Twins Picked Up Tennis Early

Amy and Tracy Kuhle picked up tennis rackets before they started learning math.
Since age 3, the twin sisters who have carried St. Teresa this season as freshmen have prepared for competition similar to the state tournament. Their father, Chuck, is a local tennis connoisseur, who comes from a family of tennis players.
“Once I saw them throw a ball,” Chuck said about knowing they would be good at tennis. “They both have above average service motions. A lot of players don’t have the fluid motion they had, so I knew.”
Tennis is in the Kuhles blood.
So, it’s not a surprise for some who hear about Amy and Tracy blanking opponents night in and night out. The duo has combined for 23 singles wins and only one loss. The loss came to Urbana’s No. 1 Katarina Marjanovic, who’s earned a scholarship to college.
As a doubles team, the two haven’t lost when playing together, including a 7-6, 6-2 win against Marjanovic’s doubles team. Split them up, and they’re still undefeated in doubles. They’ve helped St. Teresa to a 10-2 record.
“To have girls your age supporting you is really fun,” Amy said about playing her first year of high school tennis. “It’s not as competitive as USTA tennis, but it’s really fun playing with others.”
With thousands of matches already behind them, Amy and Tracy are freshmen playing with the experience of seniors. They’ve traveled around the country playing top-notch talent and their domination at the high school level has been a long time coming.
“They can play with anybody,” said first-year St. Teresa tennis coach Mike Brannon. “They’re already very accomplished.”
With the sectional play starting Saturday, not many know the true potential of the combo this year. Chuck, Amy and Tracy downplayed the expectation of winning a doubles state title now. In fact, Amy and Tracy simply want to outplay their brother, Patrick, who won four doubles matches at state as a St. Teresa freshman last year.
“We’re not hoping for anything huge this year,” said Amy, who’s also been helped by assistant coach Julie Heim. “We want to try and win more than our brother and just see how the competition is.”
Tracy added, “We’re just going to try and work hard and try to win it by our junior or senior year.”
It was two quality answers identical to their dad, who wants them to keep sharpening their game with hard work and determination.
“There are no guarantees,” Chuck said. “I don’t ever want to be the one who says they’re going to win it, but they have a shot at it eventually. They have a lot of work left to do.”
Amy admitted her backhand isn’t as strong as it should be. Tracy wants to work on her big serve because it’s her strength when it’s in. And other than Tracy being left-handed, the two are tennis twins, too, with not many holes in their game.
“Usually when people ask I say me, but honestly we’re dead even,” Tracy confessed in response to who was better.
What surprises Brannon the most is their easy-going personalities despite being so talented. He expected them to be a lot more intense, but they get the job done with ease.
“It’s unusual to see kids who are super competitive and laid back,” Brannon said. “They just like playing tennis and having fun and are really good at it.”
The Kuhles quest begins Saturday at the Casey-Westfield Sectional, which isn’t expected to provide any serious hurdles. Then it would be off to state a week from today, where the possibilities are still unknown.

Published in the Herald & Review in October 2009.