Gators' Sam Riffice wins NCAA tennis singles national championship

ORLANDO — Florida’s Sam Riffice won the NCAA Men's Singles National Championship on Friday at the USTA National Campus.
No. 6-seeded Riffice defeated No. 2-seeded Daniel Rodrigues of South Carolina, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to earn the third singles title in program history. Previously, Mark Merklein (1994) and Jeff Morrison (1999) earned the singles trophy for the Gators.
"I feel like I did a good job of keeping my foot on the gas from the second set and didn't give him a chance to breathe," Riffice said of coming back from a set down.
The junior is the eighth player in the 21st century to earn a team and singles national championship in the same season, as UF defeated Baylor last Saturday for the team title.
Team title:Florida defeats Baylor to win men's tennis national championship
Softball:No. 4 Gators get rematch with rival UGA in Gainesville Super Regional
Baseball:Florida riding Young, momentum into SEC tourney semifinals
Riffice completes his season with a 32-7 overall record in singles and also downed the No. 1 and No. 2-seeded players in consecutive days for the title.