0 and never let up, winning the first set by a 7-6 (3) score.
Shelton (36-5) responded in the following set, only allowing Walton to win three games. The Gainesville native was down 2-3 before holding serve, then breaking Walton's for some momentum. Shelton would win the remaining two games to fend off Walton and claim the second set, 6-3.
A spot in the finals was up for grabs as the match was even in sets. With a 1-1 tie, Shelton would try and hold serve to take the lead, but Walton broke serve, then hold his own in the next game to take a 3-1 lead over Shelton. The Gator won the next game, but the Vol claimed the one after that and held onto a 4-2 advantage. Shelton picked it up as he held serve to cut into Walton's lead, 4-3, then broke his serve to tie the match at 4-all. Another tie would happen as both Shelton and Walton won a game to even things at five.
The Gator needed to hold serve to go up 6-5 over the Vol as the two players were at deuce. Walton would return Shelton's serve to midcourt, but as the Gator was running full speed ahead to the ball, he tripped and fell. Shelton's quick thinking gave him the 6-5 edge as he stuck his racquet up and hit a drop shot from the ground to win the point and the game. On Walton's serve in the following game, the Gator went up 40-love, but the Vol scored two quick points. Shelton would put Walton away with a tough forehand to win the match, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-5.
In his NCAA Individual Championships debut, Shelton has only dropped one set en route to the finals. His 36 singles wins this year is tied for sixth in program history for single-season singles wins, while he also ranks eighth in single-season combined wins with 60. He faces No. 6 Holmgren in the finals tomorrow at 12 p.m. Eastern. The two played one another back in the fall as Shelton took the match in straight-sets over the San Diego player to become the first Gator to win the ITA All-American Championships.
Over on court one, No. 28 Riffice (25-7) was locked in a battle with 6-seeded Holmgren (28-5). The Gator was able to force a tiebreak in the first set, winning it by a score of 7-6 (3). Holmgren stayed in it though, able to fend off the defending champion with a 6-4 second set and 6-2 third set to claim the match.
The captain has had a tremendous season and career with the Gators. In his tournament run, Riffice defeated No. 9 Cannon Kingsley (Ohio State), No. 49 Garrett Johns (Duke), No. 29 Ronnie Hohmann (LSU) and No. 39 Inaki Montes de le Torre to make his second-consecutive semifinals appearance.
Coming off an injury in the fall, Riffice put together an incredible year as he finishes the season with a 25-7 singles record and 20-9 doubles record. Additionally, Riffice went 17-2 at the No. 2 singles position and was an undefeated 12-0 in SEC play.
With 11 ranked singles and 12 ranked doubles victories on the season, Riffice became the first six-time All-American in program history as both Hamid Mirzadeh and Greg Ouellette came close to this feat with five All-American honors. The Gator captain is also the first player in Gators men's tennis history to claim four All-American accolades in singles.
In his career, Riffice totaled 99 career singles wins and 78 career doubles victories. He became just the second Gator to win the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award and is a four-time All-SEC member. Named SEC Freshman of the Year in 2019, the Orlando native helped lead the team to its first national championship last year, then followed it up by becoming the third Gator to win the NCAA singles title. Riffice was a key player in the team winning three-straight SEC regular season championships and added an SEC Tournament title to his accolades when Florida defeated Kentucky back in April.
Riffice goes down as one of the all-time Gator Greats in men's tennis history for his storied career in the Orange & Blue.
SINGLES RESULTS
R64: #2 Ben Shelton (UF) def. #27 Ondrej Styler (MICH), 7-5, 6-2
R64: #28 Sam Riffice (UF) def. #9 Cannon Kingsley (OSU), 7-5, 6-2
R32: #2 Ben Shelton (UF) def. #57 Axel Nefve (Notre Dame), 6-0, 7-6 (1)
R32: #28 Sam Riffice (UF) def. #49 Garrett Johns (Duke), 7-5, 4-6, 7-5
R16: #2 Ben Shelton (UF) def. #19 JJ Tracy (Ohio State), 6-4, 6-4
R16: #28 Sam Riffice (UF) def. #29 Ronnie Hohmann (LSU), 6-4, 6-3
QF: #2 Ben Shelton (UF) def. #15 Arthur Fery (Stanford), 6-3, 6-4
QF: #28 Sam Riffice (UF) def. #39 Inaki Montes de la Torre (Virginia), 6-3, 7-6 (5)
SF: #2 Ben Shelton (UF) def. #3 Adam Walton (Tennessee), 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-5
SF: #6 August Holmgren (San Diego) def. #28 Sam Riffice (UF), 7-6 (3), 4-6, 2-6
DOUBLES RESULTS
R32: #5 Sam Riffice/Ben Shelton (UF) def. #9 Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi/Matias Soto (Baylor), 6-4, 6-3
R16: #5 Sam Riffice/Ben Shelton (UF) def. #17 Justin Boulais/James Trotter (Ohio State), 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (10-6)
QF: #4 Richard Ciamarra/Cleeve Harper (Texas) def. #5 Sam Riffice/Ben Shelton (UF), 5-7, 2-6
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In No. 2 Shelton's first set, it was a grind from start to finish as both players tied the match every other game, eventually forcing a tiebreaker. In the breaker, No. 3 Walton (26-8) went up 3-0 and never let up, winning the first set by a 7-6 (3) score.
