HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S. C., Oct. 12, 2014 – University of Florida became the first repeat winner at the USTA Tennis On Campus Fall Invitational as the Gators defended their 2013 title with a 25-18 win over Auburn University on Sunday at the Palmetto Dunes Tennis Center.

Captained by sophomore Max Koller of Daytona Beach, Fla., Florida showed its strength in doubles and won four out of the five matches in the World TeamTennis format final, including all three in doubles, at the fifth annual event that serves as the kickoff to the popular Tennis On Campus season.

“It was a long tournament and all the teams were really good,” Koller said. “The talent level was extremely high and we are happy to repeat as champions.”

Koller did not play on last year’s championship team, joining the squad in November. “After they won I saw a post on Facebook that they had won the big Fall Invite and I knew they had a really good team,” Koller said. “I wanted to be part of that and had heard how fun Tennis On Campus is.”

Both Florida and Auburn earned an automatic bid to compete for the national title at the 2015 USTA Tennis On Campus National Championship, to be held April 9-11, 2015, in Cary, N. C.

Auburn’s men’s singles player Mitchell Vegas of Spanish Fort, Ala., had the only set win in the final for Auburn, beating Florida’s Joey Rudy of Boynton Beach, Fla., 6-1.

“They had stronger doubles play today,” said Auburn Captain Christian Lyerly. “This is the farthest we’ve ever gotten so we were excited to be in the final.”

Past winners of the event include: University of Alabama (2010), University of Virginia (2011) and Duke University (2012).

Earlier in the day, Florida just got past University of Georgia’s “B” team in one semifinal as the match went to a supertiebreaker with the Gators prevailing, 23-22. Auburn beat N. C. State “A”, 23-16 in the other semifinal.

In the third-place match, N. C. State “A” was down by two points going into the final mixed doubles match but pulled out a 6-3 set win for a 22-21 narrow victory over the University of Georgia “B”.

“We played really well and we won most of our matches by one or two points,” said N. C. State captain Phillip Cardella, whose team was beaten by Georgia “B” in pool play on Friday. “I think our girls are a lot better than last year so we should be pretty good this year.”

It was the second consecutive year the Wolf Pack has finished third at the Fall Invite. N. C. State won the Bronze title at the TOC Nationals in April.

Forty-eight teams competed in the tournament. Alabama won the Silver Bracket; Ohio University won the Bronze and Indiana University captured the Copper.

Individual Results Final Match

Women’s Doubles

Florida’s Natalie Boruk (Clearwater, Fla.) /  Anna Rachman (Daytona Beach, Fla.) def. Auburn’sJennifer Costigan (Naples, Fla.) / Holly Maxey (Stockbridge, Ga), 6-0

Florida leads 6-0

Men’s Doubles

Florida’s Adam Decker (Panama City, Fla) / Joey Rudy (Boynton Beach, Fla). def. Auburn’s Danny Hester (Nashville, Tenn.) / Jonathan Hibbert (Montgomery, Ala), 6-4

Florida leads 12-4

Women’s Singles

Florida’s Barrie Eisenberg (Weston Fla.) def. Auburn’s Courtney Johns (Mobile, Ala.), 6-4

Florida leads 18-8

Men’s Singles

Auburn’s Mitchell Vegas (Spanish Fort, Ala.) def. Florida’s Rudy, 6-1

Florida leads 19-14

Mixed Doubles

Florida’s Decker / Eisenberg def. Auburn’s Vegas / Johns, 6-4

FINAL: Univ. of Florida 25, Auburn 18

Other Auburn players included: Captain Christian Lyerly (Birmingham, Ala.), Jake Muller (Windermere, Fla.) and Michael Feirer (Milton, Ga). Other Florida players included: Koller (Daytona Beach, Fla.), Spencer Ong (Tampa, Fla.) and Stephanie Cruz (Palm Harbor, Fla.).

Sunday’s Results

GOLD BRACKET RESULTS

Final

Univ. of Florida 25, Auburn 18

Semifinals

Univ. of Florida 23, Univ. of Georgia (B) 22

Auburn 23, N. C. State (A) 16

Third Place

N. C. State (A) 22, Univ. of Georgia (B) 21

Consolation Final

Harvard 26, Kentucky 17

Consolation Semifinal

Kentucky def. Wisconsin (withdraw)

Harvard 25, UNC-Charlotte 21

Consolation

Georgia Tech (A) 26, Boston College 19

Georgia (A) 24, Virginia 16

Georgia (A) 25, Georgia Tech (A) 23

Clemson (A) 28, William & Mary 19

Cornell 21, Ohio State 20

Cornell 21, Clemson (A) 19

Boston College 23, Virginia 19

SILVER BRACKET RESULTS

Final

Alabama 22, South Carolina (A) 19

Semifinals

South Carolina (A) 28, Tennessee (A) 18

Alabama 24, Cincinnati (A) 22

Third Place

Cincinnati (A) 27, Tennessee (A) 13

Consolation Final

Elon 27, UNC-Charlotte 15

Consolation Semifinals

Elon 27, Duke 14

UNC-Charlotte 26, Wake Forest 24

Consolation

Georgia College 21, Villanova 17

Cincinnati (B) 30, Ferris State 28

Georgia College 24, Cincinnati (B) 9

Virginia Tech 24, College of Charleston 17

Georgia Tech (B) 24, Virginia Tech 18

NC State (B) 28, College of Charleston 17

Georgia Tech (B) 27, NC State (B) 21

BRONZE BRACKET RESULTS

Championship

Ohio University 25, Connecticut 19

Third-Place

Vanderbilt 30, South Carolina (B) 17

Consolation Final

Colorado School of Mines 25, Furman 24

Consolation

Old Dominion 26, Coastal Carolina 11

COPPER BRACKET RESULTS

Championship

Indiana 28, Ohio State 16

Third Place

Clemson (B) 30, Tennessee (B) 21

Consolation Final

Dayton 11, Armstrong Atlantic State 11

Consolation

Mercer 24, Middle Tennessee State 16

Past USTA Tennis On Campus Fall Invitational Champions

2010 – University of Alabama

2011 – University of Virginia

2012 – Duke University

2013 – University of Florida

2014 – University of Florida

ABOUT USTA TENNIS ON CAMPUS: The USTA TOC program features more than 37,000  college students competing nationwide in intramural coed club play. Developed by the USTA in partnership with NIRSA (National Intramural Recreational Sports Association), World TeamTennis and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association  the program gives college students the opportunity to build leadership skills, network in a coed sports environment and compete on a college team without the rigors of playing in a varsity program.With year-round match play, and sectional and national championship competition, students maintain active and healthy lifestyles through their college years. Since its inception in 2000, Tennis On Campus has grown significantly and today has programs on more than 640 college campuses across the country.