
Height: | 5'10" |
Weight: | 170 |
Year: | SO |
Hometown: | Santa Ana, CA |
High School: | University HS |
College: | Claremont McKenna |
On Court: Trained in Hong Kong from age 12 to
16 where he achieved a top 15 ranking in the 16s...then moved to
Irvine, California where he attended University HS for his senior
year... also earned a top 50 sectional ranking in SoCal Boys
18s...at University played doubles for the CIF Division 1
Champions...lost only 5 doubles sets as a senior, and undefeated
when starting in singles...as a freshman made his
Stags Tennis debut at USTA / ITA West Regionals in October, losing
a grueling three-setter to Redlands' Gram Leahy in a decisive
tie-break...partnered Lestter Yeh in doubles...the pair went 2-1 in
reaching the ITA quarterfinals...returned in the
spring to compete for starting singles and doubles spots...made his
dual match debut against Brandeis at #3 singles and #3 doubles
(with Kotrappa), winning both comfortably...had one of two Stags
singles match wins at #5 against Vanguard on Feb 23...solidified
his starting role with a straight set win at #6 against Wash U on
March 3 in La Jolla...then settled in at the #5 singles position
and #2 doubles position for the rest of the season...won his first
eight singles dual matches before a tough three-set loss at BYU
Hawaii on March 20, in which he lost the first set 6-0...then won
his remaining 14 dual matches to earn an eye-popping 22-1 singles
dual match record...also had wins against Halabi of Santa Cruz and
Worley of Cal Lutheran in reaching the Ojai quarters...equally as
impressive with Kotrappa at #2 doubles, where the pair won 25 of 31
dual matches en route to a 26-7 overall record as a team...the pair
won their first eleven matches together, dropping no more than five
games in any one pro-set...Butts' overall singles record of 25-3
places him 18th for most wins in a single season and third for
singles season winning percentage at .892...his 28 doubles wins in
36 matches places him 12th for matches played in a single season,
and 8th for matches won in a single season...he and Kotrappa end up
fifth in matches played (33) and fourth in matches won (26) as a
doubles team for a single season in CMS Stags Tennis
history...Butts' hard work and passion for the game earned him the
coveted Hank Krieger Trophy - the first Stags Tennis
freshman to have ever won the honor...as a
sophomore established himself as one of the Stags' and
nation's best by winning eight of nine ITA singles matches in
September and October...won the USTA / ITA West Region singles as
the eighth seed, defeating Whittier's David Konstantinov for the
title...earned the third seed at the USTA / ITA Small College
Championships, where he reached the final, becoming only the second
Stag ever to reach the national championship match...recognized as
the SCIAC Athlete of the Week for the week of Sept 23,
2013...finished the fall ranked #1 in the West and #2 nationally,
while earning ITA All-American singles honors...went 1-1
in two doubles matches with partner Zhenya
Pereverzin...turned in another spectacular spring
outing, going 22-0 at #4 and #3 singles to become the first Stag to
have an undefeated dual match record with more than twenty matches
played...was one of four Stags to qualify for NCAAs in singles,
another first for CMS...named ITA All-American in singles and 2nd
Team All-SCIAC...year end singles rankings of #7
in the West and #17 nationally...his only 2014 losses came in
tournament play to champions Wood - in three sets in the semis of
Ojai - and Amherst's Joey Fritz - in the first
round of NCAAs...partnered teammate Neel Kotrappa at the #3 and #2
positions...the tandem produced a 24-3 dual match record and 5-1
tournament record, winning the presitigious Ojai D3 title as the #6
seed and losing in the first round of the NCAA doubles tourney...he
and Kotrappa finished 2014 with rankings of #6 in the West and #22
nationally...overall records of 33-3 in singles and 29-5 in
doubles, putting him #1 all time for singles matches won in a
singles season, as well as single season winning percentage
(.917)...his 29-5 doubles record was good for 3rd best winning
percentage (.853) and 6th highest win total for a single season in
CMS history...he and Kotrappa complete their two year partnership
with the fourth highest win total (54) and second highest winning
percentage (.831) for a team during their careers at
CMS.
Tools: Babolat Pure Storm strung with Solinco Revolution at 57 lbs.
Personal: Son of David and Ellen...has younger sister, Alexi, who is a competitive figure skater...grew up in Hong Kong before moving to California at age 16...began playing tennis competitively at age 12...enjoys watching all sports...occasionally attempts to play basketball
Favorite Stag: Wes Parker – Only Major League Baseball player to have attended CMC
Say What?: Considers himself Asian