Shelton (36-5) responded in the following set, only allowing Walton to win three games. The Gainesville native was down 2-3 before holding serve, then breaking Walton's for some momentum. Shelton would win the remaining two games to fend off Walton and claim the second set, 6-3.
A spot in the finals was up for grabs as the match was even in sets. With a 1-1 tie, Shelton would try and hold serve to take the lead, but Walton broke serve, then hold his own in the next game to take a 3-1 lead over Shelton. The Gator won the next game, but the Vol claimed the one after that and held onto a 4-2 advantage. Shelton picked it up as he held serve to cut into Walton's lead, 4-3, then broke his serve to tie the match at 4-all. Another tie would happen as both Shelton and Walton won a game to even things at five.
The Gator needed to hold serve to go up 6-5 over the Vol as the two players were at deuce. Walton would return Shelton's serve to midcourt, but as the Gator was running full speed ahead to the ball, he tripped and fell. Shelton's quick thinking gave him the 6-5 edge as he stuck his racquet up and hit a drop shot from the ground to win the point and the game. On Walton's serve in the following game, the Gator went up 40-love, but the Vol scored two quick points. Shelton would put Walton away with a tough forehand to win the match, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-5.
In his NCAA Individual Championships debut, Shelton has only dropped one set en route to the finals. His 36 singles wins this year is tied for sixth in program history for single-season singles wins, while he also ranks eighth in single-season combined wins with 60. He faces No. 6 Holmgren in the finals tomorrow at 12 p.m. Eastern. The two played one another back in the fall as Shelton took the match in straight-sets over the San Diego player to become the first Gator to win the ITA All-American Championships.
Over on court one, No. 28 Riffice (25-7) was locked in a battle with 6-seeded Holmgren (28-5). The Gator was able to force a tiebreak in the first set, winning it by a score of 7-6 (3). Holmgren stayed in it though, able to fend off the defending champion with a 6-4 second set and 6-2 third set to claim the match.
The captain has had a tremendous season and career with the Gators. In his tournament run, Riffice defeated No. 9 Cannon Kingsley (Ohio State), No. 49 Garrett Johns (Duke), No. 29 Ronnie Hohmann (LSU) and No. 39 Inaki Montes de le Torre to make his second-consecutive semifinals appearance.
Coming off an injury in the fall, Riffice put together an incredible year as he finishes the season with a 25-7 singles record and 20-9 doubles record. Additionally, Riffice went 17-2 at the No. 2 singles position and was an undefeated 12-0 in SEC play.
With 11 ranked singles and 12 ranked doubles victories on the season, Riffice became the first six-time All-American in program history as both Hamid Mirzadeh and Greg Ouellette came close to this feat with five All-American honors. The Gator captain is also the first player in Gators men's tennis history to claim four All-American accolades in singles.
In his career, Riffice totaled 99 career singles wins and 78 career doubles victories. He became just the second Gator to win the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award and is a four-time All-SEC member. Named SEC Freshman of the Year in 2019, the Orlando native helped lead the team to its first national championship last year, then followed it up by becoming the third Gator to win the NCAA singles title. Riffice was a key player in the team winning three-straight SEC regular season championships and added an SEC Tournament title to his accolades when Florida defeated Kentucky back in April.
Riffice goes down as one of the all-time Gator Greats in men's tennis history for his storied career in the Orange & Blue.
SINGLES RESULTS
R64: #2 Ben Shelton (UF) def. #27 Ondrej Styler (MICH), 7-5, 6-2
R64: #28 Sam Riffice (UF) def. #9 Cannon Kingsley (OSU), 7-5, 6-2
R32: #2 Ben Shelton (UF) def. #57 Axel Nefve (Notre Dame), 6-0, 7-6 (1)
R32: #28 Sam Riffice (UF) def. #49 Garrett Johns (Duke), 7-5, 4-6, 7-5
R16: #2 Ben Shelton (UF) def. #19 JJ Tracy (Ohio State), 6-4, 6-4
R16: #28 Sam Riffice (UF) def. #29 Ronnie Hohmann (LSU), 6-4, 6-3
QF: #2 Ben Shelton (UF) def. #15 Arthur Fery (Stanford), 6-3, 6-4
QF: #28 Sam Riffice (UF) def. #39 Inaki Montes de la Torre (Virginia), 6-3, 7-6 (5)
SF: #2 Ben Shelton (UF) def. #3 Adam Walton (Tennessee), 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-5
SF: #6 August Holmgren (San Diego) def. #28 Sam Riffice (UF), 7-6 (3), 4-6, 2-6
DOUBLES RESULTS
R32: #5 Sam Riffice/Ben Shelton (UF) def. #9 Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi/Matias Soto (Baylor), 6-4, 6-3
R16: #5 Sam Riffice/Ben Shelton (UF) def. #17 Justin Boulais/James Trotter (Ohio State), 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (10-6)
QF: #4 Richard Ciamarra/Cleeve Harper (Texas) def. #5 Sam Riffice/Ben Shelton (UF), 5-7, 2-6
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Players Mentioned
One-on-One with Coach Steinberg 3-7-24
Thursday, March 07
Bryan Shelton Postmatch 2-2-23
Saturday, February 04
Jonah Braswell Postmatch 2-2-23
Saturday, February 04
NCAA: Men's Tennis Postmatch 5-13-22
Friday, May 13
