Grinnell College Athletics

Felipe Bautista ’02 and the rise to dominance of the Grinnell College men’s tennis program go hand-in-hand. A six-time Midwest Conference champion in singles and doubles play, Bautista has the distinction of being the first Grinnell tennis player to earn a spot in the NCAA Division III Tournament. Bautista made his mark from the start, posting records of 21-4 in singles and 15-6 in doubles during his first season, which culminated with a title at the No. 2 singles flight of the MWC Tourney. As a team, Grinnell went 15-6 and rose to second place in the MWC team race, the highest league finish in nearly a decade. 

Bautista repeated as the No. 2 MWC singles champ the following year while going 19-8 in singles play and 18-7 in doubles. Grinnell was 15-10 overall and repeated as the MWC team runner-up. Bautista moved to the top of the league his junior season. He won both top-flight singles and doubles titles while going a combined 29-3 on the season, posting a 16-2 mark in singles and 13-1 in doubles. As a team, Grinnell posted 14 victories and won its first MWC divisional title while finishing second overall. Bautista certainly saved his best for last, leading the Pioneers to their first MWC title in more than 40 years during his senior season. He not only repeated as the MWC No. 1 singles and doubles champ but also punched his ticket to the NCAA Division III Tournament. He finished the season with a 26-3 mark in singles, with the win total and winning percentage of 88.9 percent both ranking among the best in program history. Bautista added 19 wins in doubles play. 

For his career, Bautista won 82 singles matches, which ranks fifth all-time, with a career winning percentage of 82.8 percent, which is sixth. He also ranks among the all-time leaders in doubles victories with 62 and doubles winning percentage at 75.6 percent. Overall, Bautista broke the school record with 147 combined victories and still ranks seventh all-time in that category. 

Bautista majored in chemistry and then completed medical school in his home country of Ecuador before moving back to the United States for further medical training. Currently, he is a pediatric hematologist and oncologist working in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he lives with his wife Naomie and two children, Emma (8) and Nico (5).