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.

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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.