Recent graduate Adam Putterman captured the 2013 NCAA Division III Singles National Championship with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Mark Kahan of Amherst College May 25 at Stowe Stadium in Kalamazoo, Mich. Putterman earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Olin Business School in May.
The singles national championship is the second in school history; John Watts accomplished the feat in 2010.
“It felt like it all came together in the finals and I rose to the moment and played the best match of my career,” Putterman said. “I don’t think I could believe it at first, but it brings a smile to my face every time I think about it now.
“Winning the UAA Championship was a career-defining moment as a team. It was a dramatic, hard-fought win. We had a rough start as a team this year, and regrouped and rededicated ourselves and played our best tennis at the end,” he said.
Putterman posted a 53-18 overall record as a senior, including a 31-7 mark while playing No. 1 singles for the Bears. The 2013 Intercollegiate Tennis Association Senior Player of the Year and University Athletic Association (UAA) Most Valuable Player, Putterman concluded his four-year career with a 164-70 overall record. The 164 wins are the sixth-most in school history. Putterman also was second in school history career singles victories (97) and 10th in doubles wins (67).
Putterman and his doubles partner sophomore Ross Putterman (no relation) advanced to the quarterfinals in doubles to earn All-America honors for the second-straight year. The Bears’ No. 1 doubles team, the Puttermans were 20-9 this season and earned first-team all-UAA honors.
“Adam played like a champion today,” said head coach Roger Follmer. “He played his best match of the tournament. There is not a better feeling than to go out the way he did. Adam came in with a great forehand as a freshman, but realized there was so much more to the game. He worked hard throughout his final three years and does it all well now.”