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College MatchDay Profile:

Sam Riffice, Florida

Arthur Kapetanakis  |  January 31, 2020
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Though the USTA National Campus is a two-hour drive from the University of Florida’s Gainesville campus, sophomore Sam Riffice will have a strong home-court advantage at College MatchDay. That’s because the Sacramento, Calif., native now calls Orlando home.

The Gator co-captain’s mother, USTA National Coach Lori Riffice, relocated the family to Central Florida to be a part of the USTA National Campus staff when it first opened in January 2017. Riffice trained on site until he left for UF, and still trains at the Campus when he is home from school.

“My mom was my first coach from whenever I started playing,” he said, “and I still work with her all the time.”

An aggressive, all-court player, Riffice also works with USTA National Collegiate Coach Matt Cloer, in addition to the UF staff. A close friendship between Cloer and Florida head coach Bryan Shelton ensures that their messaging stays the same.

Riffice ended his freshman season with a run to the NCAA singles quarterfinals and a career-high ITA ranking of No. 23. But perhaps the most impressive part of his debut season was the fact that Shelton named him captain just months into his Gator career.

“We just noticed that he took a leadership role from the time he stepped on campus,” said Shelton, noting Riffice’s work in structuring unofficial practices, setting up meetings with coaches and encouraging teammates. “Plus his game. He had everybody’s respect from Day 1.”

More success followed in the off-season, when Riffice won an ITF World Tennis Tour M25 title in Wichita, Kan., and made a final in Tulsa, Okla., the following week in June. This fall, he paired a run to the ITA All-American Championships final with an ITF M25 doubles title in Houston, alongside Florida co-captain Oliver Crawford.

The co-captains play No. 1 and No. 2 in the Florida lineup, with Riffice happy to cede the top spot to his upperclassman teammate.

“That spot’s his. He’s earned it the last two years,” explained the sophomore. “He’s incredible in dual matches. He’s got to be one of the toughest guys in college to beat when it comes down to dual match. I have a lot of respect for him, and I love getting to practice with him and getting to play doubles with him. It’s a lot of fun.”

Together, they helped lead the Gators to the ITA preseason No. 1 ranking, though an early 5-2 loss to defending champion Texas cost them that title. Of course, the Gators are after bigger titles—ones that come with trophies.

“Hopefully that loss was an early lesson for us," said Shelton, "and based on what I've seen from our guys since then, how we've competed... we've bounced back pretty strong, and I think we're getting better."

For the coach and former ATP Top-60 player, the key is to keep improving, regardless of the rankings.

“The rare ones, like LeBron James and Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer, they keep working to get better, and they're never satisfied,” he said. 

By all accounts, Riffice matches that mindset.

"He has a good attitude in terms of being OK with change, wanting to work on things," said associate head coach Tanner Stump. "We rely on him to lead us in the day-to-day, and especially on match days, to try to set the tone and the right example for these guys.

"There’s one standard here at Florida, and if you’re not meeting that standard, you don’t really belong."