After letting his advantage slip away with the NCAA men’s singles title in sight, Florida’s Sam Riffice was determined to avoid the same mistake.
A service break at 4-4 during the third set carried Riffice to a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory against South Carolina’s Daniel Rodrigues in Friday’s championship match at the USTA National Campus.
Riffice, the tournament’s No. 6 seed, was a serving with a 4-3 lead on the second-seeded Rodrigues but could not hold onto the lead during a tense battle played in 100-degree heat.
“I knew I had to stay strong and keep pounding away,” Riffice said.