|
After posting her best record as head coach, Tory Plunkett begins her sixth season as the women's tennis head coach at Texas State after the Bobcats enjoyed the most successful season in her tenure in 2007-08.
Plunkett was named Texas State's head coach on July 16, 2003, and has posted a 29-22 dual match record against Southland Conference teams after her teams won a combined 14 SLC dual matches each of the last two 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 two 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 its first five matches. In Southland Conference play, Texas State recorded a 5-5 dual match record.
Two seasons ago, 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.
Last season, 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 a10-11 overall record despite having to battle through some nagging injuries.
This fall, Plunkett begins the third year of her three-year term as a member of the ITA Regional Committee chair. As committee chair, Plunkett oversees a committee that consists of at least a five-members, and offers input into the Fila Preseason Rankings and votes for the Top 100 singles players, Top 50 doubles teams and the Top 75 collegiate teams. Plunkett also helps determine the at-large and wild card selections for the three ITA National Tournaments.
During the Wilson/ITA Fall Regional Championships, Plunkett works 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 the Bobcats were 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 UTA in 1994. Plunkett also served as an assistant coach at UTSA from 1995 to 1996.
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.
|
||||||||||||||
 |
