A former All-American tennis player, who has been inducted into TCU Letterman’s Club Hall of Fame, Tory Plunkett begins her 12th season as the head women’s tennis coach at Texas State. During her tenure, she has built a strong foundation both on and off the courts, which she will use to lead the Bobcats into the Sun Belt Conference in 2013-14.
Texas State played its only season in the Western Athletic Conference in 2012-13 and posted a 9-10 overall record after enjoying its best season in 25 years in 2012. That year, the Bobcats finished with a 14-6 overall record and werre 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 a Texas State earned All-SLC honors in singles play. .
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 three years. Texas State finished the 2011 season with a 12-8 overall record and owned a 7-4 mark against SLC teams despite playing with a roster of four sophomores and three freshmen. Individually, Texas State’s No. 5 singles player earned All-Southalnd 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 2009-10. 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, a pair of freshmen, 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.
Plunkett was named Texas State’s head coach on July 16, 2003, and has posted a 80-76 overall dual match record and a 51-33 mark in Southland Conference dual matches after her teams won at least seven conference matches each of the past five years.
She began her head coaching career at Texas State in 2003-04 and led the Bobcats to a 10-10 overall record and a fifth-place finish after Texas State won six dual matches.
Following a pair of seventh-place finishes, Texas State has finished among the top five teams in the league during the past four years. Texas State began the stretch with a 7-12 overall record that included a 4-6 SLC mark despite losing three league matches by 4-3 scores in 2004-05. 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.
Texas State finished the 2005-06 season with a 7-14 record when the Bobcats played three nationally-ranked teams in their first five matches. In Southland Conference play, Texas State recorded a 5-5 dual match record.
In 2006-07, Texas State won seven Southland Conference matches for the first time in school history and finished the season in fifth place with a 7-3 league record. The Bobcats finished the year with an 11-7 overall record and Ali Gulida also was named the 2007 Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year.
In 2007-08, the Bobcats won seven Southland Conference dual 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.
In 2008-09 Plunkett again lead the team to seven conference victories landing them the fifth seed in the SLC tournament. The Bobcats finished the 2008-09 season with 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 the coaches meeting and tournament management of the event. She also is involved in helping coordinate the ITA regional post-season awards.
While playing a schedule which included matches against five nationally-ranked opponents, the Bobcats posted a 7-14 overall record in 2006. But Texas State was 5-5 in Southland Conference play.
Plunkett was named Texas State’s head coach after serving as the associate head coach at UT Arlington from 1996 to 1998. She began her collegiate coaching career as an assistant coach at UTA in 1994. Plunkett also served as an assistant coach at UTSA from 1995 to 1996.
Upon her arrival, she brought a wealth of both collegiate and professional tennis experience to the Texas State program. She also served as a teaching professional at Willo 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 Texas Christian University, 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.
