A former All-American player and a member of her alma mater's Hall of Fame , Tory Plunkett begins her 12th season as the head women’s tennis coach at Texas State. Plunkett enters the 2014-15 season with a 112-103 career record and a 59-39 mark in conference dual matches.
Last season, Texas State posted a 9-11 overall dual match record and had a 3-1 mark against Sun Belt Conference teams during the regular season before falling 4-3 against Troy in the 2014 Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
Individually, she produced All-SBC First-Team singles player Jessica Kahts and an All-SBC Second-Team doubles tandem of Kahts and Ana Laura Gutierrez.
Texas State joined the Sun Belt Conference last year after playing its only season in the Western Athletic Conference in 2012-13. The Bobcats posted a 9-10 overall record that season after enjoying its best season in 25 years in 2012.
That year, the Bobcats finished with a 14-6 overall record and were the runner-up team in the Southland Conference with a 9-2 league mark. Her No. 3 tandem of Mariana Perez and Rachel Baldree earned All-Conference First-Team honors after winning each of their league matches. In addition, Texas State’s No. 1 doubles team of Jessica Kahts and Melissa Hadad earned Second-Team honors. Kahts also was a Second-Team selection as a No. 1 singles player. It was the fourth straight year that Plunkett tutored an All-SLC singles player.
The second-place finish also marked the fourth time in five seasons that Texas State finished among SLC’s top four teams and the Bobcats advanced to the semifinals of the SLC Tournament during two of its final three years in the league.
Texas State finished the 2011 season with a 12-8 overall record and was 7-4 against SLC teams with a roster of four sophomores and three freshmen. Individually, Texas State’s No. 5 singles player earned All-Southland Conference honors for the third straight year as Mariana Perez earned All-SLC Second-Team honors.
That came after Plunkett guided Texas State to a 13-7 overall record and a third-place finish in the Southland Conference standings with an 8-3 mark in 2010. Texas State also advanced to the semifinals of the Southland Conference for the first time since 2003.
Three of her players earned All-Southland Conference honors as Nyssa Peele was named a First-Team selection at No. 6 singles after recording a 16-1 overall record and an undefeated 10-0 mark against SLC opponents. In addition, Gabriela Rojas and Perez earned All-SLC Second-Team honors at No. 2 doubles after posting a 9-6 overall mark and a 7-3 SLC record.
In 2008-09 Plunkett led the team to an overall record of 10-7 and an SLC record of 7-4. During the Wilson/ITA Fall Regional Championships, Plunkett worked with the regional tournament director in selecting participants, seeding, overseeing coaches meeting and the tournament. She also was involved in helping coordinate the ITA regional post-season awards.
In the previous season, the Bobcats won seven SLC matches for the second straight year and posted the best finish in her tenure after finishing the regular season listed fourth in the league’s standings. Texas State ended the season with a 10-11 overall record despite having to battle through some nagging injuries.
Texas State also won seven SLC matches for the first time in school history in 2006-07, when the Bobcats finished the season in fifth place with a 7-3 league record. Texas State finished the year with an 11-7 overall record and Ali Gulida also was named the 2007 Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year.
Texas State finished the 2005-06 season with a 7-14 record when the Bobcats played five nationally-ranked teams, including three in their first five matches. In Southland Conference play, Texas State recorded a 5-5 dual match record.
Texas State also won seven matches in 2004-05 when the Bobcats posted a 7-12 overall record and a 4-6 SLC mark despite losing three league matches by 4-3 scores. The top player on the team that season was Tina Klemenc, who earned Second-Team All-Southland Conference honors as a number five singles player.
Plunkett was named Texas State’s head coach on July 16, 2003, and began her head coaching career guiding the Bobcats to a 10-10 overall record and a fifth place finish in the SLC after winning six conference dual matches.
She came to Texas State after serving as the associate head coach at UT Arlington from 1996-98 and as an assistant coach at UTA in 1994. Plunkett also served as an assistant coach at UTSA from 1995 to 1996.
She also served as a teaching professional at Willow Bend Polo and Hunt Club, and worked at John Benson’s Tennis Camp in Colorado for five summers.
Along with teaching tennis professionally, Plunkett played professionally for several years before entering the coaching ranks.
A 1989 graduate of TCU, Plunkett was an All-America selection for the Horned Frogs in 1988. She was a two-time All-Southwest Conference selection and also named to the SWC’s All-Decade Team.
Additionally, Plunkett was a two-time Gulf Star Conference champion while playing at Northwestern State (1985-86) and was named to the Gulf Star’s All-Academic Team both seasons. In September 2011, Plunkett was inducted into the TCU Athletics Hall of Fame.
