In a sport where love means nothing, Kalamazoo College alumni Alex Palladino ’87 and Jim Burda ’87 recently proved the opposite is true in friendship.
The 1986 and 1987 NCAA Division III doubles champions reunited this year for the U.S. national indoor tournament in the 60-and-over division at the Boise Racquet and Swim Club in Boise, Idaho, and captured the 2026 title. Facing opponents with experience at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, the Australian Open and the French Open, the former Hornets overcame their underdog status, rallying from deficits in each match before earning a 6-3, 7-5 victory over the tournament’s top-seeded pair in the championship match.
“When I won my two nationals with Alex at Kalamazoo, I was elated,” said Burda, who lives in Glastonbury, Connecticut. “Winning the gold with Alex 39 years later is a completely different, more meaningful feeling that goes well beyond tennis. As a senior tennis player, I had won silvers and bronzes nationally, but not quite the elusive gold.”
“Although geography has kept us separated since 1990, Jim and I have a personal connection that simply ‘is’ and always will be,” said Palladino, who lives in Spring Lake, Michigan. “Teaming up in Boise after all these years was like asking two peas if they’d like to share a pod, and the championship gold ball we came back with feels like the perfect third ‘pea’ to complete this full-circle moment in time.”
The championship adds another accomplishment to the resumes of two players who helped define one of the most successful eras in Hornet tennis history. Both are members of K’s Athletic Hall of Fame, and both credit K and legendary coach George Acker for shaping their lives long after graduation.
“There was something special about being a Hornet and there still is,” Burda said. “With tennis, the school had this impressive tennis stadium and a dynasty reputation that made it alluring. But our coaches impressed upon us that we were student-athletes, with the word ‘student’ coming first.”
That lesson stayed with him.
“It was that balance that had my mom saying to me at graduation, ‘Four years ago, I dropped you off as a boy. K College and George Acker made you a man.’”
Palladino said Acker’s approach influenced his own career as a tennis professional.
“He understood the complexities of college-aged young men and knew how to produce results without adding the unnecessary pressure that many other coaches do,” Palladino said. “I’ve mirrored those same sentiments, not only in my management of students, but also in how I continued to manage myself.”
The Boise championship also rekindled the chemistry that made Palladino and Burda such a successful doubles team at K. Burda remembers that their partnership started slowly, with a 0-4 record in 1986. What followed, however, was a two-year winning streak.
“Alex taught me how to win and be comfortable with winning by simplifying thought and making winning intrinsic,” Burda said. “Alex had the talent and the calm. I had the fire and energy. I brought him up and raised his energy; he brought me to that calm, confident execution.”
The formula, Burda said, remained remarkably familiar nearly four decades later.
“We went to Boise, and every time we stepped on the court, it was that same sense of calm with fire—not a cockiness, but a foregone conclusion that this was ours.”
Palladino said returning to competition with his longtime friend felt like stepping back into their college years.
“Jim and I were the best of friends in college, and as a doubles team, we developed a highly sophisticated method of attack,” Palladino said. “Getting back together to play as a team was like living in Crissey Hall all over again. We told jokes, we relived college trips, we invoked the spirit of our teammates and the entire Acker family, and most importantly, we trusted everything about each other.”
Today, Palladino is a member of the West Michigan Tennis Hall of Fame, and Burda is the nation’s top-ranked U.S. Tennis Association 60-and-over doubles player. Yet both say the Boise title ultimately meant far more than another trophy.
“When we did win, we hugged, celebrated, congratulated our opponents and then reflected,” Burda said. “It turns out the athletic achievement was secondary for us. My gold ball with Alex in 2026 reminds me of how little else matters in life than love and friendship. You have that and you walk around winning gold balls in your heart daily.”