The semifinals of the 2022 NCAA DI men’s tennis championships featured three of the top six seeds in the singles bracket and two of the top four pairings in the doubles bracket. Friday’s action started with the singles semifinal matches at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex in Champaign, Ill., followed by the doubles matches.
Interestingly, Florida had two of the final four singles players remaining — Ben Shelton and Sam Riffice — but there won’t be an all-Gators final after San Diego’s August Holmgren defeated Riffice in three sets. Riffice’s teammate, top-seeded Ben Shelton, won in three sets over No. 3 Adam Walton of Tennessee after Walton won the first set.
On the doubles side, Texas’ Cleeve Harper and Richard Cimarra defeated Charles Bertimon and Maxence Bertimon from VCU in straight sets. Matej Vocel and Robert Cash from Ohio State had a tougher time taking down Connor Thomson and Daniel Rodrigues from South Carolina. The two Buckeyes were on the brink of elimination in the third set, down 8-5. They came back and won the final set 10-8 to advance to the title match.
The winners advanced to their respective national championship matches on Saturday.
Here’s Friday’s singles results:
- No. 1 Ben Shelton (Florida) def. No. 3 Adam Walton (Tennessee) 6-7, 6-3, 7-5
- No. 6 August Holmgren (San Diego) def. Sam Riffice (Florida) 6-7, 6-4, 6-2
Click or tap here to view the updated singles bracket through the quarterfinals.
Here’s Friday’s doubles results:
- No. 4 Cleeve Harper/Richard Ciamarra (Texas) def. Charles Bertimon/Maxence Bertimon (VCU) 6-4, 6-3
- No. 2 Matej Vocel/Robert Cash (Ohio State) def. Connor Thomson/Daniel Rodrigues (South Carolina) 6-4, 7-5, 10-4
