After graduating from TCU, Plunkett continued playing professional for several years. She had the chance to travel the world doing what she loves, but eventually it became time for Plunkett to teach others the love and competitiveness of the game.
Her first job teaching tennis was in Colorado at the Willow Bend Polo and Hunt Club as well as John Benson’s Tennis Camp for five summers.
She jumped into the collegiate level as an assistant coach for UTA for one semester before continuing in the same role at UTSA for two years. She eventually found her way back to UTA in a head coaching position for two seasons.
Now came the time for what was next. Plans not involving tennis.
Plunkett was not making enough money as an assistant coach, so she found herself working as a mail carrier on the side. She eventually stepped away from tennis and worked full time at American Airlines as a sales representative. Even though she was no longer on the courts gathering accolades, it did not stop her from doing so off the courts.
“I was a sales rep, and I felt like I was pretty good at it,” said the always-competitive Plunkett. “I mean, I won sales rep of the year in my second year.”
Plunkett was at American Airlines for four years, one of the years being the day America stood still.
“I was a sales rep during 9/11 and Boston was my territory,” said Plunkett. “I had clients that perished on those flights, and the airlines treated those families and those people very, very well. They flew them in if they wanted to. They paid for their funeral cost and gave each family $25,000 just for whatever they needed. They also assigned a point person that was with the families 24/7.”
One of those point people for the grieving families was Plunkett’s boss. She saw the toll it took not only on the families, but the airline employees who needed their own counseling. Factor in the threat of layoffs for employees, and Plunkett knew that she could teach tennis to make ends meet if it meant others can keep their jobs.
“In the last round of layoffs, I was a supervisor of over 24 people, and I had to rank them knowing 23 and 24 were going to be gone,” said Plunkett. “So, I put myself at the bottom like yeah I'm the worst one here. They didn't go for that, so they called (the rankings) randomly off.”
While at American Airlines, Plunkett still kept tabs on the program she used to work for, UTA tennis. It was then after a match she learned of the Texas State head coach position being open.
Plunkett kept her years’ worth of accolades and experience under wraps when she was talking to the friend who knew the position becoming available at Texas State. Plunkett confided in her partner that San Marcos was always a place she wanted to go, and that she loved the area.
She had to take the opportunity.
The time came for the interview and Plunkett was in a three-piece suit. She got comfortable when she was able to talk business in the interview. It was her specialty. She later learned that she was the only female in the field of candidates. One candidate even walked in wearing a t-shirt and shorts, and the other wore a tennis outfit.
A senior administrator on the panel told Plunkett, “You by far answered the questions the best and were the most professional person.”
With the help of word of mouth, support from those around her, and her tennis experience, Plunkett was named the new head coach for Texas State on July 16, 2003.
“You know did I have one thing that they didn't have: I was a female and they were looking for a female to coach a female sport,” said Plunkett. “I'm very grateful that Texas State has always done a great job with hiring females and giving them that opportunity. I mean look at (Texas State legend and former volleyball coach) Karen Chisum, how well she did. Look at (softball) head coach Ricci Woodard, how well she's done. Then you have (women’s basketball head coach) Coach Z [Zenarae Antoine] obviously.”
Once she had the job, it was time for her to get to work. Plunkett had a $700 recruiting budget, so she went to Australia, South Africa, Colombia and England on her own dime. She also worked without an assistant coach for 15 years.
To add on to that, there was no locker room.
“In my first year, kids were walking to class with their tennis rackets and gear. Where our locker room is now, it used to be a classroom and so I was told we share the tennis courts with rec sports and P.E. I said to P.E., ‘Listen if you give me that classroom, I'll let you go into the indoor tennis courts on rainy days and you can still conduct class.’ Rec sports made the deal, and we turned it into a locker room and to be honest with you, I think they did phenomenal job. One of the best locker rooms at the time and even now for a tennis program.”
